But the silence swallowing the room tells me otherwise.
It doesn’t matter what I didn’t do.
The damage is already done.
Chapter 18
Landon
“I don’t care what the papers say, but I know it’s not Anna,” I say, pacing my office like a caged animal, my chest too tight.
Jack leans back in the leather chair opposite mine. “You trust her that much?”
The question halts me mid-step. I move to my desk, slam my palms onto it, and lean forward until my face is level with his. “I do. With everything I’m.”
He doesn’t comment on it, just nods as he continues. “Our PR team managed to pull the article before it went viral. We controlled the initial blast, but…” His gaze sharpens as he rests his elbows on the desk. “It still got out. Someone slipped the information to the press. This wasn’t random.”
“Then find out who it was,” I grind out, frustration tearing through me as my hands ball into fists.
“Our team is already on it, tracing every line. Whoever did this isn’t as clever as they think,” Jack says with a firm nod.
I rake a hand through my hair, gripping hard before turning away from him. The city stretches endlessly beyond the glass, but all I can see are flashes of Anna—her startled eyes, her trembling voice, her lips parting to swear she didn’t do it.
But I didn’t stay to hear any of it. I just walked out, leaving her alone in that room with questions and hurt swimming in her gaze.
Not because I doubted her. Damn, never that. I know her heart, even when she doesn’t fully believe in mine. She’d never do anything to hurt me. But I needed to rip the truth out before the world could paint her as guilty. That’s the reason I rushed back to my office.
Jack’s voice cuts through my thoughts.
“You’re right. It’s not Anna. The leak came from inside.”
I turn around immediately. “What?”
He nods grimly. “I just got a message confirming it’s someone from your house.”
My chest tightens. “Who?”
“Marcus. He was outside the kitchen door, where he overheard your conversation with Anna and decided to cash on it.”
My fists clench at my sides, and I’m not sure fury even covers what I’m feeling. Marcus, my house staff, the man who’s been with me for years. Always efficient. The kind you trust without a second thought. He’s the one who fucking did this.
“His wife is sick, and the hospital bills are drowning him. He took this as a light in the dark and called the press to sell the article—coincidentally the one Anna is working for—and someone there offered him money for the piece of information he had.” Jack continues to explain.
“He betrayed me.” I grip the edge of the desk.
Jack doesn’t argue. “Yes. But not out of spite. Out of desperation.”
“Where is he?” I ask, feeling no pity.
“Downstairs. In the staff office.”
“Bring him here.”
“Landon—”
“Now.”
Jack studies me for a beat, then nods and makes the call.
