SYLVIA'S POVLisa knocked on the door and poked her head in. "Sylvia, have you seen the news?" she asked, her voice tinged with concern."Yes, Lisa. I have. This is a full-blown attack on our reputation," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I need you to call an emergency meeting with the PR team immediately. We need to get ahead of this.""On it," she said, disappearing down the hall to make the calls.I took a deep breath and tried to gather my thoughts. This was more than just a legal battle now. It was a fight to protect my integrity and the integrity of my business. I couldn’t let whoever was behind this win.A few minutes later, the PR team filed into my office,"Alright, everyone. You've seen the news. We need to respond quickly and decisively," I began. "First, we need a statement denying these accusations and asserting our commitment to transparency and honesty. We need to show our clients and the public that we stand by our work."One of the PR managers, David, nodded.
GRAYSON'S POVI woke up with a loud grunt, the hangover from the night before pounding in my head like a jackhammer. My face ached from the bruises I’d gotten in the bar fight. I squinted against the harsh morning light streaming through the window and reached for my phone on the nightstand. The screen lit up, showing five missed calls from Stewart."Great," I muttered, rubbing my temples. I dialed him back, and he picked up on the first ring."Grayson, finally. Have you checked the news?" Stewart's voice was tense."No, I just woke up. What's going on?" I asked, already feeling a knot forming in my stomach."Turn on the TV or check your news app. It's about Sylvia," he said.I groaned and swung my legs out of bed, shuffling over to the TV. I grabbed the remote and switched it on, flipping to a news channel. My heart sank as I saw the headline: "Lawsuit Filed Against Affordable Housing Project. Protesters Claim Fraud."The screen showed footage of a small crowd outside Sylvia’s office
SYLVIA'S POVAfter wrapping up work for the day, I headed straight to the kids' school. As soon as I arrived, I was swarmed by paparazzi, their cameras flashing and voices clamoring with ridiculous and hurtful questions. I tried to ignore them, focusing on getting to Zenith and Zendaya as quickly as possible.“Ms. Slyvia, is it true your company is a fraud?”“Are you worried about going to prison?”The questions were relentless. I hurried the kids into the car, shielding them from the chaos. Zendaya started to cry, her little body shaking with sobs. I knelt beside her, trying to soothe her despite my own frazzled nerves.“It’s okay, sweetie. Don’t listen to them. Everything’s going to be fine,” I whispered, brushing tears from her cheeks.Zenith held her hand, looking just as scared but trying to be brave for his sister. I managed to get them both into their seats and drove home as fast as I could without drawing more attention.When we finally pulled into the driveway and I opened th
I looked at the cameras, the men and women all gathered around, each one fishing for a story to sell. The flashes of the cameras were relentless, but I was completely zoned out, my mind storming with thoughts about how the kids must be feeling at school at this moment.A reporter's voice cut through my daze, bringing me back to reality. "Ma'am, do you deny 'Z Real Estate's' fraud allegation charges?"I took a deep breath, steeling myself. "Look, everyone," I began, my voice steady despite the chaos around me, "I know you all want a story, but rest assured, my company scamming people and giving them undervalued properties with bad infrastructures that could cause harm isn't one of them."I paused, making sure to meet the eyes of the reporters. "This woman's lawsuit, I am sure, is a misunderstanding. I will make sure the truth prevails."The barrage of questions continued, but I maintained my composure, refusing to be rattled. Inside, my thoughts were still a whirl of worry for Zenith a
SLYVIA'S POV"Alright, cut the bullshit, Alice. The cameras are gone," I snapped as soon as we were away from the reporters.Alice smirked and reached out to straighten my blouse, a mocking gesture since it didn't need fixing. "Oh, sweet child," she cooed, her voice dripping with false sympathy.I pulled away from her touch, anger boiling inside me. "What the hell are you doing here? You know what? I had a feeling you and Jocelia might be behind this."Alice's smirk widened. "Oh, are you going to cry? Darling, I'm just here to show support.""Support my ass. I didn't come all this way to be stopped now.""The only thing coming is the slithering public cunt between your legs," she fired back, her words laced with venom.My hand shot out before I could think, slapping her hard across the face. The sound echoed in the room, and my palm stung from the impact. Alice just laughed, licking a tiny drop of blood from her lip with a twisted grin."I think you should be more worried about your
SLYVIA'S POVI went to the car park where my car and the rest of my team were waiting for me. David, my head of PR, was the first to speak up as I approached."Was that Alice Lockwood?" he asked, his brow furrowed with concern."Yes," I answered, trying to keep my voice steady."What the hell does she want, after all the shit she talks about you in the tabloids?" he said, his frustration evident.I remembered what Alice had said about my kids, the veiled threats and the smug look on her face. The anger surged again, but I forced myself to stay calm."Beats me," I replied, my tone casual despite the turmoil inside me.David gave me a skeptical look but didn't press further. Instead, he opened the car door for me, and I slid into the back seat. As we drove away, I couldn't shake the feeling that Alice was planning something far worse than just a smear campaign. The stakes had never been higher, and I had to be ready for whatever came next.David, Lisa, and I drove back to work in tense
GRAYSON'S POVWhile staring out the window, lost in thought, my phone rang. It was Stewart. I picked it up, hoping for some good news."Hey, Stewart. What's up?""Grayson, I've done what you asked," he said, his voice steady. "I've dug into Sylvia's case, and I've found some things that could really help her chances of winning.""Okay, I'm listening," I replied, turning away from the window and focusing on his words."The woman filing the lawsuit claims that one of Sylvia's properties had faulty equipment that fell and almost killed her child. The child was home alone at the time and survived, but his legs were severely damaged and had to be amputated."I felt a pang of sympathy for the child but knew there had to be more to the story. "That sounds awful, but what's your angle, Stewart?""I've seen the pictures of the child's legs, and I have a hunch that the injuries were not caused by Sylvia's property. There are inconsistencies that suggest the accident didn't happen the way they'r
ALICE'S POVAs I drove away from Sylvia's obnoxious press conference, I couldn't help but feel a mix of satisfaction and irritation. I had come there to get in her head, to make her stumble over her words, but she had held her own. I glanced at my rearview mirror, seeing the busted lip Sylvia had given me with that slap. I smiled at her supposed confidence.I wasn't even mad at her for hitting me. In her shoes, I might have done the same. In a way, I admired her tenacity. But admiration didn't change the fact that she was a threat. She had picked the wrong turf to try and conquer—my turf, the Lockwood empire.As I drove through the bustling city streets, my mind wandered to the decades of work I had put into building and maintaining our family empire. If I allowed Sylvia to stay, if I allowed her to gain even a foothold, everything I had worked for could be jeopardized. She wasn't someone I could control, and that made her dangerous.I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, the smil