"Rosamond, do you have any idea how much trouble you've brought down on this firm?"
"Well? How do you propose we fix this?"
Rosamond turned and looked around. Every single colleague was pointing, whispering, their voices carrying just enough to reach her.
"So Rosamond's been sleeping with clients to land her cases. Guess that explains a lot."
"She always looked so prim and proper. Turns out she's been playing all kinds of games behind closed doors. Poor Mr. Delgado, marrying someone like that."
"I always said there was no way someone that young could be that good. Dirty tricks, obviously. Disgusting. Can't believe I've been working alongside her."
Rosamond stood trapped between Winslow and Olympia, forced to absorb every whisper and sneer.
Olympia's lips curled upward, her eyes bright with undisguised mockery.
Rosamond looked at Winslow. She had always been composed, but now her voice was nothing but tremors.
"Garrett, we've worked together for years. You don't trust me either?"
Winslow looked at her, then at Olympia, and spoke in a low, measured tone.
"Rosamond, the evidence is right in front of us. I'd be a fool not to believe it."
"This isn't just about Pinnacle needing answers. The firm needs answers too."
Olympia smiled faintly.
"If you ask me, Garrett, the simplest solution is to let Attorney Henson leave the firm."
"It's the only way to keep her from dragging the rest of us down."
The words hit Rosamond like a physical blow. She couldn't believe Olympia intended to destroy her completely. She opened her mouth to speak, but Bryce cut in first.
"That works. I'll compensate Pinnacle and the firm for their losses on her behalf. But I have one condition."
"After she's gone, Olympia takes her position."
Winslow considered this for a moment, then nodded.
"Fine. Rosamond, for the sake of our years together, I'll let you resign on your own terms."
Bitterness surged through her chest.
Just like that, in a handful of sentences, they had decided her fate.
Not the husband she had devoted herself to. Not the colleague she had trusted with her life. Not a single one of them had spared a thought for how she felt.
All they wanted was to push her out the door fast enough to make room for Olympia.
Something seized Rosamond's heart and squeezed. The bitterness spread through her veins like poison. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.