Chapter 5 - The War of the Vultures
High society did not take Alexander’s trick lightly. While the market value of his company was secure, his social standing among the old-money elites had become a battlefield. Victoria Sterling and Julianna Dupont, humiliated by the public exposure at the altar, began a coordinated smear campaign through the city’s most influential tabloids.
The headlines were vicious: “The Whitman Hoax: Did the Billionaire Fake a Disability to Avoid Pre-Nuptial Payouts?” “The Housekeeper’s Game: Insiders Claim Elena Cruz Knew About the Lie All Along.”
Alexander sat in his corporate office on the fifty-fifth floor, a stack of the morning papers on his desk. His PR team was frantic, advising him to issue a generic corporate statement or file defamation lawsuits.
"Let them talk about me," Alexander commanded, his voice cold as liquid nitrogen. "But if a single camera crew touches the perimeter of Elena’s bakery, or if her name is printed in another trash article, I want the Sterling family's prime credit lines revoked by our bank subsidiary by noon tomorrow. Crush them financially. No warnings."
"Alex," Marcus said, stepping into the office with a grim expression. "It’s too late for a total blackout. Julianna Dupont just booked a live interview on the evening society broadcast. She’s planning to release old audio logs from the wedding reception, painting Elena as a calculating social climber who orchestrated the entire romance for a payout."
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Alexander rose from his leather chair, his jaw tightening until the muscle twitched. The vultures were trying to tear down the innocent woman he had dragged into his private war. For months, he had used a lie to protect himself from the world; now, it was time to use the absolute, crushing weight of his truth to protect her.
"Call the network," Alexander ordered, his eyes flashing with a dangerous, lethal light. "Tell them to cancel Julianna's segment. I am taking the live prime-time slot myself tonight. And tell them if they edit a single second of what I have to say, I will buy the entire broadcasting company by midnight and fire the board."
