An employee blasted me on TikTok, accusing me of not approving her wedding leave.

Ainsley Castillo ranted, "Our marriage rates are low; birth rates are low. It's all because of toxic capitalists like you! You won't even approve my wedding leave. In your eyes, am I just a workhorse? Not even a person? I believed your nonsense about building an all-women company and a women-friendly workplace. Now your true bloodsucking capitalist face is showing!"

The video blew up instantly, and countless young people empathized with her hardcore. They piled on online, cursing me, even doxxing me and sending razor blades.

As the boss, I went live and confronted her head-on. "Sorry, but I can't approve her wedding leave. She can quit and go through labor arbitration, or sue me, but her wedding leave is out of the question."

The live stream exploded in views that day. Among the supporters for her, some claimed to be lawyers, offering to sue me pro bono.

But Ainsley looked troubled. "I just want my wedding leave. I never thought about quitting, let alone suing her."

Ainsley Castillo's act of playing the victim totally won over the comments.

[Oh my God! Look what they've driven her to!]

[And she is still so polite to that vixen?]

[Paige Russell, you're inhumane! You've driven your employee to the brink!]

[Lawyers, team up and sue her for abusing her power!]

[She's just jealous! She can't get married herself, so she won't let her employees tie the knot.]

My image as a jealous witch was sealed in an instant. My assistant, Chloe, and a few other employees spoke up to defend me.

"That's not how it is!"

"It's Ainsley's fault."

"Ms. Russell didn't mean it that way."

Their quiet rebuttals got picked up by the mic, and the live chat blew up immediately.

[Did you hear that? She's threatening her employees!]

[Those women are chiming in to back her up.]

[Oh God, this company is terrifying! Full of villains!]

[They have been brainwashed! Still defending her?]

[Is this some kind of cult company?]

My personal phone buzzed like crazy on the desk. The screen flashed with the name of my investor, Gabriele Dodson.

I ignored it, staring at the camera and the flood of online curses. They called me inhumane, crazy, and mentally twisted.

Right in front of millions of viewers, I shut down the live stream.

The screen went black, and the broadcast ended in my total defeat. Ainsley gained the sympathy of the entire internet, while I was labelled as a jealous, gaslighting, and toxic capitalist who abused the employees.

The next day, I had just arrived in the office when the operations director rushed in, her face as pale as a sheet. "Madam, we've got a problem. Our products have been pulled from every platform, citing serious issues with our values. And our partners sent unilateral termination letters."

The company was grinding to a halt, the gravity of the situation hanging in the air.

Suddenly, the office door got kicked open. Gabriele stormed in with a fierce expression, slamming his phone down on my desk.

"Paige Russell!" he roared, jabbing his finger at my nose. "Why did you hang up on me yesterday? Are you out of your mind? For one intern, you're gonna ruin everything for everyone?"

Before I could respond, Vice President Victoria Gray stepped in front of him. "Mr. Dodson, calm down. Paige is the most upright person I know. She must have her reasons."

Gabriele wasn't impressed. "What, you've been brainwashed, too? What kind of perks did she give you? Why is everyone defending her?"

Victoria ignored him and pulled out her phone. Right in front of him, she logged into her verified account and posted: [I stake my reputation to say that Ms. Paige Russell is the best boss ever. She is nothing like what they're saying online.]

My assistant, who had spoken up in the live stream, along with a few women from tech and marketing, all commented under the post.

[Our culture is the best in the industry. No bullying is allowed here.]

[Ms. Russell is great to every one of us.]

[We stand with Ms. Russell!]

The post, along with the comments, shot to trending soon after.

Within ten minutes, Ainsley posted a new video, screenshotting Victoria's post and those comments.

She choked with sobs, shaking all over. "I'm so scared. They're all bullying me! Paige Russell has turned the company into her personal dictatorship. All the employees have been brainwashed. They're all in cahoots. This place is terrifying. They're ganging up to attack me!"

"In cahoots" became the new trending term. A massive cyberbullying campaign against my employees kicked off.

Victoria's home address got leaked. Her kid's photo got photoshopped into an obituary and spread everywhere. Chloe's phone blew up with curses and death threats.

Every employee who supported me got doxxed. Their inboxes overflowed with hateful DMs.

[Bootlicking bitch!]

[Brainwashed idiot! You deserve it!]

[May your whole family drop dead!]

When Victoria came to me, her eyes were swollen, and her mental state was unstable. She deleted the post, weeping, "Paige, I'm sorry. My kid is only three, and my husband wants to divorce me. Those people are monsters."

She handed in her resignation, and so did Chloe and those from the tech and marketing departments. The employees who had defended me yesterday collapsed under the nonstop harassment and threats. They quit one by one.

Ainsley became the hero fighting against office politics, and the company got slapped with labels like "in cahoots" and "pyramid scheme brainwashing".

Our reputation was in the gutter.

