Chloe Miller, the new intern at my company, posted a tearful TikTok video accusing me of rejecting her request for a three-week honeymoon in Bali.

"Don't we all work hard to build the life we dream of? And now, my dream is being crushed by cold-blooded, out-of-touch elites like you!"

"You won't even approve my time off for my honeymoon. Am I just a work machine to you? Am I not a living, breathing person?!"

"I can't believe I was ever naive enough to believe in you, Sloane Hayes! You talked a big game about building an ethical, socially responsible fashion brand, but now your true colors are showing. You're nothing but a demon boss!"

The video went viral almost instantly, with countless young people rallying behind her, convinced of her plight.

They launched a coordinated online attack, doxxing me and sending death threats.

As the CEO, I decided not to hide. I went live to confront her head-on.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot approve Chloe Miller's leave request."

"She is free to resign, or she can file a complaint with the appropriate authorities. That is her right. But I will not compromise on her leave request."

My firm stance sent the livestream viewership skyrocketing.

Among Chloe's supporters, some who claimed to be lawyers offered to represent her pro bono.

But Chloe played the victim, putting on a troubled and vulnerable act for the camera.

"I just want to go on my honeymoon. I never wanted to quit, and I definitely never thought about suing Sloane..."

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1

Her damsel-in-distress act immediately won over the comment section.

"Oh my God! Look what you've done to her!"

"That poor girl! She looks terrified!"

"Sloane Hayes, you monster! You're driving your intern insane!"

"To all the lawyers in the chat! Help her! Sue this monster until she's bankrupt! She's a tyrant abusing her power!"

"She's just jealous! A bitter career-obsessed woman who can't get married, so she can't stand to see anyone else happy!"

And just like that, the narrative was set: I was the "abusive boss driving her intern to a breakdown."

I remained off-camera, choosing not to immediately refute the claims.

My assistant, Grace Young, and a few other employees couldn't take it anymore.

"That's not what happened!"

"But Chloe herself..."

"Sloane is always so fair about our paid time off, this isn't right..."

Their hushed protests were all picked up by the microphone.

The livestream chat immediately erupted.

"Did you hear that? She's threatening her other employees now!"

"Those women defending her are all in on it!"

"My God, that company is terrifying! It's a snake pit!"

"They've all been brainwashed by her! They're still defending that monster!"

"What is this, some kind of corporate cult?"

My personal phone buzzed wildly on the table.

The name "Mr. Arthur Caldwell"—my lead investor—flashed across the screen.

I ignored it.

I stared into the camera, watching the deluge of insults flood the internet.

Calling me "inhuman."

Calling me a "demon boss."

A "psychopath."

Someone was already trying to dig up my home address.

In front of tens of millions of viewers, I ended the stream.

The screen went black.

The livestream was a disaster. Chloe Miller had won the sympathy of the entire internet.

And I was now "the jealous, manipulative demon boss who mentally abuses her entire company."

The day after the livestream, I had just arrived at the office.

The Director of Operations rushed in, his face pale.

"Sloane, we have a major problem."

"Our brand, Aura, has had its new collection pulled by major retailers—Nordstrom, Revolve, online and in-store."

"The reason they gave was 'serious concerns about our corporate image,' and they're suspending sales pending an internal review."

"All our partner influencers have sent emails unilaterally terminating their contracts, and they're demanding we pay for breach of contract."

We were on the verge of collapse.

Before the words had even left his mouth, the office door was thrown open.

My investor, Mr. Arthur Caldwell, burst in, flanked by two lawyers. His face was ashen, his fury barely contained.

He slammed a file onto my desk.

"Sloane Hayes!"

His voice was ice-cold, the rage within it palpable.

"You dared to hang up on me yesterday?!"

"Are you insane!"

"Over one intern! Are you trying to drag us all down with you?!"

Before I could speak, my Chief Operating Officer, Rachel Bennett, stepped forward.

"Mr. Caldwell, please calm down!"

"Sloane is the most principled person I've ever met. She must have her reasons for doing this!"

Mr. Arthur Caldwell let out a bitter laugh. "Rachel! You want to go down with this ship, too?"

"What has she promised you? Why are you all defending her?!"

Rachel ignored him.

She took out her own phone.

In front of Mr. Arthur Caldwell, she logged into her personal, verified LinkedIn account and made a post.

"I'll stake my professional reputation on this: Sloane is the best boss. She is absolutely not the person the internet is making her out to be!"

Grace, my assistant who had spoken up during the livestream, and a few other employees from the design and marketing departments all began commenting under the post with their real names.

"Our company has the best work environment in the entire industry. There is absolutely no bullying!"

