Chapter Fourteen: Damage Control
902 Words
For three long seconds…
No one spoke.
Ethan stared at the screen.
Ava stared at Ethan.
Noah was the first to break the silence.
“The post is spreading.”
He refreshed the page.
“Twenty thousand shares…”
Another refresh.
“Thirty-two thousand.”
Ava’s stomach twisted.
“It’s only been five minutes.”
“It’ll get worse,” Noah said quietly.
Ethan’s expression remained unreadable.
“Take it down.”
Noah nodded.
“Our cybersecurity team is already trying.”
“I don’t care what it costs.”
“I want it gone.”
“Yes, sir.”
Noah hurried away, already making calls.
Ava watched him disappear before turning back to Ethan.
“What if they release the whole thing?”
“They won’t.”
“You keep saying that.”
“Because if they wanted publicity…”
“They would’ve posted everything already.”
He slipped his phone into his pocket.
“This isn’t about embarrassing me.”
“It’s about forcing me to react.”
Within an hour, Blake Capital’s executive boardroom was full.
Lawyers.
Cybersecurity experts.
Public relations managers.
Private investigators.
The atmosphere was tense.
Ava had never seen Ethan like this.
He wasn’t angry.
He was… colder.
More focused.
A woman in a navy suit stood before the screen.
“The image was uploaded from an anonymous account.”
She clicked to the next slide.
“The server routes through four different countries.”
“So?”
Ethan asked.
“So…”
She hesitated.
“…whoever did this knew exactly how to hide.”
Another expert spoke.
“The original file has already been copied hundreds of times.”
“We can remove the post…”
“But not the screenshots.”
Silence filled the room.
Ava shifted uneasily in her seat.
“This is my fault.”
Every head turned toward her.
“If I hadn’t agreed to this…”
“It would’ve never happened.”
Ethan looked at her.
“No.”
She frowned.
“No?”
“This has nothing to do with you.”
“It has everything to do with me.”
“I signed the contract.”
“So did I.”
His voice remained calm.
“I asked you.”
“I brought you into this.”
“If anyone’s responsible…”
“I am.”
Their eyes met across the table.
For a moment…
The room disappeared.
The silence was broken by one of the investigators.
“We’ve identified the waiter.”
Everyone looked up.
His photo appeared on the screen.
Daniel Ross.
Age twenty-nine.
Temporary hospitality worker.
No criminal record.
Until three months ago.
“What happened three months ago?”
Ethan asked.
“He accepted a private security job.”
“For whom?”
The investigator clicked again.
The answer appeared.
Sinclair Industries.
Nathan Sinclair.
The room fell silent.
“So Nathan hired him?”
Ava asked.
The investigator shook his head.
“Not exactly.”
“He was hired by a shell company.”
“But…”
“The payments trace back to Sinclair Industries.”
Ethan leaned back in his chair.
“I expected as much.”
“You did?”
Ava asked.
“I’ve known Nathan long enough.”
“He never fights openly.”
“He pays someone else to do it.”
Before anyone could continue…
Noah rushed into the room.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“The anonymous account posted again.”
He connected his tablet to the screen.
A new message appeared.
Twenty-four hours was generous.
You’ve got twelve.
Beneath it…
A second image.
This one was clearer.
Clear enough to reveal Ethan’s signature.
Ava’s pulse raced.
“They’re speeding up.”
That evening…
The office had emptied.
Most of the staff had gone home.
Only Ethan remained.
He stood alone in his office, looking out over Manhattan.
The city glittered beneath him.
Normally…
The view calmed him.
Tonight…
It did nothing.
A soft knock interrupted his thoughts.
“Come in.”
Ava stepped inside carrying two paper coffee cups.
“I figured you hadn’t eaten.”
He accepted one.
“Thank you.”
She looked around.
The office was unusually quiet.
“Everyone left?”
“I told them to.”
“And you stayed.”
“So did you.”
She smiled faintly.
“I don’t like abandoning people.”
Something about that sentence settled deep inside him.
He took a sip of the coffee.
“It’s terrible.”
She gasped dramatically.
“I made that.”
He looked at the cup.
Then at her.
“I’ll drink it anyway.”
She laughed.
The sound filled the room.
For the first time all day…
The tension eased.
“You know…”
Ava said quietly.
“When this is over…”
“I’m going to miss arguing with you.”
He looked at her.
“Who said it’ll be over?”
She smiled.
“The contract.”
His expression softened.
For the first time…
He realized he hadn’t thought about the contract all evening.
He’d been thinking about her.
Before he could say anything—
Noah burst through the office door without knocking.
“Ethan!”
Both of them turned sharply.
“What now?”
Noah looked shaken.
“They’ve emailed every major news outlet.”
Ava’s heart sank.
Noah swallowed hard.
“The full contract…”
“…is scheduled to be published at midnight.”
- Writer
