Bella’s heart sank. Denial rose in her throat. "What? No..."

Her mind raced, trying to comprehend how the pen drive had ended up there. She knew Olivia must have planted it, but proving that seemed impossible in the face of such blatant deceit.

Meanwhile, Amy reached for her phone. Her fingers flew across the screen, dialing a number sneakily.

"Hello? Bella is in trouble. Olivia accused her of stealing." After hearing something from the other end of the phone, she nodded and said reassuringly, "I understand. I know exactly what I should do. Don’t worry, Mr. Reid, I’ll handle this matter."

Ending the call, she sneaked away.

The accusation hung heavy in the air, a dark cloud threatening to engulf Bella. Coworkers murmured amongst themselves, their expressions ranging from shock to skepticism.

Bella felt their eyes on her, judging and condemning her without knowing the truth. Her hands trembled slightly as she tried to maintain her composure.

"I didn’t steal it," Bella exclaimed, desperate to prove her innocence. "I don’t know how it comes here. I didn’t do anything."

A fresh wave of panic crashed over her. How could she convince them that she had not stolen it when the pen drive, a damning piece of evidence, lay on her desk?

Olivia, seizing the advantage, pressed her attack. "Then how do you explain this, Bella?" she questioned sharply, her accusatory gaze pinning Bella in her place. "I told you about my task, and showed you the very pen drive you now claim to know nothing about. You were jealous of me, weren’t you? I can’t believe you’d stoop to such a level to sabotage me!"

Bella’s anger battled with her rising anxiety. "Stop spreading lies," she retorted vehemently, her hands shaking. "I have no issue with Amy assigning tasks, or your little game of currying favor. Why would I steal the pen drive?"

"To prove that you are the most efficient one here," Olivia barked. "Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Instead of apologizing to me and accepting your mistakes, you are yelling at me."

"Mistake? I haven’t done anything wrong!" Bella spat, rising in frustration. "Why should I apologize for something I didn’t do?"

Just then, the air crackled with a new presence. Ivy, her trademark arrogance radiating from her like a heat wave, sauntered into the fray. "What the hell is this commotion about?" she barked.

Bella couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Olivia was a headache enough, but Ivy’s arrival felt like another orchestrated blow, a planned attack.

Bella couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Dealing with Olivia alone was a headache, and now Ivy had arrived to add to the already tense situation. Her arrival didn’t seem coincidental. Bella suspected that Olivia and Ivy had planned something nasty against her.

Ivy crossed her arms, her gaze shifting between Bella and Olivia. "What’s going on here?" she demanded, her tone icy.

"Bella stole my pen drive," Olivia accused, her voice dripping with self-righteous indignation. "I found it on her desk. She is trying to sabotage me."

Bella’s heart sank further. She felt trapped, cornered by the accusations and the malicious intent behind them. "That’s not true!" she protested. "I didn’t take it. Someone must have planted it there."

"Look at her," Olivia cried out, pointing her finger at her. "She is caught red-handed, yet she does not accept her mistake."

Before Bella could say something to her defense, Ivy’s hand shot out, the stinging slap echoing in the room.

"Stealing?" she roared, her glare cutting through Bella like a knife. "How dare you?"

Bella, caught off guard, froze. Her hand flew to her cheek, the embers of a fresh slap igniting under her fingertips. Gasps filled the air, and even Olivia was seemingly stunned by the sudden violence.

"We don’t tolerate such actions here!" Ivy spat. "There’s no place for a criminal in this office. Your place is in jail! Let me call the cops."

Panic threatened to consume Bella, but a spark of defiance ignited within her. "Okay, go on," she choked out, trembling slightly. "Call the cops. I did nothing wrong. I have nothing to fear."

Olivia, her face twisted in disdain, sneered. "Look at her!" she hissed. "She has no regret at all, Miss Hill. You should call the cops. She not only tried to sabotage me but also to create a problem for the company."

Raising the pen drive high, she continued, her voice dripping with suspicion, "This pen drive holds crucial information. Maybe she was planning to give it to our rivals. Or who knows what she was intending to do? We shouldn’t let her go unpunished."

The room was immediately filled with whispered speculations and uncertain glances. Bella stood her ground, feeling the weight of injustice pressing down on her. She knew the truth and was determined to prove her innocence, no matter how dire the situation seemed.

"Bella, you are shameless," Olivia hissed with venomous satisfaction. "You should be punished for this."

"What is going on here?" a booming voice echoed through the room, demanding everyone’s attention. Zack strode confidently towards the commotion, Amy trailing close behind. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

His eyes narrowed as he surveyed the scene. His expression was unreadable, but the air crackled with the weight of his authority.

Bella whipped her head around, a flicker of hope igniting in her chest. Would Zack see through Olivia and Ivy’s lies? Would he believe her if she declared her innocence?

Olivia, on the other hand, seemed momentarily flustered by Zack’s imposing presence. She quickly regained her composure, but a subtle tremor betrayed the nervousness flickering beneath the surface.

Ivy, however, seemed to take Zack’s arrival as a golden opportunity. A triumphant glint flickered in her eyes, radiating a chilling confidence. She finally got a chance to make Zack fire Bella.

"Zack, thank goodness you’re here," Ivy said, stepping forward with a calculated calmness. "Call the cops. This thief deserves to be locked up! We can’t have someone stealing from others in this office. Throw her out!"

Zack cut through her tirade with a booming voice. "Hold on!" The room fell silent under his command. "You’re accusing her of stealing. Do you have any proof?"

Olivia, eager to capitalize on the situation, chimed in, "I found my pen drive on her desk! Everyone saw it." She cast a pointed look around the room, and a chorus of nervous nods followed.

Zack held Bella’s gaze for a long moment before asking, "Bella, is this true?" His voice was stern, but there was a glimmer of something softer in his eyes.

"No," Bella replied with conviction. "I didn’t steal it. I don’t know how it ended up on my desk. I swear I’m innocent." She turned her sharp glare at Olivia and added, "If I intended to steal and cause trouble for you, wouldn’t I have hidden the evidence a little better? I wouldn’t have kept it casually on my desk, only to let you catch me." A sneer twisted her lips.

Caught off guard, Olivia stammered, "You!"

"I didn’t steal it," Bella declared firmly. "Someone has intentionally planted it in my workstation to frame me."

Her suspicion went straight to Olivia. It was all her plan. It all fit. Olivia hadn’t been thrilled about Bella working with Willow. This entire charade, orchestrated with Ivy’s help, was a desperate attempt to stop her from working with Willow.