My Ex, My Lifeline

The Scapegoat

Heat rushed to her face painting her cheeks with the awkward flush of shock. She hurriedly picked up her phone from the floor, hoping it hadn’t been damaged by the drop. A cold, metallic fear wrapped itself around her chest, and she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears, loud and unrelenting.

She ran her fingers through her hair and began pacing the office, each step echoing against the polished floors. The day had spiralled into a nightmare she couldn’t wake from. She slapped herself lightly across the face.

“Think Ella. Don't panic. Just breathe.” She muttered over and over again.

By mid-afternoon, Daniella forced herself to leave the office. She needed to see Julian. She needed him to explain what the hell was going on. The drive to the detention centre was long, rain-slicked roads reflecting the city lights like fractured mirrors. Every honk, every shadow passing by, made her flinch. Her mind raced, running through worst-case scenarios, and unsettling probability that she might have been betrayed by her own brother.

The gates of the office of detention centre creaked open, allowing her to drive into the compound. After signing in, she was frisked and escorted into a sterile visitor’s room. Julian sat waiting.

His hair hung over his face partially obscuring his eyes. Faint bruises marked his skin, a clear evidence of rough handling by the officers and it isn’t even up to an hour of being here. His wrists were crossed on the table, his posture rigid. His dark eyes looked tired but sharp. The spark of mischief she remembered from childhood was gone, replaced by a hard-edged focus that made her chest tighten.

“You look horrible, Jul” Daniella said, shuddering at the cold, unhygienic atmosphere of the prison. She tried to lighten the moment, but Julian only grimaced and shook his head. Her heart sank. She reached out instinctively, desperate to touch him, to comfort him....

“Don’t....please” Julian Said.

He lifted his head and met her gaze, and the pain lodged itself deep in her chest. She had never felt so helpless, sitting across from her own twin brother with nothing she could do to protect him.

Julian, what happened?” she asked, tears spilling freely now. “They’re saying you embezzled company funds, but how? I don’t… I don’t understand. Please, Jul. How did you get.....”

This isn’t about me,” he cut in immediately, stopping her questions before they could unravel. “Don’t....whatever you do, don’t trust anyone.”

Daniella froze.

“But the evidence,” she whispered. “It says......”

“It’s fabricated. Every transfer, every signature......false. They made it look like me, but it isn’t. It’s all engineered to take me out and force you into scrambling. “ His voice was calm, disturbingly so. “And Dani… it came from inside. Someone in the family framed me. I’m certain.”

The words hit her like ice, someone close had betrayed them.

Who could it be? Who could manipulate the system so effortlessly? And why?

“Why?” she asked, almost whispering. “Why target us? Why now?”

Julian shook his head. “Because we are a threat. Grey Consortium doesn’t just want to compete with us, they want to control us. And they will use anyone, through any angle, to get what they want.”

“But, how could they....”

Her words were cut short by the sharp buzz signalling the end of visiting hours. Officers moved in, pulling Julian to his feet and dragging him back toward his cell. Daniella’s hands clenched into fists beneath the table as she watched him disappear. Her mind raced as she tried to map out the possibilities, that an insider in the family would be working with Grey Consortium, to bring the family business down. This wasn’t just a family crisis, it was a war, waiting to happen and she was standing at the front line.

Whilst driving back to the house, it was already past 5, she turned on the radio to fill the silence and

“Today’s headline, The news of Julian’s arrest hit the Vale family like a thunderclap......the global financial freeze was as a result of Julian’s selfishness........like they say it’s always the ones you trust”

She immediately switched off the radio, not wanting to hear what the media has to say about this. By the time Daniella reached her house that evening, the news of Julian’s arrest had already spread like wildfire. Every headline painted her brother as a traitor to the family empire.

Back at her house later that night, she traced the digital trail again. Each redirection, every forged digital signature pointed unmistakably back to Grey Consortium. But then came the horrifying realization, as she surf the server, the uploads hadn’t just come from outside, they had been executed from within Vale Holdings, using credentials only family members could access.

Daniella leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. Her chest felt tight, as though it were being compressed. The betrayal wasn’t just business, it has become personal. Her pulse pounded in her ears.

She allowed herself a moment of weakness. One tear slid down her cheek before she wiped it away. There was no room for doubt, no time for fear. Julian’s words rang in her head: Don’t trust anyone. She knew he was right.

Her phone buzzed again, this time an unknown number flashing across the screen. She hesitated, but her fingers moved to answer.

“Miss Vale, are you aware that your brother was engage in...”

She snapped the phone shut, ignoring the call. She couldn’t afford to feed the media blogs something more to gossip about. Not when everything she had worked for, and everyone she cared for, was under attack.

Daniella returned to the screen, scanning internal logs, mapping financial transfers, and cross-referencing timestamps with press releases and company communications. Every digital breadcrumb pointed to a single truth: Grey Consortium had engineered this attack with precision, and someone close had given them the keys.

Her mind raced through different possibilities. Could it be one of her father’s advisors? A board member gone rogue? Or worse… a family member?

Her phone rang again, this time a familiar number. She didn’t answer. Not yet. She had work to do. Evidence to trace. A family to protect. And a company that could not, under any circumstances, fall.

Daniella leaned back, eyes fixed on the glowing screen, mind already racing ahead. This wasn’t just a fight to save Julian. This was a battle to uncover the truth, and to protect the legacy of Vale Empire at all costs.