#Chapter 25- Victory Party

Cora The company-wide email hit my inbox first thing in the morning. Subject: “Our New Alpha King” I stared at the bold headline as the room around me seemed to go still. My coffee sat forgotten at my elbow, steam curling in lazy ribbons. A thousand unread messages blinked in the corner of my screen, but that one line was all I could focus on. Kingston had secured the majority vote. Effective immediately, he was now Alpha King. There was no exclamation point or dramatic fanfare. The email was just a line of simple, clinical text. But my chest still tightened as I read it again—and again. It was done. Despite the photo scandal. Despite the whispers. Despite the lab fire. Despite the furious headlines that had branded me everything from a seductress to a career-hungry leech to try and bring him down… he’d won. I closed the email without reacting. This feeling of stunned surprise carried me into the office. Across the open office floor, people began to buzz. Laughter