Julian kept his promise. Less than twelve hours later, news alerts and social media tags took over my phone. Each time I silenced one platform, another notification appeared with my photograph beside a new accusation.
He had spent what remained of his capital on the story he wanted published. The tabloid headlines read: “TECH CEO’S IPO SABOTAGED BY JILTED EX-FIANCÉE.” “THE WOMAN WHO BURNED A BILLION-DOLLAR DREAM.” The same anonymous sources appeared in each article. They called me unstable, skipped over the ownership of the code, and treated the theft as a breakup dispute.
Mia streamed from a softly lit bedroom, dabbing her eyes with a tissue while she described my “workplace bullying” and “erratic mood swings.” She said she had spent weeks afraid to enter the lab, though she had never h
