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The final exam.

I don't hesitate.

“I think she's a disgrace to the profession.”

Dani's mouth drops open. Finley makes a choking sound. Chiara's eyes widen. Carolina just stares at me.

“What?”

“You really don't mince words,” she says.

“Would you prefer the professional answer?”

“Please.”

I fold my hands primly on the table.

“Ms. Vance demonstrated a troubling disregard for established journalistic ethics and allowed personal bias to compromise the integrity of her interview.”

Five seconds of silence. Then they all burst out laughing.

“Okay,” Dani says. “I like her.”

“I wasn't finished.”

“Oh, please continue,” Finley says.

“I've only met Ellie once. She dismissed me almost immediately as no professional competition, which was fine. I don't need her approval. But I've seen the footage from what happened with Dani.”

The laughter fades. I look at her.

“What she did to you was wrong.”

Dani's expression changes.

“That wasn't journalism. She decided what story she wanted before she sat down with you, and when you didn't give it to her, she tried to force you into it.”

Dani nods slowly.

“She body-shamed you. Attacked your relationship. Tried to provoke your boyfriend⁠—”

“Husband now,” she says.

I smile. “Husband. And she attempted to manufacture a scandal because apparently the truth wasn't entertaining enough for her.”

“Exactly,” Dani says.

“Truth can be ugly. My job sometimes requires me to expose things people desperately want hidden. But cruelty isn't investigative journalism.”

Carolina watches me closely.

“What did you think about Mitchell firing her?”

Now that's a question.

“Normally? A billionaire media owner buying companies and then firing a reporter would have me digging so far up his ass he'd need a proctologist to find me.”

Dani spits out her drink.