(Ethan's POV)
By 6:12 a.m., my phone had already rung four times.
I didn't answer any of them. I didn't need to. The headlines were enough.
WOLFE CEO SECRETLY MARRIED. STRATEGIC UNION OR POWER PLAY? WHO IS MIRA WOLFE?
They were moving fast. Financial outlets framed it as consolidation. Society blogs framed it as a scandal. Industry insiders framed it as timing. Good. Timing was the point.
I stood in my office overlooking the city as the sun cut through the glass in thin, deliberate lines. Behind me, PR was in containment mode—not damage control.
There was no damage—only narrative shaping.
"Sentiment is neutral-positive," my communications director said from the doorway. "No stock dip."
Of course, there wasn't. Stability reads well in uncertain markets. Marriage reads stable. I nodded once. "Monitor long-form commentary. Not just headlines."
