"Fuck this..."
The boardroom was silent. Even though no one spoke, she felt their eyes, cold, dissecting, waiting for the moment she fell so they could rip her apart like vultures.
"Therefore, we have collectively decided that you lose your position as CEO," the head director announced, his voice calm, almost bored. "Because you failed at everything."
Her breath hitched. The room spun. She couldn't hear her own heartbeat over the deafening silence pressing against her ears.
This wasn't real.
She glanced around, searching for an ally. But the very people she had promoted, the ones she had lifted up, had turned against her without hesitation.
All except one.
Tyler Norman.
He leaned back in his chair, lips curling into a smug, satisfied smirk.
His presence was a forced necessity, a parasite latched onto the company thanks to his father, a judge with too much influence.
If not for that connection, he would've been the one getting thrown out, not her.
"You poor performance has affected the company," one of the directors droned on. "You leaked player data. You treat employees poorly."
No. No, no, no—this couldn't be happening.
This company had her name on it.
It was her genius that built it from the ground up.
She was the one who worked nights without sleep, pouring everything she had into making it thrive while these nepotism brats walked into cushy positions with nothing but their family names.
Despite knowing all this, her hands trembled.
Because she knew she couldn't fight back.
Not this time.
But how? How had their data been leaked? How had their ideas been stolen and sold to competitors? Now, everyone believed she was the copycat.
"Y-You can't be serious, right?"
"Just admit it," another board member sneered. "That you stole ideas. That you were hooking up with employees."
This was a setup. A coordinated takedown.
And the accusations?
Fraud.
Embezzlement.
Market manipulation
Falsifying financial reports.
Bribery.
Even sexual harrassment.
Unfortunately, the list went on.
She turned, desperate. "Pablo, tell them!" She lurched from her chair, voice cracking with panic, fingers gripping the table like a lifeline. "I didn't do any of this!"
He didn't move. Didn't even look at her.
The man who had built this company with her from nothing, who had stood beside her through thick and thin, he turned away.
"All of you can't do this to me!" She yelled, desperate.
"Guards, take her!"
The guards moved. A strong hand gripped her arm, another seized her shoulder, and just like that, she was dragged out of her own company.
Thrown to the curb like garbage.
And as she sat there, the weight of it all pressing down on her, she realized...
She had lost everything.
Afterwards, years had passed.Â
She was now thirty-one. And she still had to hide.
Her apartment was a breeding ground for cockroaches, her eyebags ran deeper than her bank account, her family had long since cut ties, and—oh, to top it all off—she was still a virgin.
"Thanks for watching!"
She flashed the camera a bright, forced smile, giving a thumbs-up with the manufactured energy of someone who definitely had their life together—or at least pretended to. The moment she hit the "end stream" button, the facade crumbled.
Her money depended on this. Streaming was all she had left.
But no matter how many times she changed accounts, no matter how carefully she tried to escape, they always found her.
"It's Violetta Osborne, report this account."
"Disgusting filthy shit."
She sighed, rubbing her temples. "What do I even do?"
There was only one account that ever supported her. Erin. Her last friend. The only person who still gave a damn.
Lately, Erin had been raving about some new VR MMORPG—Merlysian Realms. A beta test. Apparently, she was the only player. Why Erin thought giving it to her was a good idea, Violetta had no clue. She was hated by the gaming community, after all.
She glanced at the clock. 4 a.m. The daily reset.
Violetta stared at it with the hollow gaze of someone who had long abandoned the concept of bedtime. "Should I sleep... or should I head to bed?" She paused. "Nah. Reset it is."
She slipped on the VR headset.
And played. And played. And played.
Energy drinks fueled her. The artificial neon glow of the game world blurred into her darkened reality.
Suddenly, her vision swam. Her stomach twisted.
Something was wrong.
"Fuck—did I overdose on energy drinks?"
A sharp pain erupted in her gut. She lurched forward, retching violently, vomit spilling as dizziness crashed over her.
Her body felt light. Too light.
No way.
Was she dying?
She couldn't feel herself anymore afterall.
Only the disgusting release from her mouth, the acidity of her stomach contents spilling from her lips.
Even as her body failed, her mind clung to desperation. She still wanted everything back. She still wanted to fight.
If only she hadn't trusted the wrong people.
If only she had been more careful.
If only she had been more skeptical.
If only she hadn't been so... passionate.
Maybe then, her life wouldn't have turned into this wreckage.
Her limbs went numb. The world blurred. She could feel her soul slipping away.
"I'm so sorry, Erin..."
Darkness swallowed her whole.
And she died.
...
....
[Initializing...] [Consciousness Transportation in Progress...]
[0%...]
[1%...]
[2%...]
[ERROR: SYSTEM UNRESPONSIVE. REBOOTING...]
....
[CONSCIOUSNESS TRANSFER INCOMPLETE.]
[PLEASE STANDBY.]