CHAPTER 8- The Leak
1735 Words
The morning light shines through the window. Voices outside. Lots of them. I sit up, Caleb is still asleep in a chair by the door. Fully clothed. I stayed up all night.
I look out the window. Twenty people. Maybe thirty. Cameras everywhere. Microphones. News vans.
My stomach drops.
Caleb wakes up and sees my face. He crosses to the window.
"Shit." He pulls out his phone, his face goes pale.
He turns the screen toward me. Photos everywhere. The motel. Marcus and Clara leaving. Caleb in the parking lot. Me in the doorway. Video clips. Audio recordings.
Someone recorded everything.
The fight. Clara slapping me. Caleb choosing me. Every word. My face is everywhere. Close-ups through the window.
"I need to get you out of here."
Knock on the door. Hard and loud.
"Ms. Hart! Just a few questions!"
"Caleb! Is it true you were disinherited?"
More knocking. Voices overlapping.
"Lena! When's the baby due?"
"Did Clara Vaughn really slap you?"
Press hands over ears. I can't breathe. Caleb pulls out his phone to make a call.
"I need a car. Back entrance. Ten minutes."
He hangs up. "Pack your bag. We're leaving."
I throw everything in. My Hands are shaking. I drop things twice. Caleb watches the window. Reporters pressing against glass. The camera flashes.
A black car pulls around at the back. Caleb grabs my bag.
"Stay close. Don't say anything. Don't look at them."
He opens the door.
The flash of cameras blinds me. So much shouting.
"Lena! Over here!"
"Is the baby Caleb's?"
Caleb's arm around me. Pushing through bodies. Cameras inches from my face. Someone grabs my arm, I pull away.
"Don't touch her!" Caleb shouts.
We get Into car. Door slams. The driver pulls away fast. I look back. Reporters running after us. Cameras still flashing.
We drove for an hour. Cross the state line into Wyoming. Neither of us talks.
We pull up to the house. Small. Hidden behind trees.
"Where are we?" I ask, curious.
"Safe house. I bought it two years ago under a shell company. No one knows about it. We'll be safe while I figure out who leaked everything."
Inside, the house is empty. Furniture covered in sheets. Dust everywhere.
But locks are new. Windows intact. Heat works. It looks safe. Caleb pulls sheets off furniture. I sit on the couch. Can't stop shaking.
He sits beside me. Not touching. Just close.
"I'm sorry for every single day you spent running. For that motel. For my mother slapping you. For all of it."
Tears come.
"Sorry won't give me back three months. Sorry won't undo the gala. Sorry doesn't make me forget four million people calling me a liar."
"I know."
"Sorry doesn't fix anything."
"I know that too."
I wipe my face and look at him.
"Then why are you here?" I ask.
"Because even if sorry doesn't fix it, I have to try. I have to be the father Evan deserves. And if you'll let me, I want to be the man you thought I was."
His phone rings. He looks at the screen. Jaw tightens. "Sophie. My secretary."
"Don't answer." I say.
He answers. Speaker on. "Sophie."
"Mr. Vaughn." Voice shaking. "I need to confess something. I leaked the story. I recorded the fight at the motel, and I took the photos. I sent everything to the press. It was me."
His face goes white.
"You did what?"
"I'm so sorry. I know I betrayed you. But I couldn't stay silent again. Three months ago at the gala, I watched you destroy that woman. I watched her walk away crying and I did nothing. I stayed silent because I was afraid. And I've regretted it every day since."
She takes a breath. Voice steadier.
"When I heard about the motel confrontation, I knew you were finally doing the right thing. Finally choosing her. But I also know you. I know how your parents work. I know you've backed down before. So I leaked it. I made it public. I forced your hand so you couldn't change your mind. So you couldn't let Clara manipulate you again."
Caleb stares at the phone.
"I stayed silent once," Sophie continues. "At the gala. I watched you destroy her and said nothing. I won't make that mistake again. Even if it costs me everything."
"You had no right to make that decision for me. You put Lena in danger. Do you understand that?" Caleb replied, cold.
"I know. I violated your trust. I invaded your privacy. I deserve to be fired. But I don't regret it. Because now the whole world knows you chose her. You can't take it back. You're locked in."
Silence.
"Are you firing me?"
Caleb looks at me. I look at him.
"I need time to process this," Caleb finally says.
"I understand. I'll clean out my desk."
