I strode through the front entrance of Marino Tech without slowing down.
By the time I reached the executive floor, two large glass doors stood between me and my office.
Bianca was waiting in front of them.
The sight of her made my stomach turn.
She was wearing the designer dress I had bought her several months earlier after she'd shown up at my house in tears, confessing she was about to be evicted because she couldn't pay her rent. I had even invented the role of Executive Assistant so she could have a stable paycheck.
Now she stood there like a loyal guard dog, keeping me away from the office that belonged to me.
"You can't go in there, Sam," she said, folding her arms.
"Step aside, Bianca," I replied evenly, refusing to raise my voice. "I have a meeting with Ms. Harrington and the investors in less than ten minutes."
"Lorenzo told everyone you're on medical leave," she answered without moving an inch. "He's leading the meeting today. You should head home and get some rest. You're... not in the right condition."
I walked closer until we were barely a foot apart.
"I'm the founder of this company," I said. "I'm also the majority shareholder. Move, or consider this your termination."
A smug smile tugged at the corner of her lips.
"You don't have the authority anymore," she said. "Lorenzo's the one signing payroll now."
I refused to waste another second arguing with her.
I stepped past her and reached for the door handle.
Suddenly, Bianca hurled herself sideways.
The performance would've been laughable if it hadn't been so calculated.
My sleeve barely grazed her arm, yet she let out an exaggerated scream before throwing herself onto the carpet. She grabbed her ankle dramatically and cried out in pain.
"Please... Alessandra, stop!" she sobbed loudly.
The conference room doors burst open.
Lorenzo rushed out first, followed closely by Ms. Harrington and the rest of the board members.
He hurried to Bianca's side and knelt beside her.
"Bianca?" he asked urgently. "What happened?"
With tears pooling in her eyes, she pointed a trembling finger toward me.
"She pushed me," she whispered between fake sobs. "I only told her she couldn't interrupt the meeting, and she lost control. She shoved me."
"That's a lie," I said immediately. "She threw herself onto the floor."
Lorenzo slowly rose to his feet, wearing an expression of perfectly rehearsed outrage.
"Alessandra," he said, shaking his head in disappointment. "Have you really reached the point where you're assaulting employees? Assaulting your own best friend?"
"She stopped being my friend a long time ago."
Ignoring him, I turned directly to the investors.
"Ms. Harrington, I apologize for this interruption," I said. "My husband is trying to force me out by convincing everyone that I'm mentally unstable. None of it is true, and I'm fully prepared to conduct today's meeting."
Ms. Harrington looked visibly uneasy.
Her eyes drifted from Bianca, who was still pretending to cry on the floor, back to me.
"Alessandra..." she began carefully. "We were informed about what happened at the police station... and about your psychiatric admission."
"There was never anything wrong with me," I replied firmly. "The entire situation was manipulated."
Before she could answer, Lorenzo stepped in.
"She's experiencing another episode," he said gravely. "Can't you see it? Look at her. She's manic."
He turned toward the board with an apologetic sigh.
"I'm truly sorry all of you have to witness this. I'll take care of my wife. Please go back inside while I handle the situation."
Then his voice rang through the hallway.
"Security."
The two guards stationed near the elevators glanced at one another.
I'd known both of them for years.
Neither moved immediately.
Lorenzo addressed Ms. Harrington with calm professionalism.
"According to our corporate bylaws," he explained, "if Alessandra is medically unfit to perform her duties, executive authority temporarily transfers to her spouse until she's cleared to return. That makes me acting CEO."
"I understand," Ms. Harrington replied quietly.
She gave me a sympathetic look that somehow hurt more than outright condemnation.
"Alessandra... perhaps going home would be best. We can't afford instability during negotiations for a merger this important."
I looked around the hallway.
Not one person saw the woman who had founded Marino Tech.
They saw a problem.
A risk.
If I exploded, Lorenzo would have exactly the reaction he wanted.
If I fought back physically, I'd only strengthen his story.
Slowly, I relaxed my clenched hands.
"Very well," I said, my voice colder than ice. "Enjoy the meeting, Lorenzo."
I held his gaze.
"This is far from over."
Without another word, I turned and walked away.
As I reached the elevators, I caught Bianca flashing me a triumphant smile before Lorenzo helped her hobble theatrically into my office.
My office.
I spent the rest of the afternoon alone inside the mansion, quietly packing my belongings into moving boxes.
Just after six o'clock, I heard the front door open.
"Alessandra?"
Lorenzo's voice carried through the foyer.
I stepped onto the upstairs landing and looked down.
He had one arm wrapped around Bianca's waist, helping her inside.
Her ankle was wrapped neatly in a spotless elastic bandage that looked as though it had come straight out of its packaging.
I folded my arms.
"What is she doing here?"
"She's staying with us for a while," Lorenzo answered casually as he settled her onto the living room sofa. "With the ankle injury you caused, she can't manage the stairs to her apartment. Besides, someone needs to keep an eye on you while I'm working."
I gave a humorless laugh.
"Keep an eye on me? I'm neither a child nor an inmate."
He shrugged while removing his suit jacket.
"You're emotionally unstable," he replied matter-of-factly. "Bianca offered to help. She'll make your meals and remind you to take your medication."
"I'm not taking medication," I shot back. "And I certainly don't want her living in my house."
"Our house," Lorenzo corrected smoothly. "Seriously, why are you making such a big deal out of this? She's been your best friend since kindergarten."
He looked at me with practiced innocence, as though he hadn't spent the past week systematically destroying my life.
As though he hadn't forced me onto our bed.
As though I hadn't seen every photograph exposing his affair.
A memory surfaced before I could stop it.
Bianca and I sitting cross-legged on our dorm room floor, splitting instant noodles because neither of us could afford anything else.
Bianca holding my hair while morning sickness left me kneeling over a toilet during my first pregnancy.
Bianca wrapping me in her arms after I miscarried.
"I'll never leave your side, Sam. Sisters before misters, remember?"
The memory felt like a blade twisting deeper into my chest.
"We're not friends anymore," I said quietly as I descended the staircase.
"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Bianca replied sweetly from the couch, carefully elevating her supposedly injured foot. "I know you're overwhelmed right now, Sammy. You don't have to lash out. I've already forgiven you for pushing me."
I stopped directly in front of her.
"You've forgiven me?"
She smiled with infuriating sweetness.
"Of course. I know you didn't mean it."
I looked straight into her eyes.
"The moment you climbed into bed with my husband, you stopped being anything to me."
Silence swallowed the room.
Lorenzo froze beside the liquor cabinet.
Bianca's smile disappeared.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about," she stammered, instinctively looking toward Lorenzo. "See? She's doing this again. She's imagining things."
"I've read every message," I said. "I've seen every picture. Remember calling me a 'frigid bitch'? Or have you conveniently forgotten that too?"
Bianca recoiled against the cushions.
"You're sick," she cried. "None of that happened! You're inventing things!"
"That's enough!" Lorenzo thundered, slamming his hand against the wet bar with enough force to make the glasses rattle. "Stop harassing her! You're completely out of control!"
"No," I shouted back. "I'm the woman who covered her rent when she had nowhere to go. I'm the one who handed her a career when every company turned her away. And this is how she repays me? By sleeping with my husband?"
"She's going to attack me again!" Bianca shrieked, tears streaming down her face with suspiciously perfect timing. "Lorenzo, she's dangerous!"
Something inside me finally broke.
"Dangerous?" I repeated quietly.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips.
"You haven't seen dangerous yet."
Before either of them could react, I swung my hand.
The slap cracked across Bianca's face so loudly that the sound echoed through the cavernous living room.
