Chapter 6
1215 Words
*Title: Chapter 6 – The Leak*
*Word count: 2,220*
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*Kain Corp. 1:47 PM.*
The celebration didn’t last long.
I’d barely sat down in my new office on the 48th floor when my phone blew up.
100+ notifications. All from Twitter, Reddit, and Dreame’s internal gossip forum.
*TRENDING: “MAID HEIRESS SCANDAL – KAIN CORP OWNER EXPOSED”*
My stomach dropped.
I opened the first post.
A photo of me. Wearing the maid uniform. Taken last week in the service elevator.
Caption: _“This is Luna Morales. The ‘secret heiress’ of Kain Corp. She’s been cleaning toilets while owning 51% of the company. Fake. Staged. Desperate for attention.”_
Comments were worse.
> “No way she’s legit. This is PR stunt.”
> “If she’s so rich, why was she mopping floors?”
> “Damian Kain got played.”
Selina moved fast.
Damian burst into my office 2 minutes later. No knock. Face like thunder.
“Did you see it?” he asked.
I held up my phone. “Yeah. She leaked it.”
Damian cursed under his breath. “She accessed the security footage from last week. I thought I locked that down.”
“Why now?” I asked.
“Because you won the board vote,” Damian said. “She’s trying to destroy your credibility before you take control of Project Omega. If the public thinks you’re a fraud, the board will have no choice but to remove you.”
I stood up. My hands were shaking, but not from fear. From anger.
“So what do we do?”
Damian walked to my desk. “We go on the offensive. We release the truth. All of it.”
“The truth?” I raised an eyebrow. “You mean Victor Kain kicked my mom out? That I grew up broke because of him?”
“Yes,” Damian said. “Because right now, they think you’re lying. We give them proof, and we control the narrative.”
“And if they still don’t believe me?”
Damian’s eyes darkened. “Then I burn Selina to the ground.”
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*3:00 PM. Press Conference. 1st Floor Lobby.*
Kain Corp’s lobby was packed. Reporters, bloggers, even TV crews.
I stood on the small stage with Damian to my left.
I was wearing my normal clothes—black jeans, white shirt, no makeup.
I wanted them to see me as I was. Not the CEO. Not the heiress. Just Luna.
Damian stepped to the mic first.
“Thank you all for coming,” he said. His voice was calm, controlled. Dangerous.
“For the last 24 hours, there have been false claims circulating about Luna Morales and Kain Corp. I’m here to set the record straight.”
He nodded at me.
My turn.
I stepped forward. My heart was pounding, but I forced my voice to stay steady.
“My name is Luna Morales,” I said. “Twenty years ago, my mother was kicked out of the Kain family by Victor Kain. No money. No explanation. Just gone.”
Murmurs in the crowd.
“I grew up poor. I worked two jobs to put myself through school. Last year, I found out I was the sole heir to 51% of Kain Corp. I didn’t come forward immediately because I wanted to see what kind of company my grandfather left behind.”
I paused. Looked directly at the cameras.
“What I found was a company run by fear. A board that cares more about money than people. And an aunt who was willing to sell Project Omega—our AI that could save thousands of lives—to a foreign competitor for personal profit.”
Gasps.
“I stopped her. Twice. As a maid, and as the owner. Because Kain Corp isn’t just a company to me. It’s my family’s legacy. And I’m not going to let Selina Kain destroy it.”
The room went silent.
Then someone shouted: “Proof! Where’s your proof?”
Damian stepped forward. He pulled out a flash drive and handed it to the head of PR.
“On that drive is Victor Kain’s will, verified by our legal team. Also included are timestamps, emails, and server logs proving Selina Kain’s attempted theft of Project Omega. It’ll be uploaded to our website in 10 minutes.”
More murmurs. This time, different. Less hostile. More curious.
“One last thing,” I said.
I pulled out my phone and opened the live stream.
“To Selina Kain,” I said, looking straight into the camera. “You can leak photos. You can start rumors. But you can’t erase the truth. I’m Luna Morales. I own 51% of Kain Corp. And I’m not going anywhere.”
I ended the stream.
The room exploded.
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*5:32 PM. Damian’s Office.*
The press conference worked.
#IStandWithLuna was trending in the Philippines within an hour.
Kain Corp’s stock went up 4%.
Selina’s office was empty. She didn’t come to work today.
Damian poured two glasses of whiskey. Handed one to me.
“Not bad, Chairwoman,” he said.
I took the glass but didn’t drink. “You think it’s over?”
Damian shook his head. “No. Selina doesn’t give up. She’ll hit harder next time.”
I set the glass down. “Let her try.”
Damian walked around the desk and stopped in front of me.
“You were amazing up there,” he said quietly. “No script. No fear. Just you.”
I looked up at him. “I had to be. If I hesitated, they’d eat me alive.”
Damian reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers lingered.
“About what happens next,” he said. “Between us.”
My breath caught. “What about it?”
Damian’s eyes were serious. “I don’t do casual, Luna. If we do this, it’s real. No games. No secrets.”
My heart was racing.
“Is that a confession?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
Damian smirked. “It’s a warning.”
He leaned down, slowly, giving me time to pull away.
I didn’t.
His kiss was different this time. Softer. Like he was trying to prove something to himself.
When he pulled back, my knees felt weak.
“Go home, Luna,” he said, voice rough. “Get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.”
I nodded, too dazed to argue.
As I reached the door, Damian called out.
“Luna.”
“Yeah?”
“If Selina comes after you again… let me handle it.”
I smiled. “No promises.”
I left before he could reply.
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*11:58 PM. Unknown Location.*
Selina slammed her laptop shut.
“Useless,” she hissed.
The leak failed. Worse, it made Luna look like a hero.
Her phone buzzed. Unknown number.
She answered. “What?”
A voice on the other end said: “I can give you what you need to destroy her. But it’ll cost you.”
Selina narrowed her eyes. “What do you have?”
“Proof that Luna Morales isn’t Victor Kain’s granddaughter.”
Selina sat up straight.
“Send it,” she said.
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*End of Chapter 6*
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- Writer
