My family's mall was running a major New Year's Eve event. My father, the chairman, sent me to oversee the floor as a shareholder.

That night, the crowd built past capacity, and a stampede broke out.

I was at the bottom of a pile, suffocating. My boyfriend, an executive at the mall, was reaching past me. He was lifting my best friend out of the crowd. She didn't have a scratch on her.

He cradled her and disappeared down the corridor.

The comms earpiece on my headset stayed on. His voice came through it.

"Vivian, are you okay? How could you listen to her? How could you let her drag you somewhere this dangerous?"

"Don't worry about her. She’s built tougher than you—she can take it.

But you... You’re too delicate to be marked by scars."

They got Vivian out. I had a broken rib and was admitted in critical condition.

After the dust settled, I asked Cole why he hadn't prioritized me.

He looked me in the eye. "Mall events are managed. Look at you. You're fine. This is my promotion window. You're my girlfriend. If I had pulled you out first, that's favoritism. Don't make a scene. Go check on Vivian. She was scared half to death."

I tightened my fist under the blanket.

I called my father.

"Dad. The stampede at Hartline Mall. I'm calling the hearing myself."

My father had been furious before I told him about Cole's attitude.

When he heard, the line nearly cracked.

"Fine. Honey, you take the floor tomorrow as a shareholder. I'll back every word."

I hung up and lay back.

The pain in my side from the broken rib came in long pulses. The image from the night before played in my head–bodies pressed against bodies in the dark, foam falling like snow over our heads.

The door opened.

Vivian Shaw walked in, her eyes red. The moment she saw me, tears spilled over.

"Selena, I'm so sorry. I should have made him save you first."

I held her gaze. The calm I had built began to unravel.

While I had been pinned in the crowd, the comms earpiece on my headset had stayed on.

I had heard her ask, "Cole, is this happening because of me? Because I asked you to set off the foam?"

I had heard him cut her off. "How could it be your fault? I would have done it whether you asked or not."

"You remember? I promised you a romantic New Year's.

"After tonight, I'm done with Selena. We can be together

"Don't worry. I'll say the venue had insufficient on-site security. Nobody will trace it to us."

The earpiece had been a supervisory mic. I was the only one wearing it that night. I had assumed it was just a formality.

That was when I learned the truth.

The best friend I had known for ten years… had been involved with my boyfriend for who knew how long.

The stampede had not been an accident.

It had been them.

It had been Cole… trying to impress Vivian.

He had to know what a New Year's Eve crowd of tens of thousands could turn into. Anyone in mall management knew the first rule: never trigger a disturbance.

If the corporation had not pre-positioned emergency response teams nearby, the outcome would have been far worse.

He had treated thousands of people's safety like a prop for a date.

The pain in my chest spiked.

Vivian saw I was not speaking. She suddenly dropped to her knees, tears falling rapidly.

"Selena, are you still blaming me

"I get it. He's your boyfriend, of course he should have saved you first…"

She bit her lip, then continued, "But Selena, you can't let personal feelings ruin his reputation. People will talk."

I almost laughed.

Instead, I grabbed the thermos from the bedside table and hurled it at her feet.

"Enough. Get out."

Vivian screamed and recoiled.

The door flew open. Cole rushed in.

"Vivian! Are you okay?!"

The speed of his reaction made it obvious. He had been right outside.

He helped her onto the couch, then turned to me, his expression dark.

"Selena! I already told you, I'm part of senior management here. Prioritizing guests is standard procedure!"

"You lash out at Vivian over something like this? Why are you being so unreasonable?!"

Then he turned back to Vivian, his tone softening instantly.

"Why are you so stubborn? I told you this wasn't your fault, and you still came to apologize."

"Look at her–she doesn't appreciate it at all."

"The one who should be apologizing… is her."

I let out a cold laugh.

I pointed at the bandages wrapped around my ribs.

"Me? Apologize? For what?"

Without hesitation, Cole pulled back Vivian's sleeve, revealing a dark bruise.

"She didn't even want to come last night, you insisted

"Because of you, she got hurt. Don't you think you owe her an apology?"

A cold sneer formed in my mind.

It was true. I had asked her to come.

That night, I was supposed to oversee the event. I didn't want to interfere with Cole's work, so I asked her to keep me company.

I had even thought it would make things more enjoyable.

If I hadn't heard their conversation… I might actually have blamed myself.

But now, all I felt was disgust.

I looked at Cole and said, word by word:

"Cole, let's break up."

The room went very quiet.

Cole tilted his head back and laughed. "You want to break up with me?"

I nodded. I turned to Vivian. "And you. As of this moment, we are not friends."

Cole sneered. "Who do you think you are? You think people are lining up to be your friend?"

I did not answer him. I watched Vivian. The corner of her mouth tugged up, smug, despite the tears.

After ten years, she still did not know who I actually was.

