POV: Xavier
The article was a character assassination, but it wielded a scalpel, not a cleaver. It didn’t invent a new past; it meticulously twisted the existing, public one. The headline was a masterclass in implication: FROM PROJECT LEAD TO PILLOW TALK: HOW A DESIGNER’S ACCESS WENT VERTICAL.
Xavier read it with a cold, sinking clarity. It was all true and all a lie. It cited her rapid promotion to Vega lead after Lydia’s sudden departure. It highlighted the “unprecedented” direct access she had to the CEO, quoting anonymous “project insiders” about meetings in his office that ran past midnight. It referenced the boardroom confrontation, painting her not as a whistleblower but as a “fiercely loyal defender” of Hale. And of course, it featured the grainy penthouse photo, the “smoking gun
