Elena’s POV

I stood silently near the edge of the lounge, watching the aftermath unfold.

Dara trembled on the floor, her clothes disheveled, her sobs pitiful. Every movement she made radiated panic. She tried to speak, but her words were fragmented, frantic.

“President Xue, I… I was framed! Elena called me to lounge six! I… I didn’t know anything, and then… then—”

The murmurs rippled through the onlookers. Surprise, confusion, disbelief—it was all written across their ...