When I had met her, she had been a girl from the mountains on a financial-aid scholarship. The wealth gap would have made her uncomfortable, so I had never mentioned my family.

I had planned to tell her in time. I had planned to buy her a small place she liked.

I was glad I never had.

I held my ground. Cole grabbed Vivian's wrist and turned for the door.

"Selena, I am the GM of Hartline Mall. After the holiday, corporate is giving me equity in the branch. You broke up with me, don't come back."

I let out a cold laugh. "Aren't you suspended?"

He froze.

He had not thought I would know. He fumbled. "That's temporary. After a stampede, corporate has to do something for optics. You don't understand."

Vivian turned wide eyes on me. "Selena, are you breaking up with him because he's been suspended? You're so… so shallow."

Cole's face darkened. "Selena, so you're a gold-digger after all."

"You wait. Tomorrow's hearing is just a formality. The minute they reinstate me, you'll be sorry."

I watched his back disappear down the hallway. I finally let out a breath.

Equity? My father had floated that for him because he was my boyfriend. Without me, there was no equity.

After they left, I pulled up the floor surveillance from the night of the stampede. The corner where the foam cannon had been triggered was a blind spot for the mall cameras. I could not see who had operated it.

That was not a problem.

I forwarded the comms earpiece audio to Daniel Pierce, my attorney.

The next morning, I rolled my wheelchair to the meeting room.

Vivian was there too.

Pierce leaned in and lowered his voice.

"She's here as a witness for him. She's claiming the stampede was caused by insufficient on-site staffing."

I almost laughed.

Cole was trying to clear himself, but he did not realize this only made the mall more liable. As GM, he wouldn't escape responsibility anyway.

And I knew better than anyone. The staffing that night had already exceeded industry standards.

I was not going to let Cole and Vivian smear the company or push the blame onto innocent staff.

I signaled my assistant to push me forward.

The next second, Cole stepped in front of us.

He looked at me with clear disgust, then smiled. "You said you wanted to break up, and now you've followed me to the office anyway."

"Selena, don't you have any shame?"

My assistant looked between us. "Ms. Hart, he is your boyfriend?"

Cole answered before I could. "Yes, she's my girlfriend."

He straightened slightly.

"During the stampede, she threatened to break up with me unless I rescued her first. As a senior manager, I had to uphold fairness and prioritize the guests."

He spoke with conviction, as if he had rehearsed it.

My assistant frowned.

"To my knowledge, Ms. Hart was also attending the event that night in a personal capacity. She was a guest as well."

Cole was momentarily speechless.

Vivian quickly cut in. "Selena… she was actually fine."

"She only fell because she saw Cole rescue me first and felt upset. I saw it with my own eyes."

She glanced around nervously.

"She came here today… probably because she wants Cole to change his mind and get back together with her."

The employees nearby immediately started murmuring.

"So that's what happened! Mr. Cole is really impartial."

"Exactly. Putting guests before his own girlfriend, that's professionalism."

"His girlfriend is too selfish. Causing trouble at a time like that, even pretending to fall. She probably made the stampede worse."

Cole's eyes lit up, as if he had found a way out.

"That's right!" He pointed at me sharply.

"A big reason the situation became so chaotic was that she was making a scene and deliberately falling to obstruct the rescue!"

He glared at me.

"Selena, if your actions delayed the rescue and caused deaths, I would personally send you to prison!"

"And now you still have the nerve to come here asking to get back together?"

Pierce stepped forward.

"You must be Mr. Quinn.

"Ms. Hart is indeed here today because of you–but not for reconciliation."

Cole looked at him coldly.

"Not for reconciliation? You seem to know a lot. What, are you her new boyfriend?"

I took a deep breath and met his gaze.

"Cole, today's accountability hearing cannot proceed without me.

"Are you sure you want to keep blocking the way?"

He froze for a moment, then burst into exaggerated laughter.

"Can't proceed without you? Selena, who do you think you are?

"Today's hearing is being chaired by major shareholders. It's just a formality!

"What status do you have? What gives you the right to talk like that?"

The mockery on his face deepened, his tone turning condescending.

"Selena, I don't have time to deal with your nonsense.

"If you really want me to forgive you, get out of that chair right now and kneel in front of Vivian. Apologize."

As he spoke, he actually reached out to grab me from the wheelchair.

My assistant immediately stepped in front of me.

"Mr. Quinn, don't you dare!"

"Get out of my way!" Cole shoved her aside and roared.

"What wouldn't I dare do? I'm the general manager of this mall!"

"Today, I've found the person responsible for the stampede. Making her kneel and apologize is already being lenient!

"If anyone had died and the mall's reputation was damaged, I'd make her pay with her life!"

His hand reached toward my collar.

At that moment, the boardroom door opened, and my father's cold, authoritative voice rang out.

"You dare lay a hand on a Hartline shareholder? I'd like to see who has the death wish."