He did not need anyone to tell him that she was getting scared out of her wits. He could see the panic in her eyes. Her hands were even trembling as she stared at the tablet in her hand.
"you don't need to panic," Leo said, his voice calm and steady. "I need you to trust me. Give me one hour. I will fix this."
Chloe looked up at him, her face pale. "One hour? Leo, my company is falling apart right now!"
"One hour," he repeated, his voice firmer. He turned and walked out of her office without looking back.
He got into his car, a sleek black vehicle that was waiting for him. As soon as the door closed, the outside world went quiet. He took out a simple, secure phone and made a call.
"I need you to find the person who started the rumors about Briggs Corporation," he said into the phone. His voice was cold. "You have ten minutes. I want the name and I want the person brought to me."
He ended the call and leaned back in his seat. He did not have to wait long. In exactly ten minutes, the phone rang.
"We found him," a voice said on the other end. "His name is David Morse. He is a journalist for a popular online news blog. He posted the story and paid others to spread it."
"Bring him to the usual place," Leo ordered. "I will be there soon."
The "usual place" was an old warehouse on the outskirts of the city. It was empty and quiet. When Leo arrived, two men in dark clothes were waiting for him. A third man, David Morse, was sitting on a metal chair in the middle of the large room. He looked scared.
Leo walked slowly towards him. The sound of his footsteps echoed in the empty space.
"Do you know who I am?" Leo asked.
The journalist shook his head, his eyes wide with fear. "N-No. Please, I don't have any money."
"I am not here for money," Leo said. He stopped in front of the man. "You wrote a story about Chloe Briggs. You said she is a criminal."
"It… it was just a story! I was doing my job!" David stammered.
"Your job is to tell lies?" Leo's voice was soft but dangerous.
"It was a tip! I got a good tip!"
Leo moved fast. He grabbed the man's hand and bent his fingers back. David cried out in pain.
"Who gave you the tip?" Leo asked, his grip tightening.
"I don't know! A source! Anonymous!"
Leo applied more pressure. The sound of a bone cracking was loud in the quiet warehouse. David screamed.
"The name," Leo said, his face close to the journalist's. "I will not ask again."
Tears streamed down David's face. "Alright! Alright! It was Adrian Wright! Adrian Wright paid me! He gave me the information and paid me to publish it! He wanted to destroy Chloe Briggs's company!"
Leo released the man's hand. David slumped in the chair, sobbing and holding his injured fingers.
"Please," David begged. "I'm sorry. I was just doing what I was paid to do. Don't hurt me anymore."
Leo looked down at him without any emotion. "I will forgive you," he said. "But on one condition."
"Anything! I'll do anything!"
Leo took out his phone again. He made another call. "I want everything," he said. "Every dirty secret, every crime, every lie from Adrian Wright's company. I want all the information sent to me in the next fifteen minutes."
He ended the call and waited. The only sound in the warehouse was David's quiet crying. In exactly fifteen minutes, Leo's phone buzzed. A file had been sent to him. He opened it and scanned the information. It was all there. Proof of illegal deals, stolen money, lies to investors, and even evidence of crimes.
Leo turned his phone towards David. "You will take this information," he said. "You will send it to the police. You will send it to every news company you know. And you will make sure it becomes the biggest story online. You will make it trend everywhere. Do you understand?"
David nodded quickly. "Yes! I can do that. I know how to make stories trend."
"If you do this well, I will forget we ever met," Leo said. "If you try to warn Adrian or run away, my people will find you. And next time, I will not be so gentle."
David's face was white with fear. "I'll do it. I promise."
Leo nodded to the two men. "Give him a computer and let him work. Watch him until it is done."
He turned and walked out of the warehouse. His part was finished.
---
Meanwhile, in his expensive penthouse, Adrian Wright was celebrating. He poured two glasses of expensive champagne.
"To our success," he said, handing a glass to Elena.
She smiled and took it. "To bringing down Chloe Briggs."
"She refused to work with us," Adrian said, laughing. "Now, we will destroy her company. When her company is worthless, we will buy it for very little money. Then we will be bigger than ever."
Elena nodded. "It serves her right. And it serves Leo right too. He thinks he is so smart now."
They clinked their glasses and drank. Adrian felt powerful. His plan was working perfectly.
Suddenly, his phone rang. He saw it was his father. He smiled. "Probably calling to congratulate me," he said to Elena before answering.
But as soon as he put the phone to his ear, his smile vanished. His father's voice was loud and angry. Adrian had to hold the phone away from his ear.
"You idiot! What have you done?" his father screamed. "You have destroyed us! You have destroyed our family!"
Adrian was confused. "Father? What are you talking about? What is wrong?"
"What is wrong? Go online, you fool! Look at the news! Our company is finished! The police are on their way to the office!"
Adrian's blood ran cold. He ended the call with shaking hands and quickly opened a news app on his phone.
The headline made his heart stop: WRIGHT ENTERPRISE EXPOSED: PROOF OF FRAUD, MONEY LAUNDERING, AND CORRUPTION.
He scrolled down. There were documents, emails, everything. It was all there for the world to see. And then he saw a video. It was a security video from the restaurant where he had met the journalist, David Morse. The video clearly showed him handing over an envelope of cash. The news article below the video said he had paid to spread false rumors about Briggs Corporation.
"No… this can't be happening," Adrian whispered, his face turning pale.
Elena grabbed his arm. "Adrian? What is it? What's wrong?"
He couldn't answer. His phone started ringing again. And again. Calls from investors, from lawyers, from the board of directors. His world was crashing down in a single moment. The celebration was over. The nightmare had begun. He had tried to ruin Chloe, but in the end, he had ruined himself.