The girl with blunt bangs sat at her workstation in the lab, biting her lower lip hard.
Anger flashed in her eyes.
Charlotte Vance quickly snapped a photo of the forum post with her phone.
She sent it to Sophia Sullivan.
"Ms. Sullivan, someone is maliciously attacking you on the forum."
"You should deal with this."
"Otherwise, they'll only grow bolder."
Sophia glanced at the photo.
She casually opened the internal forum.
After one look, she let out a cold laugh.
She didn't need to guess who was behind this.
"Don't worry, I'll handle it properly."
Sophia closed her phone.
She stared at the photo for a few seconds.
Then she turned to Ethan Sullivan.
"Mr. Sullivan, may I borrow your computer?"
"Of course."
Ethan glanced at his laptop.
Without hesitation, he handed it over.
Meanwhile, Hannah Vance was gleefully refreshing the post.
Seeing the comments below, she smirked.
Once work resumed, those disdainful looks would surely make Sophia miserable.
Sophia would be the target of gossip wherever she went.
The thought filled Hannah with satisfaction.
Just then, a new comment appeared.
"Spreading rumors with just a few photos?"
"Did the OP forget about the person who got sent to jail recently?"
"Where's your evidence?"
Hannah immediately hit the report button, fuming.
She checked the post's popularity.
Then she logged into three or four alternate accounts.
"What more evidence do you need?"
"Years ago, I saw Sophia Sullivan begging Mr. Sullivan on her knees for a few thousand dollars."
"Who knows what shady methods she used to get into the company!"
"You know that picky Mr. Roland?"
"I saw Sophia hand him a hotel key card myself."
"That's just the kind of person she is."
The forum kept refreshing with new slander.
Though the accounts were anonymous and used different tones.
The smear tactics were nearly identical.
All resorting to cheap sexual innuendos.
As if the rumor-monger couldn't think of anything more original.
Sophia wasn't in a hurry to respond.
One simple comment had already made the troll reveal their alternate accounts.
Now she just needed to wait.
With everyone currently idle.
The forum drama quickly became entertainment.
Some called colleagues to come watch the show.
The post's popularity skyrocketed.
Others deliberately shared it on other platforms.
Sophia checked the engagement.
It was enough.
She pressed two keys.
Lines of code flashed across the screen.
She hacked into the company's internal network with ease.
Breaching its defenses effortlessly.
With a final tap of the enter key.
The forum froze for a second.
Then, as if malfunctioning.
All anonymous IDs suddenly displayed real names.
The forum erupted.
Onlookers were shocked to discover.
That all the different accounts spreading rumors.
Belonged to the same person.
Hannah Vance!
Whispers spread rapidly.
Public opinion shifted.
"What kind of grudge is this?"
"Hannah used multiple accounts to post and comment."
"Even pretended to be random bystanders in her own thread."
"Wait, is any of this story true?"
"Do you even need to ask? Clearly a setup."
"I don't know about Sophia, but I know Hannah."
"My apologies for misunderstanding you @SophiaSullivan."
Hannah stared at her exposed name on the forum.
Her mind went completely blank.