"Sophie, wait." Pause. "Thank you. I'm angry. I'm furious. But I understand why you did it. Thank you for caring enough to do the wrong thing for what you thought was the right reason. I don't know if I'm firing you yet. But thank you."
He hangs up and sits there, his head in his hands.
"She leaked it to lock me in. To make sure I couldn't back down."
"Would you have backed down?"
He looks at me. Really looks. "No. I wouldn't have. Not this time. But I understand why she didn't trust that."
His phone rings again. Different number.
His face hardens.
"Harper Vanderbilt."
"Who?"
"Business rival."
He Answers. Speaker on.
"Caleb. I saw the news. Quite the family drama. Very entertaining."
"What do you want, Harper?"
"I want to help you. You're in a crisis. Parents disowned you. Cut you off from family money. Your position at Vaughn Corp is about to disappear. You need a lifeline."
"I don't need anything from you."
"Oh, I think you do. Especially with a baby on the way. Here's my offer. Merge your assets with mine. I'll give you a position, salary, benefits, and security. All you do is make one public statement denying the child. Walk it back. Then, we can do business without the scandal."
"Go to hell, Harper."
"That's your answer? You'd rather have nothing? Think carefully. This offer expires in 48 hours. After that, I move forward with other plans. Plans your father is very interested in."
"My father?"
"Oh yes. Marcus and I have been talking. He's quite motivated to see you come to your senses. 48 hours. I'll be in touch."
He hangs up.
Caleb stares at the phone.
"What does he mean, other plans?"
"I don't know. But it involves my father. And that's never good."
His face is pale. He stands up and paces the room.
"He's not going to stop."
"I know."
"He's going to try to take everything from you."
"Let him. I don't care about the company. I don't care about the money. I care about you and Evan."
He stops pacing, and I look at him.
"You say that now. But what about in six months? A year? When you have no income and a baby to support? What happens when you resent us for costing you everything?"
"I won't—"
"You don't know that! You destroyed me once when the pressure was on. What happens the next time someone offers you a way out?"
Stands. "I'm not taking any way out. I chose you. I chose Evan."
"You chose us today. But Harper just offered you a company, a salary, a future. All you have to do is lie. And we both know you believed lies when it was convenient before."
His face goes white.
"That's not fair."
"Nothing about this is fair."
His phone buzzes. Text message. He turns it toward me.
Harper: “48 hours starting now. Choose wisely. Your father is counting on you to make the smart decision.”
Below it is a photo. Marcus and Harper are shaking hands. Business meeting. Recently.
"They're working together," I whisper.
Another text.
“By the way, your board of directors is very interested in stability right now. Scandals make them nervous. I've been talking to a few of them. Just in case you need extra motivation.”
"He's buying board members," Caleb says. "He's setting up a hostile takeover."
"Can he do that?"
"If he has enough votes, yes. And if my father's helping him, he might."
His phone rings. Sophie.
Answers.
"I just heard from a friend on the board," Sophie says. Voice urgent. "Harper's been making calls. Offering board members positions in his company if they vote to oust you. He's serious. This isn't a bluff."
"How many does he have?"
"At least four confirmed. Maybe six. He needs eight for the majority."
"How long do I have?"
"He told them he's calling an emergency vote in 48 hours. If you can't convince them to keep you, you're out."
"Thank you, Sophie." He hangs up.
He sits on the couch. Head in hands.
"48 hours to choose between my company and my son."
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know."
Voice breaks. "If I lose the company, I have nothing to offer you. No income. No stability. But if I deny him, I lose you both anyway."
Don't know what to say.
"I need to think. I need to figure out how to fight this."
He pulls out a laptop. Open it, and start typing.
"What are you doing?"
"Researching legal options. Ways to block the takeover."
He glances at the clock at 11 PM.
"You should sleep. This is going to take a while."
"I'm not leaving you alone with this."
"Lena—"
"I'm not leaving."
We sit in silence. Him typing. I'm watching.
Midnight passes. Then 1 AM.
Eyes get heavy.
"Go to bed," he says quietly. "I'll be here. I promise I won't do anything stupid."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
I wake up on the couch. Blanket over me. Light through windows. It's morning. I look around. Caleb's not on the couch.I see him across the room at the desk. I'm still on the laptop. Still in the same clothes.
He never slept. I walk over quietly and look over his shoulder at the screen.
DRAFT STATEMENT - DO NOT SEND
“I, Caleb Vaughn, wish to address recent allegations regarding paternity…”
He's writing a denial statement.
- Writer
