Author’s POV
Holly tried to rush after Serena to argue, but several designers imdiately blocked her way. Celeste stood in front with eyes blazing with fury.
"What else do you want? Didn’t you hear what Serena said? Get the hell out! Even if we lose this contract, I won’t let you bully her anymore, especially when she’s pregnant!"
"Yeah, did you think everyone at Dreamland Studio would just roll over for you?" another designer chid in.
Holly shot Celeste a venomous glare. "You better rember this! Don’t co crying when you regret it!"
"Just get lost already. Whoever regrets this is a loser. We’ve been sick of you since day one!"
Holly was practically shoved out of the conference room. Though they didn’t use much force, to her it felt like the ultimate humiliation.
"Security! Please escort this person out!" soone called.
Clearly, nobody in the studio liked her. Most staff just watched the scene unfold with curious eyes, content to observe the drama.
They were actually being quite decent about it - nobody piled on with additional insults or mockery. Even so, by the ti Holly was escorted out of the studio, she was in tears of rage.
Her emotional state was visibly deteriorating, but the studio door closed firmly behind her. Nobody ca out to check on her.
Clutching a box with her belongings, Holly had just turned the corner when she stumbled and fell.
Her ankle twisted painfully in her high heels, swelling up imdiately and causing her to gasp in pain.
In her confused state, she heard what seed like demonic whispers, making her ntal state even more precarious.
When Holly regained so clarity, she realized she was having another episode.
She suffered from bipolar disorder.
With trembling hands, she frantically searched her purse for her dication, but couldn’t find it.
She had forgotten to bring it this morning...
Suddenly, a woman appeared before her, slowly crouching down.
"Painful, isn’t it? Perhaps only death will bring you release," Sophie whispered softly, pushing Holly deeper into her disoriented state.
She could barely make out who was standing in front of her, her pupils already dilating erratically.
"It’s all Serena Quinn’s fault." Sophie dropped a knife in front of Holly.
Holly grabbed the knife, bringing it close to examine it.
"Just cut yourself. This way, you’ll escape all this suffering, and that bitch Serena will pay the price for hurting you."
"Don’t worry, I won’t let her get away with this," Sophie continued.
Sophie’s words penetrated Holly’s mind like a hypnotic spell, completely distorting her judgnt.
Without her dication, Holly was already prone to fixating on negative thoughts.
At the ntion of Serena’s na, she beca even more agitated.
"Serena Quinn! I hate you!"
With a soft cry, Holly slashed the knife across her own wrist.
Not long after Sophie walked away, a passerby discovered Holly.
By then, she was lying in a pool of blood, barely breathing.
The passerby panicked, imdiately calling police and an ambulance.
When Holly was rushed to the hospital, she was pronounced dead shortly after entering the ergency room.
Her family arrived at the hospital only to hear the devastating news, collapsing in grief.
Before the police could properly investigate, news outlets were already breaking the story.
Various "evidence" surfaced suggesting that Holly had committed suicide right after a confrontation with Dreamland Studio staff.
The reports explicitly nad Serena Quinn, accusing her of workplace bullying that had driven a vibrant young woman to take her own life.
The gossip reporters presented their stories with such detail, as if they’d witnessed everything firsthand.
In an instant, Dreamland Studio and Serena were thrust into the spotlight, subjected to vicious abuse and speculation across all platforms.
---
Serena’s POV
I heard the door slam behind as I stord back to my office, my hands still trembling slightly. I needed to be alone, needed to breathe, needed to calm down before my baby felt my stress. I pressed my palm against my belly, whispering softly, "It’s okay, little one. Mommy’s just having a rough day."
The commotion from the conference room carried down the hall—raised voices, chairs scraping against the floor. God, what a disaster this day had turned into.
I’d barely had ti to settle behind my desk when Maya burst through my door, her face flushed with vindication.
"We kicked that witch out!" she announced triumphantly. "You should’ve seen Celeste standing there like a bouncer. Holly tried to argue but we literally ford a human wall until security ca."
"Please tell no one touched her," I groaned, massaging my temples.
"Relax, we didn’t lay a finger on her. Though I really wanted to," Maya flopped into the chair across from . "That woman had it coming for weeks. Did you see her face when you stood up to her? Priceless."
I wasn’t in a celebrating mood. "We might lose the Will contract over this."
"So what? There are other clients who don’t co with psychotic assistants attached." Maya leaned forward. "Anyway, I’m proud of you for standing your ground."
I nodded absently, my mind already racing through damage control scenarios. I’d need to call Mr. Will directly, explain what happened...
That evening, I’d just finished drafting an email to Mr. Will when my phone buzzed with a news alert. My blood ran cold as I read the headline:
"EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT COMMITS SUICIDE AFTER WORKPLACE CONFRONTATION AT DREAMLAND STUDIO"
"No," I whispered, frantically scrolling through the article. "This can’t be real."
But it was. Holly—the woman I’d dismissed from my studio just hours ago—had slit her wrists. She was dead.
The article ntioned "workplace bullying" and "hostile environnt" at Dreamland Studio. They even printed my na. My chest tightened so severely I had to remind myself to breathe.
Before I could process what was happening, there was a knock at my door. Two police officers stood outside, asking to co in.
"Ms. Quinn, we’d like to ask you so questions about Holly," one officer said gently.
I invited them in, my legs barely supporting as I led them to my living room. "I can’t believe this is happening," I said, my voice sounding distant even to my own ears.
"Please don’t worry," the officer said, noticing my pregnant state. "We just need to understand the situation. Could you walk us through what happened today?"
I took a deep breath, forcing myself to focus. "It started with this project for Will Enterprises..." I explained everything—Holly’s constant undermining, her arbitrary rejections, how she’d tried to use Mr. Will’s na to intimidate us.
"I asked her to leave," I concluded, my voice small. "I didn’t... I never imagined she would..." I couldn’t finish the sentence.
The officers thanked for my cooperation and left. But their visit was just the beginning of the nightmare.
My phone started ringing incessantly with numbers I didn’t recognize. When I finally answered one, a venomous voice scread through the speaker:
"You murderer! Why don’t YOU die instead?"
I hung up imdiately, my hands shaking so badly I could barely hold the phone. More calls kept coming. Eventually, I turned my phone off completely.
Curiosity and dread drove to open my laptop. I had to see what people were saying, needed to understand how bad this was getting for Dreamland Studio.
What I saw made my stomach lurch. The comnts were vicious:
"Evil capitalist drove soone to suicide!"
"This is straight-up workplace bullying! She was just an ordinary working person!"
"Dreamland Jewelry is dead to ! A company with such a heartless boss must make equally soulless designs!"
"They’re literally profiting off blood money now. BOYCOTT DREAMLAND!"
I slamd my laptop shut, unable to read anymore. Sohow, everything had been twisted to make Dreamland—to make —the villain. I should have listened to Maya about Holly from the beginning. But it was too late now.
A series of sharp knocks at my door made freeze in terror. What if it was so crazed stranger who’d found my address? What if—
"Serena, it’s ."
Looking through the peephole, I confird it was Ryan before letting my shoulders sag with relief. Even in my current state, seeing him still felt like an anchor in a storm.
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