"Tell me everything about him and why he’s bothering you," Mrs. Claire demanded, her voice leaving no room for avoidance.
My breath caught in my throat. The room suddenly felt smaller, the weight of her gaze suffocating.
Then, like a switch flipping in my mind, Evelyn’s words from earlier resurfaced— ‘But you two have a history, don’t you?’
How did she know? Had Finn said something? Had someone else noticed? My stomach twisted.
With hesitation, I started speaking. My voice wavered, sometimes clear, sometimes barely above a whisper, like my mind was fighting itself on whether to say it out loud.
I told them—about the times he cornered me, the way he tried to force himself on me. The way he’d grabbed me, demanded things, forced me to kiss him, tried to make me… do things to him. The sickening moments when he’d slipped something into my drink, how I had woken up feeling violated, my body aching, my mind blank.
"He said… he has a video," I whispered, my voice cracking as shame clawed its way up my throat. My fingers curled into my lap, nails digging into my palms as I forced the words out. "That night… he said he recorded everything."
Mrs. Claire didn’t speak immediately. She just stared at me, her sharp eyes darkening with something I couldn’t quite name. The room was too quiet, save for the faint ticking of the clock on her desk and the distant hum of the city outside. My pulse pounded in my ears.
Her fingers, which had been resting lightly on the desk, slowly curled into a fist. She exhaled through her nose, the sound measured but tight, as if she were holding something back.
"You’re telling me this now," she said, her voice low but steady, "because you still think you can handle it on your own, don’t you?"
I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. My hands clenched in my lap. "I..." My voice cracked, and I hated that it did. "I didn’t want to cause trouble."
Mrs. Claire’s jaw tightened, and she leaned forward slightly. "Trouble?" she repeated, the word laced with disbelief. "Mae, this isn’t ‘trouble.’ This is a crime."
The weight of those words made my chest feel tight, but before I could respond, she turned to Evelyn, who had been standing still, gripping her notepad so tightly that her knuckles had gone pale.
"Get me everything we have on Finn," Mrs. Claire ordered, her voice sharp.
Evelyn, who usually carried a teasing, almost sarcastic air, had gone rigid. Her face was unreadable, but something burned behind her eyes. She nodded once. "Understood." Without another word, she turned on her heel and stepped out, already making calls.
Mrs. Claire turned her focus back to me, her expression unreadable. She studied me for a moment, as if trying to piece something together. Then, softer this time, she said, "Why didn’t you ask for help?"
I opened my mouth, then closed it. I didn’t know how to explain. Maybe because I thought no one would believe me. Maybe because I thought it was already too late.
Mrs. Claire’s gaze didn’t waver. "Tell me everything," she said. "From the beginning."
And just like that, my mind dragged me back to that night.
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[flashback]
 
It was supposed to be a simple gathering—a casual meet-up between old classmates after graduation. Finn had been the one to invite me, acting like we could be "just friends." I should have known better.
I remember the house—someone’s fancy rental, filled with music and laughter, the dim lighting making everything feel surreal. People were drinking, dancing, lost in their own little worlds. I was cautious, like always. I had barely touched my drink, but Finn had been persistent.
"Come on, Mae, loosen up," he had said, pushing another glass into my hand. "You’re always so uptight."
I had rolled my eyes, but I took a sip. Just enough to shut him up.
I shouldn’t have.
The effects weren’t immediate. At first, I had just felt warm, a little hazy—but then, suddenly, my limbs felt heavy. My vision blurred. The voices around me started to fade, melting into an indistinct hum. Something was wrong.
The flashes came in pieces—Finn’s hand on my shoulder, guiding me somewhere. My feet stumbling. My protests—weak, slurred. A dark room. A bed.
"Shhh," Finn had whispered, his breath too close, his hands too firm. "Just relax."
I had tried to push him away, but my body wouldn’t respond the way I wanted it to. My arms felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. I was trapped inside myself, powerless.
Then—blackness.
When I woke up, the room was spinning. My head pounded, my body ached, and something felt... wrong. My stomach twisted as realization crept in, slow and sickening.
Finn was beside me, shirtless, looking smug.
I had bolted upright, my hands trembling as I tried to piece together what had happened. My clothes were still on, but they felt dishevelled, misplaced. The air felt suffocating.
