**
About 20 minutes later, the door opened again. Cole stepped into the hallway, eyes wide when he saw me.
“Paige,” he said softly.
I didn’t move.
His entire posture shifted.
He stepped forward. “This isn’t what it looks like, honey.”
“I won’t do this in front of strangers. You did enough of that.”
Mark scoffed behind me.
“You said you’d send money,” I said. “I need it in writing. Then you’ll finally learn how to live without hiding behind a paycheck and lies.”
His jaw tightened. “Paige —”
“No.” I held up a hand. “You don’t get to ‘Paige’ me like we’re still a team.”
“I need it in writing.”
Behind him, Alyssa scoffed. “Oh my gosh.”
I turned to face her. She looked ready to launch, eyes narrowed, lips parted.
But before she could speak, the woman in the navy blazer stepped into the hallway.
“Alyssa,” she said, calm but ice-cold. “Your contract is terminated effective immediately. Legal will follow up. Don’t return to this building.”
“You’re joking, Deborah,” she said. “I work here.”
“Your contract is terminated.”
“This is not a discussion,” Deborah added, and the hallway went very quiet.
Cole turned. “You can’t just fire her like that —”
“We can,” Deborah said. “And we are.”
She turned to Cole. “Effective today, you’re on unpaid suspension pending termination. Turn in your badge.”
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