Chapter 18: The Video That Breaks Everything
The press conference is still playing on loop across every screen in the city when the second bomb drops.
It’s 9:14 p.m.
Damian and I are back in the penthouse, doors locked, phones silenced, security on every floor. He’s pacing the living room like a caged animal, already on the phone with Marcus, barking orders to sue every outlet that aired Vanessa’s interview without fact-checking.
I’m curled on the couch, blanket wrapped tight around me, trying to breathe through the nausea that’s been coming in waves since the paternity lie went viral. My hand rests on my stomach. Our baby. The one the world is calling fake.
Then Damian’s tablet chimes.
A priority alert from his cyber team.
He freezes mid-sentence.
Marcus’s voice crackles through t
