Chapter 1Warnings Saved Me From Her Trap

My coworker, Simone, waddled over to my desk, holding her rounded belly.

"Nora, could you let me crash at your apartment near the office for a few months?"

"Commuting across town while pregnant is killing me. I really can't take it anymore. I promise I'll move out the second I give birth."

I was just about to nod when a line of floating text materialized right before my eyes.

[Don't nod.]

A second later, dense streams of bullet comments flooded across my vision like a bright projection screen.

[The fetus in her belly lost its heartbeat three days ago.]

[The child belongs to your boyfriend, Sam.]

[Tonight, Simone will collapse inside your apartment. She'll cry to everyone that you lost your mind with jealousy after discovering the truth, pushing her down the stairs.]

[At that exact moment, your home network will leak the confidential bidding price for the company's major project.]

[You'll be suspended, dragged through the dirt online, held legally liable by the company, and branded as a monster who killed a pregnant woman's baby and sold out trade secrets.]

I stared at those glowing words, a bone-chilling cold creeping up my spine inch by inch.

Simone stood there, waiting expectantly for my answer.

I looked down at her slightly swollen waistline, then slowly closed my laptop.

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice steady.

"I don't lend my home out to anyone."

* * *

The conference room fell into a dead silence for several seconds.

Simone's eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"Did I make things difficult for you? I'm so sorry, Nora. I just thought being closer to the office would make it easier to handle late-night project changes."

The product manager sitting next to me leaned in and whispered, "Nora, your place usually sits empty anyway."

Another colleague chimed in to coax me. "Yeah, it's only for a few months. Simone's still pushing through work despite being heavily pregnant. It really isn't easy for her."

Trent, sitting at the head of the table, tapped his knuckles against the mahogany surface.

"Nora, we're at a critical phase of the project right now. Supporting team members isn't a bad thing."

I raised my eyes to meet his gaze. "Trent, if this involves an employee borrowing private property, does it need to go through formal corporate compliance registration?"

Trent frowned. "There's no need to make something so simple so complicated."

"Then it's even more inappropriate," I replied, clicking the cap back onto my pen.

"That apartment is my private property, not a company resource."

"If Simone needs a place to stay, she can apply for a corporate housing stipend according to company policy. I'll gladly sign off on her request."

Simone bit her lower lip, tears hanging delicately from her lashes.

"But finding a place on short notice is so hard right now, and anything close to the office is way too expensive."

"Nora, I thought after working through so many late nights together, we were friends."

The moment those words left her mouth, the atmosphere in the room turned uncomfortably tense.

I didn't take the emotional bait. "Even friends need boundaries."

Someone murmured quietly in the corner. "That's so cold-hearted."

"She's probably just terrified Simone will steal her credit for the project later."

"Being pregnant isn't a crime. Is there really a need to guard against her like she's an enemy?"

More bullet comments drifted across my vision.

[She's putting you on the hot seat.]

[Don't bother explaining. The more you defend yourself, the more guilty you look to them.]

[Sam will call you in ten minutes.]

Less than ten minutes after the meeting adjourned, my phone vibrated in my hand.

"Nora, I heard you turned Simone down today?"

I stood inside the quiet stairwell, staring out at the hazy, gray sky beyond the windowpane.

"Word travels fast to you."

He let out a low, smooth chuckle over the line. "A lot of people at our two firms went to college together. The group chats are buzzing. Don't take it to heart, babe. I'm just worried people will misunderstand you."

"And?"

"She's a pregnant woman, Nora. There's no reason to sour your relationship over this. It's just crash space. You could always have her sign a short-term agreement."

The comments floated past, icy and sharp.

[Listen to how considerate he sounds.]

[He still remembers the backup door code to your place.]

[He literally sent photos of your living room to Simone last week.]

My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles turned pale.

"Sam, do you know Simone well?"

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line.

"I've heard her name around. We aren't close."

I let out a soft smile. "Not close, huh?"

"Of course not. Babe, have you been overly stressed lately? Don't overcomplicate things or assume the worst in people."

"Right," I said, and hung up the phone.

I didn't confront him. I didn't scream.

The bullet comments were right.

Tearing off the mask right now would only warn them to switch tactics early.

I walked back to my desk and sent a quick message to Audrey, our senior legal counsel.

"Are you free tonight? I need your help securing some evidence."

She replied almost instantly. "What happened?"

I glanced toward Simone, who was sitting a short distance away, wiping her eyes with her head lowered.

"Someone wants to borrow my apartment."

"And take my life while they're at it."