Chapter 3

Izzy didn' t take her public reprimand well.

Her attacks became more insidious.

She started "losing" files I' d given her, then blaming me for incompetence.

She' d assign me impossible deadlines.

I documented everything.

Then came the attempt to frame me for leaking sensitive information.

A draft of a confidential speech appeared on a minor political blog, and Izzy immediately pointed the finger at me, suggesting my "naivete" made me susceptible to manipulation by rival staffers.

Her nervous assistant, Brenda, was the key.

Brenda was terrified of Izzy but also desperate to protect her boyfriend, Leo, a junior staffer in another department.

Izzy had been using Brenda to do her dirty work, subtly threatening Leo' s position if Brenda didn' t comply.

One evening, after Izzy had publicly berated Brenda for a minor error, I found Brenda crying in the restroom.

"She' s going to get Leo fired," Brenda sobbed. "She said if I don' t help her... discredit you... she' ll make sure Leo is implicated in something."

"Help her how?" I asked gently.

Brenda confessed Izzy' s plan: to plant more "leaked" documents on my computer, this time something far more damaging. Izzy had even hinted at something more direct, something that could physically harm me if I became too much of a problem – a vague threat about an "accident."

"She wants me to... put this vial in your water bottle tomorrow," Brenda whispered, showing me a small, unlabeled container of clear liquid. "She said it would just make you sick, disoriented for the debate prep."

My blood ran cold. This was beyond office politics.

"Brenda," I said, my voice calm but firm. "She' s using you. And she' ll discard you, and Leo, when she' s done. But I can protect Leo. If you help me."

Brenda looked at me, hope warring with fear in her eyes. "How?"

"Give me the vial. And tell me everything Izzy has on Leo."

The next day, during a high-profile strategy session with Harrison, I waited for my moment.

Izzy was making a presentation, full of confidence.

"Senator," I interrupted, my voice clear and strong. "I have something urgent to bring to your attention. It concerns Ms. Isabelle."

Izzy paled. Harrison looked from me to her, his expression hardening.

I laid out Izzy' s campaign of sabotage, culminating in the attempted poisoning.

"And this," I said, producing the small vial Brenda had given me, "is what Ms. Isabelle instructed her assistant, Brenda, to put in my drink this morning."

Izzy spluttered, "That' s a lie! She' s trying to frame me!"

"Is she, Isabelle?" Harrison' s voice was dangerously quiet. "Brenda, step forward."

Brenda, trembling, came forward.

"Brenda," Harrison said. "Tell me the truth."

This was the critical moment. I had prepped Brenda, but Izzy' s power was still considerable.

Brenda looked at Izzy, then at me, then at the floor.

She whispered, "It' s... it' s just saline solution, Senator. For my contact lenses. I... I must have misplaced it. Chloe found it and misunderstood."

My heart sank. Izzy shot me a triumphant smirk.

Harrison looked at me, his eyes cold. "Chloe, this is a very serious accusation. And it appears to be baseless."

I knew Brenda had been threatened again, more severely. Izzy must have gotten to Leo directly.

I had to pivot. Fast.

"Senator," I said, my voice unwavering. "Perhaps it is saline. But Ms. Isabelle' s campaign to discredit me is very real. And her threats against junior staff, like Leo, Brenda' s boyfriend, to coerce them are also real."

I then dramatically picked up my own water bottle, the one Brenda was supposed to have tampered with.

"If this is just a misunderstanding about saline," I said, looking directly at Izzy, "then there' s no harm done."

I unscrewed the cap and took a long drink.

Then another.

Harrison watched me, his expression unreadable. Izzy looked smug.

I set the bottle down. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, I let out a small cough. My hand went to my throat.

I coughed again, harder this time, a wheezing sound.

My eyes widened, and I swayed, clutching the table for support.

"Senator... I... I don' t feel..."

I collapsed, my breath coming in ragged gasps.

Chaos erupted.

Harrison barked orders. "Someone call 911! Izzy, what the hell was in that vial?"

Izzy was white as a sheet. "Nothing! I told you! It was saline! She' s faking!"

But my performance was too convincing. The gasping, the clutching at my chest.

Paramedics arrived. As they were assessing me, I managed to whisper to Harrison, "The vial... Brenda... Izzy made her switch it... after I confronted her... threatened Leo..."

My eyes fluttered closed.

Of course, the water was just water. The "poison" vial Brenda had given me was now safely in my possession, swapped for the saline one Izzy had likely forced on Brenda as a backup plan. My collapse was pure acting, honed by years of observing manipulators.

The internal monologue was clear: Harrison valued loyalty and competence. Izzy had shown neither. She was a liability. And he hated being made a fool of.

When I "recovered" a few hours later at the hospital (a mild allergic reaction to something in the office air, the doctors, subtly influenced by a call from Marcus' s people, would say), Harrison was there.

"Izzy has been dismissed," he said curtly. "And Brenda. Her complicity, even under duress, was unacceptable."

"Leo?" I asked weakly.

"He' s been reassigned. Out of DC. He' s lucky to have a job at all."

I nodded. Leo was spared, for now. He, or Brenda, might be useful later.

Harrison looked at me. "You' re a survivor, Chloe. I like that."

My internal smile was cold. He had no idea. Izzy was just the appetizer.