Chapter 2

Security guards arrived carrying high-concentration disinfectant sprayers on their backs.

Under Yvonne's direction, they aimed the nozzles directly at me.

Sebastian frowned and grabbed Yvonne's hand.

"River is allergic to disinfectant. Just have them spray the floor."

Yvonne blinked playfully.

"Don't worry, I'm using all-natural, non-irritating disinfectant."

"Even if River accidentally gets some on her, she won't have an allergic reaction."

She pressed the switch, and a stream of liquid reeking of disinfectant soaked my collar.

"See? Nothing happened."

Sebastian glanced at me, confirming there was no rash on my neck, then affectionately tapped Yvonne's forehead.

"Clever girl."

I swayed as I stood up, struggling to suppress the urge to scratch my skin raw to stop the itching.

From an angle Sebastian couldn't see, Yvonne smugly made a face at me.

She was certain I wouldn't ask Sebastian for help—or rather, she firmly believed that even if Sebastian knew, he would choose to stand by her side.

After all, last time, Yvonne had accidentally shredded an important data file.

She'd cried and thrown herself into Sebastian's arms, saying I'd told her to do it.

All the employees glared at me with resentment, watching months of their hard work go down the drain.

I couldn't defend myself. I asked Sebastian to check the security footage to prove my innocence.

Instead, he covered Yvonne's ears and called me an idiot who couldn't even keep data safe.

The smell of disinfectant stung my nerves. My throat felt like an invisible hand was choking it, leaving me unable to breathe.

I placed my hand over my belly, praying the baby inside would hang on a little longer.

Sebastian didn't notice anything wrong with me.

But when Yvonne started coughing from the fumes, he quickly led her away.

The security guards watched them leave, then leered at my partially visible clothes.

"Sleep with Mr. Harrison a few times and you think you can be the boss's wife? You're just a used shoe he kicked aside."

"Ms. Sullivan specifically instructed us that you smell like a vixen and need to be thoroughly washed with disinfectant!"

Seeing their malicious expressions, I backed away cautiously.

"What are you trying to do?"

They roughly dragged me toward the stairwell, tearing my clothes.

My lower abdomen felt like hands were viciously twisting inside, filling me with dread.

I bit down hard on the ear of the person closest to me and struggled desperately to break free.

"Ah! You bitch, let go!"

My cheek stung with searing pain as someone kicked me down hard.

I didn't care about the pain and crawled toward the exit using both hands and feet.

"Help! Someone's trying to rape me!"

My screams echoed through the stairwell, loud enough to hurt eardrums.

Seeing things spiral out of control, the guards cursed and kicked me a few more times before fleeing in panic.

I endured the sharp pain in my lower back and slowly climbed up from the floor.

Before I could catch my breath, someone grabbed my wrist forcefully.

Thinking the guards had returned, I reflexively shook off their hand.

"Get away!"

A cold laugh came from above my head.

I looked up to meet Sebastian's icy gaze.

"River, I never thought you could do something so vicious."

I frowned in confusion. Before I could ask, Sebastian dragged me quickly toward the elevator.

Yvonne's aggrieved sobbing came from the executive office.

Sebastian threw me against the wall and pointed at the bloody dead rat in the coffee machine, roaring.

"Stop playing dumb! Apologize to Yvonne right now."