The hope and the terrifying possibility that this might actually work.
Counselor, the defense rests.
21
Corin
The first alert hits my phone at 6:02 AM.
I’m still in bed, with Amara curled against my chest, her breathing soft and even.
The phone vibrates again. Then again.
Can’t be good.
I carefully extract myself from the tangle of limbs and sheets, trying not to wake her. She makes a small sound of protest but doesn’t open her eyes.
I grab my phone and slip into the hallway.
The messages are from Liora, General Counsel to the Saelinger Foundation.
A new article dropped. You need to see this now. LINK.
I pad down to the study, already feeling my chest tighten. The villa is quiet except for the distant sound of waves and the faint hum of the security system. Through the windows I can see Sable doing an early perimeter check along the beach path.
I open the link on my tablet.
The headline makes my stomach drop.
SAELINGER FOUNDATION APPROVED LAND DISPLACEMENT DEALS, LEAKED EMAILS REVEAL
Fuck.
I start reading. Someone has selectively edited and leaked my emails, which show my name on documents I never fully approved. It’s a goddamn masterpiece of character assassination.
But here’s the thing that makes my blood run cold: these are internal foundation emails. Board-level correspondence. Xavier shouldn’t have access to any of this anymore. He was removed from the board. His credentials were revoked.
Which means someone at the foundation in Manhattan is still helping him. Someone with high-level access who can pull archived correspondence and leak it without tripping security protocols.
Every email is real. Every word is mine. But the meaning has been twisted into something unrecognizable. The leaker took legitimate correspondence about due diligence and risk assessment and made it look like I was personally orchestrating the displacement of island families for profit.
I read it twice. Then a third time, looking for anything I can use to counter it. There’s nothing. Without releasing confidential board materials and violating about fifteen different NDAs, I can’t prove these emails were taken out of context.
Xavier and the mole know exactly what they’re doing. This isn’t just retaliation. It’s a calculated strike designed to destroy everything I’ve built since that first mistake five years ago.
My phone rings. Liora.
“I saw it,” I say before she can speak.
“We’re already getting calls from donors and limited partners.” She’s using the clipped tone reserved for when the shit has hit the fan. “Two have pulled out. Three more are ‘reviewing their commitments.’ That’s code for gone by end of day.”
“That bad?”
“That bad. I’ve got Noemi coordinating with legal, but Corin, this is going to get worse before it gets better.”
I lean back in the chair, staring at the ceiling. “What’s the play?”
“Standard crisis management. Issue a statement denying the allegations. Threaten defamation suits. Bury them in legal paperwork until the news cycle moves on.”
