CHAPTER 4: THE LEAK
724 Words
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By 6pm, I was trending for all the wrong reasons.
#GoldDiggerTasha
#ColeScandal
#WhoIsTashaOkoro
My face. My dad’s funeral. The eviction notice.
All over Twitter, i********:, t****k.
Captioned: _“Broke girl traps billionaire. 50 million contract exposed.”_
Someone had leaked the contract.
Not the whole thing. Just page 1.
_“90-Day Engagement Agreement. 50,000,000 Naira Compensation.”_
My signature. Damien’s signature.
My phone was melting.
Amaka: _“BABE DELETE EVERYTHING”_
Landlord: _“...rent is still due”_
Unknown numbers: _“Thief” “p********e” “Die”_
I was sitting on the floor of Nice’s Haven with the lights off.
The ring felt like it was burning my finger.
The door slammed open.
Damien.
He looked furious. Tie loose. Eyes red.
“Are you okay?”
“No,” I whispered. “Are you?”
He knelt in front of me. Took my hands.
“They leaked it to crash the Cole stock. And to ruin you.”
His thumb brushed over my knuckles. “I’m so sorry.”
“For what? Signing it?”
“For not protecting you.”
My chest hurt. “The board will force you to drop me.
Mrs. Cole will win. You’ll be free in 2 weeks.”
Damien’s jaw clenched. “No.”
He pulled out his phone. Started a livestream.
“Damien Cole Official.” 1 viewer. 10. 1000. 50k in 30 seconds.
He put it on the counter. Faced it at both of us.
“What are you doing?” I hissed.
“Rule 2 is off,” he said. Looked straight into the camera.
“Good evening, Nigeria.”
Comments exploded instantly.
“Mr. Cole, is the contract real?”
“Is she after your money?”
“Chloe deserves better!”
Damien didn’t blink.
“Yes, there was a contract. 90 days. To protect my company from a hostile takeover.
My mother offered the money. I offered my name.
Tasha offered to save her shop. That’s business.”
He turned to me.
“But what wasn’t in the contract was this.”
He took my hand. Kissed my knuckles. On camera.
“I wasn’t supposed to fall for her. I did.”
The comments froze. Then exploded again.
_“OMG” “IS THIS REAL” “PROTECT THEM”_
“Tasha Okoro is not a gold digger,” Damien said, voice hard.
“She’s the woman who stood up to my board today.
She’s the woman who’s rebuilding her life with nothing.
And anyone who comes for her comes through me.”
He ended the livestream.
Silence.
My heart was pounding out of my chest.
“Why?” I asked. “You just risked everything.”
“Because you’re worth it,” he said simply.
“Because Rule 2 was stupid.”
My phone buzzed. Mrs. Cole.
Damien answered on speaker.
“Damien, what the hell was that?!” she screamed.
“You just tanked the stock and validated a gold digger!”
“No, Mom. I validated my fiancée.”
He hung up.
I stared at him. “Now what?”
“Now we survive the Gala,” he said. “Together.
And we find who leaked this.”
My phone buzzed again. New email.
Sender: _Unknown_
Subject: _NICE TRY_
Attachment: A video.
Damien and me. In the elevator.
Hugging. Him whispering: _“Rule 2 is off. For you. Only you.”_
It was posted 2 minutes ago.
2 million views already.
And the caption:
_“See? Even he admits it’s fake. 50 million for a kiss. #Scam”_
Damien saw it. His face went blank.
“Chloe,” he breathed.
“No,” I said, cold. “Chloe doesn’t have access to elevator cameras.”
I looked up at him. “Someone inside Cole Group did this.”
Damien stood. “Then we find them. Tonight.”
He held out his hand again.
“Are you with me?”
Outside, paparazzi flashes were already lighting up Mile 1.
My shop was surrounded.
And in the middle of them, holding a microphone...
was a reporter.
“Miss Okoro! Did you sleep with Mr. Cole for 50 million?!”
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END OF CHAPTER 4
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Next: _The Press Conference + The Real Leaker
- Writer
