Chapter 189: At her workstation, Aimee gnawed her lower lip, her anger evident. She quickly photographed a forum post, sending it to Allison without hesitation.

"Ms. Clarke, there's some nasty stuff about you on the forum. You might want to address it before things escalate."

Allison skimmed the image, then lazily opened the internal forum on her own phone. One look, and she rolled her eyes. She didn't need a detective to identify the culprit.

"I'll handle it," she replied.

Closing her phone, Allison briefly studied the photo before turning to Kellan. "Mr. Lloyd, could I borrow your laptop for a bit?" Without a word, Kellan handed it over.

Meanwhile, Thea grinned, reading the comments. She savored the imagined discomfort creeping into Allison's day—the sidelong glances, the whispered judgments, the suffocating atmosphere. It gave her twisted satisfaction.

Then, a new comment appeared: "Spreading rumors with a few shady pictures? Seems like the poster forgot about the jail time some people got for less. Got any actual proof?"

Thea's smirk vanished. She slammed the report button, then frantically checked the post's rising popularity, scrambling to log into several alternate accounts.

"Proof? I saw Allison years ago, practically begging Mr. Lloyd for a loan. God knows what she did to get into our company! Remember Rodrigo, that fussy client? I watched Allison hand him her room key once. Says a lot about her character."

More defamatory comments flooded in, all subtly echoing the same narrative. It was almost comically repetitive.

Allison watched calmly, her trap set. Patience was key.

Office workers, drawn to the spectacle, gathered around, even dragging in coworkers. The forum post exploded in popularity, spreading to other platforms. Allison glanced at the view count. The moment had arrived.

Her fingers flew across the keyboard, navigating the company intranet and bypassing security with ease. One final keystroke, and the forum froze. Then, it refreshed, revealing the true identities behind the anonymous posts. Names and IDs appeared, shocking everyone. Even lurkers were stunned: every fake persona belonged to Thea.

Disbelief rippled through the internet. Whispers restarted, but with a different tone.

"What in the world? How much hate does Thea have to pretend to be all these people just to trash Allison? Seriously? You don't need a degree to see this was a setup. I don't know Allison that well, but Thea? That tracks. Sorry, Allison, I guess I misjudged you."

Thea sat speechless, staring blankly at her name plastered across the forum.