Mother shifted Periklis, adjusting the bottle’s angle. Her voice, when she spoke, carried a note of bewilderment. “I never would have thought Phoibe capable of something like this. Your father always spoke so highly of her work.”
“People change,” I said. “Or perhaps we simply didn’t see what was always there.”
“It’s cruel, what she’s doing to you.” The gentle rocking motion she’d been using with Periklis became more agitated. “Filing a lawsuit like this, trying to destroy your reputation...”
Before I could respond, Kostas burst into the room, looking uncharacteristically agitated. “There’s been a leak.”
“What are you referring to?” I demanded.
“The media obtained the footage from your office.”
“Impossible!” My fork clattered against my plate as I rose to my feet.
“There are even before-and-after images of Phoibe, showing how she transformed her appearance after her separation from her husband.” Kostas approached, holding his screen toward me.
I took the phone and scrolled through the images. “These came from within the organization,” I stated flatly, handing the phone back to him. “From someone with high-level access.”
“And now they’re everywhere,” Kostas added, his tone grim. “Spreading across the internet rapidly.”
Without looking up from his phone, Matthaios said, “Good.”
My brother and I turned to him simultaneously. “What did you do, Matt?” I asked calmly, despite my rising anger.
Still frustratingly unruffled, he responded, “You’re welcome.”
I took two steps toward him, my hands bracing against the back of a chair to keep them from clenching into fists. “You leaked private internal documents and surveillance footage tothe public? To the press? What could have possessed you to do something so reckless? That’s a significant security breach and a potential lawsuit. Aren’t we dealing with enough legal complications as it is?”
Unsurprisingly, Chrysanthos spoke in our cousin’s defense. “Everything Matt shared was evidence you were planning to present to her lawyers, anyway. He simply shared it with the public.”
“Without my authorization,” I said sharply.
“Because you would have said no.” Chrysanthos met my eyes. “You were prepared to go into that press conference and make your case to a room full of skeptical journalists. Now, the internet is seeing the truth.
The muscle in my jaw twitched. “That’s not the point.”
“Isn’t it?” Chrysanthos leaned back in his chair. “You wanted to protect your reputation for Mom, the twins and me. Matt just ensured you wouldn’t have to spend the next six months fighting for it. The court of public opinion has already ruled in your favor.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and sat back down. “You should have consulted me first.”
“Aris, you wanted to handle this with dignity and class. We get that. But she wasn’t playing by those rules.” Matt’s voice was matter-of-fact.
“He has a point, Ari,” my mother said. “Sometimes the direct approach is best. Your father used to say that timing is everything in business, and in war.”
Aunt Irida nodded while rocking Yianna, who gurgled softly in her arms. “The woman was trying to destroy you. The boys simply beat her to the punch.”
I closed my eyes, forcing myself to breathe deeply and think past the anger. My father would have done exactly what they did.He would have struck first, struck hard, and made certain the opponent never had a chance to recover.
Phoibe had planned to drag this out for months, bleeding me slowly in the court of public opinion while her lawyers prolonged the case. Instead, she’d wake to find recordings of herself she knew nothing about.
When I opened my eyes, Matt was watching me with an unapologetic expression while Chrysanthos had returned to his breakfast. They’d acted to protect me. However much I disliked their methods, I couldn’t fault their motivation.
The charged silence was interrupted when the head of our household staff appeared in the doorway. “Mr. Christakis?”
Every man at the table looked up.
She flushed. “Mr. Aristides, I apologize for the interruption, but there’s a situation at the front gate.”
“What kind of situation?” I asked, noting her unusual hesitation.
