Chapter 11: The Leak
1014 Words
It started at 6AM.
My phone blew up.
100 texts. 200 notifications.
Selena: "Don’t check the news."
Dr. Reyes: "I’m so sorry. I didn’t know."
Unknown: "Gold digger. Die."
Damien was already in the living room. Shirt off. Pacing.
On every TV: Cole Tower.
On every headline:
"COLE HEIR SCANDAL: SECRET MEDICAL FILES LEAKED"
Vivienne did it.
---
The leak was everything.
My medical records.
The ultrasound photos.
The gender.
Due date: March 14.
Even my prenatal vitamins.
And the worst part?
A video.
Me. In Dr. Reyes' office. 12 weeks.
Crying.
"I'm scared," I said on the video. "What if he hates me? What if I'm a bad mom?"
Damien's voice off camera: "You won't be."
It was private. It was ours.
Now it was on TMZ.
"She broke HIPAA," Damien said, voice deadly quiet. "She broke the law."
"She broke us," I whispered.
My hands were shaking.
"Everyone knows," I said. "About Cole. About me crying. About—"
"Hey." Damien grabbed my face. "Look at me. They don't know us. They know a 30 second clip."
"Damien, Cole is trending," Selena said from the doorway. "Baby Cole. His due date. People are making bets on his name."
I doubled over. Nausea hit me hard.
"Okay," Damien said immediately. "No TV. No phone. Doctor."
---
Dr. Reyes came within 20 minutes.
"Stress," she said, checking me. "And dehydration. You need to rest, Mrs. Cole."
"The whole world knows about my baby," I said, crying. "How am I supposed to rest?"
Damien sat beside me on the couch. Held my hand.
"Then we give them something else to talk about," he said.
He looked at Selena.
"Call legal. Sue her. Sue the hospital. Sue everyone."
"Already done," Selena said. "But Mr. Cole... the damage is done."
Damien cursed. In that language I didn't know.
Then he turned to me.
"Ava. What do you need?"
"To make it stop," I sobbed. "To make her stop."
He pulled me into his arms.
"I will," he promised. "I swear to you."
---
By noon, Vivienne held another press conference.
Alone this time. No board.
"I’m heartbroken this was leaked," she said to cameras, fake tears. "As a woman, as a potential aunt to this child, I believe in privacy.
But as a board member, I have to ask: can we trust a CEO who can't even protect his own family's medical records?"
The internet ate it up.
#FireDamien started trending.
#ProtectBabyCole
People were fighting in the comments.
About us. About Cole. About a baby that wasn't even born yet.
Damien threw his phone. Again.
"She's good," he said bitterly. "I'll give her that."
"She's evil," I said. "Cole isn't leverage. He's our son."
Damien looked at me.
"Then we treat him like that," he said. "From now on. No more hiding. No more reacting. We lead."
---
That afternoon, we did something crazy.
We went to Cole Tower.
Together.
No security briefing. No PR team.
Just Damien in a suit. Me in a dress. Hand in hand.
The lobby was packed. Employees. Press.
Phones up. Recording.
Damien didn't stop. He walked straight to the elevators.
Pulled me in.
50th floor. The whole company was watching on the internal screens.
He stepped to the front of the room. No podium.
"Turn the cameras off," he said to Selena.
She did.
1000 employees. Silent.
"My name is Damien Cole," he said. "And 3 months ago I married a woman in Vegas.
Her name is Ava. She's a graphic designer. She's smarter than me. Kinder than me.
And she's carrying my son."
Murmurs.
"Yesterday, someone leaked her medical records. Her worst moment. Her fears.
To hurt her. To hurt me. To hurt this company."
He looked around the room.
"I don't care about the stock today. I care about the woman next to me.
And the son we're bringing into this company one day."
He put his arm around me.
"So if you have a problem with that, you can quit.
If you don't, then you work for us. For Cole. And we work for you."
Silence.
Then one person clapped.
Then two.
Then the whole room.
Standing ovation.
I was crying again.
---
Back in the penthouse, we collapsed.
"It worked," Selena said, checking her tablet. "Stock is climbing. #TeamDamien is trending."
"Good," Damien said. He didn't care. He was looking at me.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"No," I said honestly. "I feel exposed. Like everyone knows my worst day."
"I know," he said. He knelt in front of me. "I'm sorry. For all of it."
He put his hands on my stomach.
"Hey Cole," he whispered. "Sorry the world met you like this. But you're loved. So much."
I touched his hair.
"Thank you," I said. "For that speech."
"I meant every word," he said.
His phone buzzed.
Vivienne.
Message: Cute speech. Too bad the FBI is at your office. HIPAA violation. Illegal surveillance. Enjoy prison. -V
Damien went pale.
"What?" I asked.
"She's pressing charges," he said. "Against me. For the leak."
"But she did it!"
"I know," he said, standing. "But she has lawyers. And she has proof I knew about it 2 hours before we went public."
He looked at me.
"I might have to turn myself in."
My blood ran cold.
"No," I said. "Damien, no. Not with Cole—"
"Shh," he said, pulling me up. "It's okay. Legal says it's 24 hours max. For questioning."
He kissed me. Hard.
"If I go, you stay here. With Selena. You don't talk to anyone. Okay?"
I nodded, terrified.
Two FBI agents were at the door 10 minutes later.
"Damien Cole," one said. "We need you to come with us."
Damien looked at me one last time.
"I've got you," he mouthed.
Then he walked out.
In handcuffs.
On live TV.
---
The last thing I heard before the door closed was a reporter shouting:
"MR COLE! DID YOU LEAK YOUR OWN WIFE'S MEDICAL RECORDS?!"
And Damien didn't answer.
He just left.
To protect me.
To protect Cole.
And I was alone.
Again.
- Writer
