The next morning, Elena woke to the sound of her phone buzzing.
She had barely slept. Between the confrontation with Vivian, the conversation with Marcus, and the baby kicking relentlessly against her ribs, she had spent most of the night staring at the ceiling and wondering if she had made a mistake.
But when she saw the messages flooding her screen, she forgot all about her doubts.
"Vivian's statement is everywhere."
"The stock is crashing. Marcus's company is in freefall."
"There's a new story. Someone's claiming you orchestrated the whole thing."
Elena sat up.
"What?"
She opened the news app and felt her blood run cold.
"Elena Kane Accused of Orchestrating Vivian Hart's Confession: 'She Blackmailed Her.'"
The article was brief but brutal. An anonymous source—someone claiming