A week later, I sat alone in the deserted office. On my computer screen, the whole internet was pushing videos of Ainsley and her fiancé in happy interviews.

The man hugged her, promising on camera to protect her forever.

My DMs were stuffed with all sorts of curses wishing me and my family dead. Worse still, they exposed my personal info—ID, home address, and phone number, and pasted them everywhere.

People kept splashing red paint on my apartment door. Black marker scrawled "toxic hag" and "to hell". The property manager cleaned it three times a day and still couldn't keep up.

My mom called, scolding me, "Paige, have you lost it? Look at what they're saying online! Throw away your company over something so small? Hurry up and apologize to that girl!"

My dad yelled in the background, "You're just twisted because you can't get married! Jealous of that girl's happiness! You've shamed our family!"

I hung up, but my peace was short-lived as Ainsley went live again in a big way, streaming her wedding preparations from trying on dresses and picking rings to decorating the new house.

In every stream, she shaded me. "I really gotta thank my ex-boss. Her oppression made me see who truly loves me. Why do women have to make it hard on each other? Hope she can get over it someday."

Comments gushed: [Ainsley, you're so kind.]

Gabriele called an emergency board meeting and gave me an ultimatum. "Paige, you have two options. One: hold a press conference right now, apologize to Ainsley, approve her leave, and compensate her for emotional distress. Two: all shareholders will dilute your shares and boot you out. Your choice."

"I refuse to apologize," I said flatly.

Gabriele paused, then cursed, "You're a lunatic!"

The call ended abruptly.

The next day, the industry blackballed me, removing my name from every business forum. I went from a star entrepreneur to a disgrace. No one dared mention me again.

Ainsley posted her wedding invite e-card on social media. She didn't block me; she even tagged a few ex-colleagues who'd quit, including Victoria and Chloe.

She made sure I saw it.

That night, my best friend came to talk me down. She looked at my paint-splattered door, heartbroken. "Paige, you can't fight public opinion. Ruining ten years of hard work over a newbie? Not worth it! Just swallow your pride and make an apology. It will blow over. Why so stubborn?"

I didn't explain, just staring out the window. Looking at the shocking red paint on my door, I felt nothing inside.

I opened my phone notes, quietly jotting down Ainsley's wedding date and the hotel venue from the invite.

The board issued a public statement: [Due to Paige Russell's egregious personal conduct, which has caused irreparable damage to the company brand, by unanimous board decision, effective immediately, she is removed from her CEO position, and all her shares are frozen.]

I got fired from the company I founded. The news hit, and the internet celebrated.

Ainsley's wedding happened on the same day. She live-streamed the whole thing, with viewership breaking ten million.

She wore an expensive custom gown and flawless makeup, basking in her life's peak moment.

In the stream, a viewer brought me up. [What happened to your toxic boss? Is she dead?]

Ainsley covered her mouth, faking sympathy. "Oh, guys, don't bring her up today. It's my big day. I actually feel bad for her; she's got nothing left now."

Her eyes gleamed with smug challenge on camera. "If she thinks I faked documents or lied about anything, she can totally sue me."

She chuckled, "I'm waiting for her lawyer's letter."

The chat erupted in laughter.

[Hahaha, like she can afford a lawyer now?]

[Let her bring it to court. See if she will win.]

[Ainsley, just ignore that crazy hag.]

My phone rang again. It was my mom, her voice breaking. "Paige, please stop being so stubborn. Your dad had a heart attack and was hospitalized. We're old; we can't handle this social pressure."

I hung up without responding, but then, a message came from Victoria: [Paige, I've given up. I can't fight them; I'm just a regular person. You should, too.]

Silent, I watched the live feed. Ainsley and her groom were about to exchange rings.

It was about time. I shut off the stream.

At the wedding venue, the music hit its climax, and the crowd cheered.

"Now, the groom may kiss the bride!" announced the priest.

Right then, the ballroom doors flung open, the huge noise drowning out the music. Every guest, plus millions watching live, looked over.

Ainsley stiffened at the sight of me, her face going pale. She pointed a finger at me, screeching, "Security! Get this crazy woman out! She's here to cause trouble!"

The guards rushed over in a panic, but I was unstoppable. Ignoring her screams and the stunned guests on both sides, I walked straight to the stage.

The priest was too shocked to speak. The groom, Donovan Pope, shielded Ainsley, yelling, "What are you doing here? Get out!"

I took the mic from the priest, smirking at Ainsley. My voice wasn't loud, but it echoed through the speakers across the room and the stream. "Relax. I'm here to deliver a gift."

I turned to the cameras and guests, holding up a flash drive. "You wanna sue me? Watch the evidence first."

I went aside to the control console and plugged in the device before the staff could react. The screen flickered on, displaying a file—Ainsley's onboarding paperwork at my company.

The livestream viewers froze.

I grabbed a laser pointer, a red dot landing precisely on the key date. It was the day before her wedding leave request.

The room went dead silent for three seconds. Then a round of gasps echoed.