I remember the way Finn smirked as he tilted his phone toward me, the glow of the screen illuminating his smug expression. My fingers trembled as I snatched it from his hand, dread coiling tight in my stomach.
The video was shaky, as if he had recorded it in a hurry—but that only made it feel worse. The dim lighting cast eerie shadows over the room, but I could see myself clearly.
I was lying on the bed, my body limp, my arms sprawled awkwardly at my sides. My blouse had been pulled down slightly, exposing my collarbone. My head lolled to the side, my eyelids half-closed, a dazed, empty look in my eyes. I looked... lifeless. Like a doll someone had carelessly tossed aside.
My stomach twisted as I noticed his hand in the frame—trailing over my cheek, brushing my hair back, then sliding down my neck. I could hear his voice in the video, soft and taunting.
"See? You like it when I take care of you, don’t you?"
I wanted to throw up.
I tapped the screen, dragging the playback bar forward. Each second felt worse than the last. There was another clip—this time, closer. My lips parted slightly, my breathing slow, as if I was barely conscious. Finn’s hand slid down, hovering over my chest before his fingers trailed downward, followed by a scene where he unzipped his pants—I shut the phone off. My entire body felt cold.
Finn leaned back against the headboard, stretching lazily. "You were so cute last night," he said, voice dripping with amusement.
My stomach lurched. I wanted to scream, to hit him, to run. Instead, I forced my shaking hands to hold the phone out to him.
"Delete it," I demanded, my voice hoarse.
Finn only chuckled, slipping the phone from my grasp with ease. "Relax, babe," he murmured, his voice sickeningly smooth. "I’m not gonna post it… unless you make me."
My breath hitched.
That was the moment I realized—I wasn’t just a victim. I was a hostage.
.
.
.
            "Mae, work here. Be my assistant. No—actually, just stay close, follow me everywhere. You don’t have to do anything, just be by my side… until this is over." Claire’s words carried the weight of a command, yet her tone was softer—almost pleading, as if she needed me to agree.
"I can’t," I murmured, shaking my head. "If I do anything to upset him, he’ll lose control."
Claire’s gaze sharpened, her eyes flickering with something unreadable—concern, frustration, maybe even anger. She leaned forward slightly, her fingers lacing together as she rested them on her desk.
"Mae," she said, voice firm but gentle, "you're already living in fear of him. How much longer are you going to let him control you?"
I swallowed hard, my hands clenching into fists on my lap. "I—" My voice faltered.
She was right. I was afraid. Every time I ignored his messages, every time I walked past him in the office pretending not to notice his lingering stares, I felt that fear gnawing at me. But the alternative—confronting him, fighting back—felt even worse.
Claire sighed, rubbing her temple. "You're smart, Mae. You don’t have to fight him alone. Let me help you."
I hesitated, my heart pounding against my ribs. "I just... I don’t want to make it worse," I admitted.
Her expression darkened. "It’s already worse," she said flatly.
A silence stretched between us. I could feel Evelyn watching, waiting for my answer.
Claire leaned back in her chair, exhaling slowly. "Then let’s make sure it doesn’t get any further."
Her words sent a shiver down my spine.
"Stay here, Mae. If he sees that you’re not alone—if he knows you have protection—he won’t be able to push you around anymore."
I bit my lip, my thoughts racing. Could that really work? Would Finn back off just because I was under Claire’s wing?
I wanted to believe it.
But I also knew Finn. And I knew that if I provoked him—even unintentionally—he would retaliate.
"I need to think about it," I murmured.
Claire’s lips pressed into a thin line, but she nodded. "I’ll give you time," she said, her tone softer now.
But deep down, I knew time wasn’t something I had much of.
Claire watched me closely, her piercing gaze unwavering. “I won’t force you,” she said, though there was an unmistakable urgency in her voice. “But Mae… if you wait too long, the choice might be taken from you.”
Her words settled over me like a weight. She was right. Finn wasn’t the type to let things go. If anything, my silence had only emboldened him. And now, standing at this crossroads, I realized that pretending everything was fine wouldn’t make it so.
Evelyn shifted beside me, arms crossed, expression unreadable. “Mae, you don’t have to do this alone.”
I swallowed hard. Alone—that was exactly how I had felt all this time. Carrying this, burying it, convincing myself that as long as I could handle it, I should handle it. But what if handling it meant letting him keep his power over me?
Claire leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk. “Let me help you,” she said. “Not as your boss, not as Co-CEO—just as someone who doesn’t want to stand by while this continues.”
