Chapter 4

Elena stood outside, a sadistic smile on her face. She yelled into her phone, "Come look, everyone! The new girl, Chloe Monroe, tried to seduce the department manager to steal my job! I worked so hard for three months, and she tried to take it away by selling her body! Where is the justice?!"

Inside, Howard suddenly let go of me, dropped to his knees, and squeezed out fake tears.

"I’m a married man! She drugged my coffee and forced herself into my office! She even threatened to commit suicide if I didn't give her the job!"

Howard changed his face faster than a professional actor. In just a few words, he made me the predator.

This "office scandal" drama instantly attracted over a hundred thousand viewers to the TikTok live stream.

The comments section went wild, demanding I be fired and canceled.

Vile insults flooded the screen.

"Is this the girl from the local strip club?"

"I’d pay fifty bucks to have her for a night."

"People these days will do anything for money. So shameless!"

"Can we get some sympathy for the manager? He has a family to feed. He was forced into this!"

As the viewer count skyrocketed, the internet mob went out of control.

Some "righteous" trolls photoshopped my face onto pornographic images and shared them across Twitter. Others created memorial photos of me, telling me to go kill myself.

Elena watched the comments roll in, laughing hysterically. She was waiting for me to go crazy and break down.

I silently buttoned my shirt.

I could have tried to explain, but my identity would be revealed sooner or later. Why not play along with them?

I wanted to teach them a lesson: the higher you climb, the harder you fall.

So, I stayed silent and waited.

But my silence only angered Elena.

She scowled, her eyes glinting with madness. She smiled at the camera. "Guys, to rid society of this trash, we need to teach her a real lesson. Let’s play a little game. Let's call it 'The Human Puppet'!"

"Whatever you guys comment in the chat, I will do to her in real life!"

The live stream erupted in cheers.

A terrible feeling of dread washed over me.

In the next second, Elena burst into the office and ripped my earring straight out of my earlobe. Blood dripped down my neck. The sharp pain made me break into a cold sweat.

"First command completed! Keep them coming, guys! The best idea gets a ten-thousand-dollar cash prize!"

The atmosphere in the office turned electric.

Realizing things were getting dangerous, I found an opening, pushed past her, and ran out of the office toward the elevator.

But the moment I got out, my coworkers formed a human wall, blocking me.

"Where do you think you're going?! You stole Elena's job! You brought this on yourself, and we're not letting you go. Justice will be served today!"

My nails dug into my palms. I felt a mixture of rage and absolute disbelief.

Elena walked over slowly. "Why the rush? The game has just begun. The second command is... burning her face with a cigarette."

"Such pretty skin. It’s almost a pity. But I already made a promise to my viewers, and I can't break it. You'll just have to bear with it, sweetie."

With a sick smile, Elena picked up a lit cigarette from an ashtray and thrust it toward my cheek.

I tried to dodge, but Howard held my head tightly from behind.

The burning cherry of the cigarette sank into my cheek. The pain was excruciating, like my bones were being crushed. I couldn't help but scream, tears streaming down my face.

"Elena, I will fucking kill you!"

I leaned forward and bit her hand hard. Elena shrieked and jumped back.

"Let go, you bitch! That hurts! You dare to fight back? I guess we're being too easy on you!"

She looked at me like I was a piece of meat on a chopping block. After her anger passed, she sneered again.

"Oh, don't be so mad. The game isn't over yet!"

Elena scrolled through her phone. Suddenly, her eyes lit up with excitement.

"Strip her naked and make her run. Hahaha! Who came up with that? You just won ten thousand dollars!"

I gasped, my heart hammering against my ribs. These people were absolute monsters!

Elena ordered the coworkers to strip me.

I fought with everything I had, but three male coworkers pinned me to the ground, leaving me with zero room to resist.

Soon, I was stripped down to my bra and underwear, shivering in the cold office air.

Howard’s disgusting, rough hands began to touch my skin.

Elena pointed the camera directly at my exposed body.

The crowd cheered.

The viewers in the live stream were still spamming commands, complaining they didn't win the cash prize.

What kind of world was this?

Just because of a stupid job, what did I do to deserve this?

I closed my eyes in despair, ready to give up.

A single tear rolled down my temple.

Just then, a booming, angry voice echoed through the hallway.

"What the hell are you all doing during work hours?! Do you all want to be fired?!"

I opened my eyes and looked toward the entrance.

My heart skipped a beat.

It was Julian Grant!