The air in the Meridian Ballroom, once electric with
triumph, turned to ice. The anonymous email glowed on the tablet, a digital
poison pill. Elara's blood ran cold as she read the damning words.
It wasn't just a claim; it was a meticulously crafted
attack. The burner email contained schematics, technical data, and a brutal
allegation: Syntellect's revolutionary core algorithm was stolen intellectual
property, developed illicitly at a defunct research lab called "Kore
Tech." The evidence looked terrifyingly substantive.
This was an existential threat. If true, their flagship
investment was a lie. The ensuing lawsuit from Kore Tech's heirs wouldn't just
cost them money; it would shatter Aeterna's credibility before it even left the
launchpad.
Elara's celebratory glow vanished. She looked up, her eyes
finding Chloe's across the now-empty hall. No words were needed. The ghost of
the triumphant evening was gone, replaced by the heavy scent of betrayal.
Someone had been waiting in the shadows, and they had struck with surgical
precision.
The following morning, just after seven, Elara was nestled
deep in Silas's embrace, lost to the world. The urgent buzzing of her phone on
the bedside table shattered the peace.
Silas was awake in an instant. Carefully, he loosened his
hold on his wife, his movements fluid as he snatched up the device. Chloe
Smith. He glanced at Elara's peaceful, sleeping face, the faint dark circles
under her eyes a testament to her exhaustion from the night before. She hadn't
fallen into a deep sleep until nearly dawn.
He slid out of bed and moved to the window, his voice a low,
sleep-roughened murmur. "Chloe. Elara is still asleep. Call back later."
"Wait, Mr. Thorne! Please." Chloe's voice was strained,
crackling with urgency. "It involves you. Both of you."
Silas's posture straightened. "Go on."
"It's the anonymous tip. It's blown up online overnight. The
posts are trending. But that's not the worst part." Chloe took a sharp breath.
"The source added a new line, specifically for Elara. It says… 'Ask your
husband what really happened to Kore Tech. The ghost in your machine has a
name.'"
A muscle ticked in Silas's jaw. His gaze, already sharp,
turned to obsidian. "Understood. I'll handle it. Thank you for the heads-up."
After confirming when to expect Elara's call, he hung up. He
didn't wake her. Instead, he found the trending thread himself. His eyes
scanned the vitriolic comments, the accusations flying not just at Aeterna, but
directly at him and his company, Aeternum Corp. They were calling him a thief,
a corporate raider who had crushed Kore Tech to steal their code.
He shared the link and dialled Ben, his voice dangerously
calm. "I've sent you a link. Find the source. Now."
"Should we have the posts taken down immediately?" Ben
asked, the sound of frantic clicking in the background.
"Delete them. Then, have legal issue cease-and-desist
letters in Aeternum's name. We're suing for defamation." Silas's gaze drifted
back to the bed, to his wife. Her belly, rounded with their twins, was a stark
reminder of what he was protecting. "This clown is just the first move. I want
to know who's pulling his strings. Anyone online attacking Elara or my company
gets a letter. Let's see how brave these keyboard warriors are when their own
wallets are on the line."
"Understood."
Silas ended the call. Deleting the posts might look like an
admission of guilt to some, but Silas didn't care about optics. He cared about
results. He would create a wall of silence around Elara, then dismantle the
threat from the shadows.
He returned to bed, slipping his arms around her. She sighed
in her sleep, nestling closer. He would burn the whole internet down before he
let their poison touch her.
Elara woke around nine. It was only after a leisurely
breakfast and a slow stroll through the gardens that she finally learned about
the firestorm.
Absurd.
The word was a silent scream in her mind. The colour drained
from her face, then rushed back in a hot wave of fury. Her hands trembled
slightly, her clear, almond-shaped eyes blazing with a mix of hurt and raw
anger.
Seeing her reaction, Silas cupped her face, his thumbs
gently stroking the faint shadows beneath her eyes. "Hey," he murmured, his
voice a deep, calming anchor. "Look at me. Every single person spreading that
garbage will be served with a lawsuit from the Thorne Group by tomorrow. And
the weasel who started it? When we find him, we will end him."
The warmth of his hands, the absolute certainty in his tone,
slowly doused the flames of her panic. She drew a shaky breath, covering his
hands with her own.
"I trust you," she said, her voice firming. "I did my own
due diligence. The IP was clean. So who is behind Kore Tech? Who wants to
destroy my fund to get to you?" Her mind was racing, piecing together the
puzzle. "Is this about me? Or is this an attack on you, using me as the
weapon?"
Their gazes locked. After a weighted moment, a faint smile
touched Silas's lips. He ruffled her hair, the gesture fond and slightly
impatient. "You're overthinking it, my little schemer."
Elara's tight expression softened. She batted his hand away,
smoothing her hair with a sheepish grin. "I can't help it. It's the pregnancy
brain. The twins are stealing all my IQ points."
Silas chuckled, a low, warm sound. "Right. Blame the babies
for your sudden silliness." He leaned down, pinching her cheek affectionately
before his expression grew serious again. "I know you, Elara. I know your mind
and your heart. You don't need to spiral. I've got this."
Tenderness swelled in her chest, so potent it stole her
breath. In that moment, she felt like a child who had been bullied, only to
have her champion swoop in, ready to raze the entire playground to the ground
for her.
The anger melted away, replaced by a giddy, powerful joy.
"Silas, look at me," she whispered, her eyes sparkling.
He met her gaze, his own darkening with intent. "What is it,
my love?"
A slow, mischievous smile played on her lips. "I want to
kiss you."
His mouth curved into a wicked grin. "By all means. I'm all
yours. Do your worst."
Elara giggled, the sound light and free, before leaning in
and planting a firm, smacking kiss on his lips. "Thank you, darling."
He brushed a thumb over the corner of his mouth, his eyes
crinkling with amusement. "Anytime."
"But this isn't just your fight," Elara said, her
determination returning. "Leave the legal bulldozing to you. But when it's time
to fight in my arena, you'll be my strongest supporter, right?"
Silas looked at her—this fierce, brilliant woman carrying
his children and building an empire—and felt a surge of pride so fierce it was
almost painful. He nodded once. "Agreed."
Satisfied, Elara's smile returned. She laced her fingers
with his as they walked toward a picnic blanket Martha had laid out on the
lawn. Bathed in the warm June sun, she lay sideways, her head pillowed in his
lap.
As Silas's fingers gently combed through her hair, she
looked up at him, her expression growing distant.
"Darling," she began, her voice soft. "Let me tell you a
story. A story from when I was twelve…"
Silas stilled, his full attention on her.
"My uncle Robert took us all on holiday to a resort," she
continued, her gaze fixed on some memory he couldn't see. "It was Bianca's
birthday, and he threw a party for her. I didn't want to go. But Uncle Robert
said I should be more social, that I should try to make friends with them so I
wouldn't be so lonely."
She paused, the sunlight catching the fleeting pain in her
eyes.
"So I went. It was just the kids, no adults. And Bianca… she
was so happy, so welcoming. She invited me to play all their games. Her friends
were nice to me, too. For a little while, I actually believed she wanted me
there. I truly thought she was finally accepting me as her cousin…"
Her voice trailed off, leaving the unspoken tragedy hanging
in the air between them—a warning from the past, just as a new threat gathered
in the present.