Ava gasped, as she nervously glanced around the people around her. Their scornful gazes and contempt like daggers aimed at her resolve. Each hateful word hurled in her direction chipped away at her confidence, and for the first time, she felt her composure slipping.
She tried to speak, to defend herself, but her voice was drowned in the deafening chorus of accusations. The crowd surged closer, their faces twisted with anger. Ava instinctively took a step back as panic crept in, her movements faltering.
"Get out of the office immediately!" they roared, weakening her knees and threatening to pull her down.
"No, I won't!" Ava shouted defiantly. "I've done nothing wrong!"
But no one listened to her, the tide of hostility crashing against her without relenting.
"Security!" a senior director's sharp voice cut through the chaos. He pointed a rigid finger toward her. "Get this traitor out of here."