Natalie Pierce froze where she stood, her pupils tightening almost imperceptibly as she stared at Leslie Bibb. For a brief moment, it felt as though the noise in the room had been sucked away, replaced by a dull ringing in her ears. She had expected hostility from competitors, ridicule from opportunists, even thinly veiled malice from those eager to watch her fall. What she had not expected—what she could not immediately process—was betrayal wearing the face of someone she had once trusted without reservation.
“You…” Natalie began, her voice catching before the word could fully leave her lips.
Across from her, Sadie Sink stepped forward with a faint, practiced smile, the kind cultivated by people who knew exactly when to appear sympathetic and when to twist the knife. “Allow me to introd
