Chapter 8 - The Media Leak
By 3:00 PM, my phone started exploding with notifications.
Ryan hadn't waited for my twenty-four-hour deadline.
He couldn't leak the corporate data without risking immediate federal prison, so he chose a different tactic.
A gossip blog in Denver had just published a blind item.
Which local tech executive faked a domestic violence incident to cover up her own embezzlement?
Sarah called me immediately.
"Have you seen the article?" she demanded.
"Yes. Ryan is trying to destroy my reputation before the trial."
"He's planting seeds of doubt for the jury," Sarah warned.
"If he makes you look unhinged, the assault charge becomes harder to prosecute."
"We can't let him control the narrative," I said, pacing the hotel room.
"What do you want to do? Sue for defamation?"
"No. Lawsuits take too long."
I sat down at my laptop.
"I'm a Vice President of Marketing, Sarah. I know how to handle PR."
"Claire, don't do anything illegal."
"I won't. I'm just going to tell the truth."
I contacted a trusted journalist I had worked with at a major Denver newspaper.
I sent him the security footage of the New Year's Eve dinner.
I blurred the faces slightly to avoid legal complications, but the violence was unmistakable.
I also sent the heavily redacted court documents regarding the stolen two point four million dollars.
At 6:00 PM, the newspaper published an explosive exclusive online.
The Betrayal of a Breadwinner: Local Tech VP Assaulted and Defrauded by In-Laws.
Within an hour, the story went viral.
People on social media were outraged.
The hashtag #JusticeForClaire started trending locally.
My company released a statement standing by me and condemning the violence.
Ryan’s smear campaign had backfired spectacularly.
Instead of making me look unhinged, he had made himself the most hated man in Denver.
I watched the news coverage with a grim smile.
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They wanted a public war.
They were vastly underequipped to fight one with me.
