Public Enemies
1251 Words
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Rain fell hard against the car windows as Eliana sat in the backseat of Jason’s sedan, staring out into the stormy city. It was early evening, and the sky had already gone black. Streetlights flickered to life, washing the wet roads in gold.
She was on her way to meet Zara again.
Secretly.
Jason watched her from the driver’s seat. “You’re sure this is safe?”
“No,” she answered. “But I’m done playing safe.”
They arrived at a quiet tea shop nestled between old bookstores and forgotten alleyways. The sign above read: The Midnight Leaf.
Zara waited inside, tucked into a corner booth, her long brown coat still damp. Her fingers were wrapped around a cup of lavender tea. She looked smaller than Eliana remembered. And more nervous.
“You came alone?” Eliana asked, sliding into the seat across from her.
Zara nodded. “You said no guards. I didn’t even tell my mother I was leaving.”
“Smart.”
They sat in silence for a moment.
Then Eliana leaned in. “Tell me everything you know.”
Zara exhaled. “My father’s planning to go public.”
Eliana frowned. “What do you mean?”
“He’s going to the media. Not just gossip blogs—mainstream, national channels. He’s prepared a dossier. Photos, recordings, forged documents. All aimed at discrediting Desmond. And you.”
Eliana’s stomach tightened. “When?”
Zara hesitated. “Tomorrow.”
The weight of it hit instantly.
Tomorrow.
It would all unravel tomorrow.
“He wants to paint you as a manipulative escort who seduced Desmond for money,” Zara continued. “He’ll use that photo the club one as proof. He has fake bank statements showing transfers from Desmond to you months before the auction.”
Eliana gritted her teeth. “That’s a lie.”
Zara looked at her. “I know. But the public won’t care. They’ll eat it up. My father’s framing it like a scandal. A CEO in bed with a gold-digger he thinks it’ll ruin Desmond’s board credibility.”
Eliana’s eyes narrowed. “It won’t ruin him. It’ll fuel him.”
“You don’t understand. He’s not just targeting Desmond’s image. He’s targeting the investors. He’s been working behind the scenes with international shareholders who were always wary of Desmond’s dominance. He’s trying to take the company from within slowly.”
Eliana sat back, silent.
Zara looked down at her tea. “I think he’s planning something bigger. Something… dangerous.”
Eliana met her gaze. “What else do you know?”
Zara swallowed. “A name.”
“Whose?”
“The man coordinating it. The one your hacker tracked Harold’s contact. My father doesn’t trust anyone fully. But this man… he trusts him.”
Eliana leaned forward. “What’s the name?”
Zara whispered it like it burned her tongue.
“Malik Renn.”
Eliana froze.
She knew that name.
Malik Renn wasn’t just a businessman.
He was a fixer. A shadow broker known in elite circles for making inconvenient people disappear socially, legally, sometimes physically.
If Desmond’s uncle had hired Malik, this wasn’t just about public shame.
This was about destruction.
Back at the mansion, Desmond stood in his study, phone pressed to his ear.
His lawyer’s voice crackled over the line. “It’s confirmed. Your uncle has arranged a press conference. Noon tomorrow. He’s booked the city’s central conference hall.”
Desmond’s eyes narrowed. “What’s the topic?”
“He claims it’s about transparency and corruption inside King Industries.”
Desmond clenched his jaw. “I want a list of every outlet attending. Every name.”
“Already working on it.”
Desmond hung up and turned toward the large window. Rain streaked down the glass. Lightning flashed in the distance.
He could feel it.
The storm was coming.
Eliana burst into the study, drenched from the rain. Her coat clung to her skin, her curls damp and wild.
Desmond spun around. “Where were you?”
“I met with Zara.”
His face tensed.
“She risked a lot to warn us,” Eliana continued. “Your uncle is launching a full-scale smear campaign. Tomorrow.”
“I know.”
“He’s working with Malik Renn.”
Desmond stilled. “What?”
Eliana stepped closer. “That’s who Harold was talking to. Malik’s running this from behind the curtain. And Zara said he’s not stopping at reputation damage. They’re trying to dismantle your empire.”
Desmond stared at her for a long moment.
Then moved.
He crossed the room, opened a hidden panel behind his bookshelf, and pulled out a black briefcase.
Inside were files. Hard drives. Contracts.
“Backup plans?” Eliana asked.
“Leverage,” Desmond replied. “Everything I’ve gathered on every board member. Every silent partner. Including my uncle.”
Eliana’s brow lifted. “You’ve been preparing for this.”
“I grew up in a house of knives,” he said quietly. “I knew they’d come for me one day. I just didn’t think they’d go through you first.”
“I can handle it.”
He met her eyes. “I know. But that doesn’t mean you should have to.”
She walked up to him and took the files from his hands. “Then let me help.”
That night, the mansion didn’t sleep.
Jason monitored media feeds.
Eliana made calls to reporters she trusted from the gala.
Desmond met with his legal and crisis team.
Nora organized internal staff to prepare for a possible press invasion.
By morning, they had a plan.
A risky one.
They’d go public first.
At 10:00 AM, Eliana stepped onto a private stage in front of Desmond’s corporate building.
Dressed in a cream suit and heels, her hair sleek, her face glowing under the soft sunlight, she addressed a sea of reporters already gathered outside after hearing rumors of Desmond’s uncle’s press conference.
Desmond stood beside her.
Cameras flashed.
“I’ve been called many things,” Eliana began. “But today, I’m going to call myself what I am: not a victim, not a gold-digger, not a distraction but a woman who refuses to be silenced.”
The reporters leaned in.
“My marriage to Desmond began in a way most would not understand. But what’s grown between us is real. What we’ve built is real. And the lies you’ll hear today from a bitter man who couldn’t control this empire are nothing more than the last gasp of a dying legacy.”
Desmond took the mic next.
“My uncle has betrayed our family, our investors, and our legacy. Today, we present evidence of his offshore laundering, manipulation of board votes, and collusion with known criminals.”
He handed over flash drives to the media team.
Cameras caught every second.
By the time Desmond’s uncle took the podium across the city an hour later, the headlines were already turning:
“Desmond King Exposes Corruption in Family Feud.”
“Eliana King Breaks Silence in Viral Speech.”
“Power Couple Fights Back With Evidence.”
That night, as Eliana sat beside Desmond watching the news coverage, she finally let herself breathe.
They’d made it through the ambush.
For now.
But something still felt wrong.
She stood and walked to the window.
Lightning flashed again in the sky.
“Desmond,” she whispered.
He looked up.
“I don’t think he’s done.”
Desmond nodded slowly.
“He’s not.”
- Writer