"Sloane is wonderful to every single one of us!"

"We support Sloane!"

The post and its comments quickly started trending.

In less than ten minutes, Chloe Miller posted a new video.

She had screenshotted Rachel's post and all the employee comments.

In the video, she was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe, her whole body trembling.

"I'm so scared... They... they are all ganging up on me!"

"Sloane has turned the company into her personal fiefdom! All the employees have been brainwashed by her!"

"They're all conspiring to push me out!"

"This company is terrifying! They're all working together to push me over the edge!"

"Boycott Aura" became the new trending hashtag.

A coordinated cyberbullying campaign against my employees had begun.

Rachel was doxxed.

A photo of her five-year-old son was photoshopped into vile memes and spread across Reddit and 4chan.

Grace's phone was bombarded with abusive calls and death threats.

Every employee who supported me had their personal information leaked.

Vicious private messages flooded their social media accounts.

"The boss's loyal lapdogs!"

"Brainwashed idiots! You deserve everything you get!"

"I hope your whole family dies!"

When Rachel came to see me, she was on the verge of collapse, her eyes red and swollen.

In front of me, she tearfully deleted the post.

"Sloane... I'm so sorry."

"My son is only five... Someone mailed a dead rat to our house..."

"My husband wants to divorce me over this..."

She handed me her resignation letter.

Grace was next.

Then the design department.

The marketing department.

All the employees who had spoken up for me had their spirits broken by the relentless harassment and threats.

One by one, they submitted their resignations.

Chloe Miller became a hero for fighting "workplace bullying."

And my company, Aura, was definitively labeled a place of "group bullying" and "mental manipulation."

Our reputation was in tatters.

A week later.

The office was empty.

Only I remained, sitting alone in the silence.

On my computer screen, every news feed was pushing the glowing image of Chloe Miller and her fiancé, James, being interviewed on Good Morning America.

Her fiancé held her close, promising the camera he would protect her for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, my DMs were filled with thousands of vicious messages wishing death on my entire family.

My personal information had been completely exposed.

My social security number, home address, and private phone number were all over the internet.

Protesters gathered outside my apartment building, holding signs. Some even threw eggs at my windows.

The words "DEMON" and "GO DIE" were scrawled in black marker on the walls.

The building management gave me an ultimatum: move out, because I was "endangering the safety of the community."

My mom called, and the moment I answered, a torrent of accusations poured out.

"Sloane! Have you lost your mind!"

"Look at what they're saying about you online!"

"Are you just going to let your company die? You need to apologize to that girl right now!"

My dad yelled in the background, "You got into this mess because you're too rigid!"

"Are you really targeting that girl like they're saying online?"

"Your mother and I can't even show our faces in front of our friends! Everyone is talking about us!"

I hung up. The silence lasted all of two seconds.

Chloe Miller brazenly went live.

She was broadcasting her entire wedding planning process.

Trying on wedding dresses, picking out a diamond ring, decorating their new home.

With every livestream, she took a veiled jab at me.

"I really have to thank my former boss."

"It was her trying to hold me down that showed me who truly loves me."

"'Women supporting women' is just a slogan to her. I hope she can get over her bitterness someday."

The livestream chat was flooded with comments like, "Chloe, you're so kind."

Mr. Arthur Caldwell called an emergency board meeting.

After the meeting, he gave me an ultimatum.

"Sloane Hayes, you have two choices."

"One, hold a press conference immediately, publicly apologize to Chloe Miller, approve her leave, and compensate her for emotional distress."

"Two, the board will initiate a vote to forcibly remove you as CEO."

"You choose."

I replied calmly, "I refuse to apologize."

Mr. Arthur Caldwell paused for a few seconds on the other end of the line.

He roared, "You're insane!"

He hung up.

The next day, the fashion industry completely blacklisted me.

My name was removed from all business forums.

I went from "Female Entrepreneur of the Year" to "Industry Disgrace."

No one dared to mention my name.

Chloe Miller posted her digital wedding invitation on social media.

She didn't block me.

She even deliberately tagged several of my former colleagues who had resigned, including Rachel and Grace.

She wanted to make sure I saw it.

That evening, my best friend, Harper, came to try to persuade me.

She looked at the protest signs outside my apartment building, her face etched with pain.

"Sloane, you can't win against an online mob."

"It's not worth torching ten years of your hard work over an intern!"

"Just give in! The PR team already wrote the apology. All you have to do is read it, and this will all be over!"

"Why are you being so stubborn?"

I didn't explain.

I gazed out the window, a strange sense of calm settling over me.

I opened the notes app on my phone.

I silently noted the date of Chloe Miller's wedding and the name of the Napa Valley winery on the invitation.