I hesitated, my fingers curling into fists. My body screamed at me to run, to keep my head down, to avoid any more confrontation. But my heart… my heart whispered that maybe, just maybe, I didn’t have to keep running.
I inhaled sharply, forcing myself to meet her gaze. “If I stay,” I said carefully, “what happens next?”
Claire exchanged a look with Evelyn before replying, her voice steady, resolute. “We make sure Finn never gets another chance to hurt you.”
The weight of Claire’s words lingered in the air between us. My fingers clenched against my lap, and I tried to steady my breathing. I needed time to process everything, but deep down, I knew I wouldn’t get that luxury.
Claire exhaled sharply, tapping her manicured nails against the desk. “Mae, I need you to listen carefully,” she said, her voice lower this time, almost calculated. “I don’t think you realize the gravity of this situation.”
I swallowed hard. “I do,” I whispered, but even I didn’t believe my own words.
“No,” she countered immediately, her sharp gaze locking onto mine. “You don’t. Because if you did, you would have come to me sooner.”
A lump formed in my throat, and I dropped my gaze. I had no answer to that.
Evelyn, who had been silently watching the exchange, finally spoke. “Mae, if Finn has that video, he holds power over you. He thinks he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants. We cannot allow that.”
I nodded slightly, but the fear was still gripping me. “I don’t know what to do,” I admitted.
Claire leaned forward, folding her hands together. “Then let me handle this.”
I frowned, uncertainty flickering through me. “What do you mean?”
She tilted her head, studying me. “I’m going to make sure Finn can never use that video against you. I’ll make sure it never sees the light of day.”
My pulse quickened. “How?”
Claire glanced at Evelyn, who gave a knowing nod before pulling out her phone and stepping aside to make a call. Claire then turned back to me. “I have resources, Mae. People who specialize in handling situations like this.”
The way she said it sent a shiver down my spine. It wasn’t a threat, but there was an unshakable authority in her voice that made me believe her without question.
“People?” I echoed.
She nodded. “IT specialists, legal advisors, private investigators—whatever it takes. But first, we need to figure out where Finn is keeping that video.”
Evelyn returned, her phone still in hand. “We’ll have someone start digging into his devices, his cloud storage, his social media activity—anything that could lead us to the video.”
The room felt suddenly smaller, like the walls were closing in. This was moving too fast. Too real.
Claire must have sensed my hesitation because her voice softened. “Mae,” she said gently, “I know this is overwhelming. But you need to trust me. If we don’t act now, Finn will always have this power over you. You don’t want to live like that, do you?”
I shook my head, a lump forming in my throat. “No.”
“Then let me take care of this.”
I took a deep breath. “Okay,” I whispered.
Claire nodded approvingly before turning back to Evelyn. “I want every trace of that video erased. If he has backups, I want them destroyed.”
Evelyn smirked. “Consider it done.”
Claire then turned her gaze back to me. “And as for Finn… he needs to know he’s not untouchable.”
A cold dread settled in my stomach. “What are you going to do to him?”
Claire’s lips curled into something that wasn’t quite a smile. “Let’s just say he’s about to learn what happens when he crosses the wrong people.”
Evelyn interjected, “We’ll also have legal papers drawn up. If he ever dares to share anything, he’ll be ruined before he even thinks about it.”
I sucked in a breath. “But what if he doesn’t stop?”
Claire’s expression turned deadly serious. “Then he won’t have a choice.”
Before I could ask what she meant, Evelyn’s phone buzzed. She glanced at the screen and then up at Claire. “They’re in.”
Claire’s eyes gleamed. “That was fast.”
Evelyn shrugged. “Well, he’s not exactly careful. His cloud storage has multiple unsecured backups. We have access now.”
I gripped the armrest of my chair. “So… you have the video?”
Evelyn nodded. “And all copies of it.”
My breath hitched. “Just like that?”
Claire smiled, but there was something cold in her gaze. “Just like that.”
Relief flooded through me, but it was quickly replaced by a new kind of fear. “And Finn? What’s stopping him from trying again?”
Claire’s smirk turned razor-sharp. “Oh, don’t worry. By the time I’m done with him, he’ll wish he had never even looked in your direction.”
I shuddered. For the first time in years, I felt like maybe—just maybe—I wasn’t powerless anymore.