Ethan knew the attack was coming.
He just didn't expect it to arrive before sunrise.
His phone exploded with notifications the moment he woke up.
Messages. Missed calls. News alerts.
Liam's name flashed across the screen.
"Tell me it's fake," Ethan said the second he answered.
"It's not," Liam replied grimly. "Marcus leaked a story."
Ethan opened the first headline.
REED HOLDINGS LINKED TO ILLEGAL TRANSFERS
His blood went cold.
"That's impossible," Ethan said. "Those accounts aren't mine."
"They don't have to be," Liam replied. "They just have to look like yours."
Another headline loaded.
WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIMS ETHAN REED BUILT HIS EMPIRE ON FRAUD
Ethan exhaled slowly.
Marcus hadn't defended himself.
He redirected the fire.
Classic.
Ruthless.
Effective.
Sophia saw the news five minutes later.
Her coffee cup slipped from her hand and shattered on the kitchen floor.
"No…" she whispered.
This wasn't collateral damage.
This was execution.
She grabbed her phone and called Ethan.
He answered on the first ring.
"I'm so sorry," she said immediately.
"Don't apologize," he replied calmly. Too calmly. "This was inevitable."
"He's destroying you because of me."
"No," Ethan said. "He's destroying me because I stood up."
Her chest tightened. "What are you going to do?"
"Fight," he said simply.
The word carried weight.
Not anger.
Not panic.
Strategy.
By noon, Ethan stood in front of a wall of cameras.
Press conference.
Marcus had forced his hand.
The reporters shouted over each other.
"Mr. Reed! Are the allegations true?"
"Did you launder money through shell companies?"
"Are you resigning?"
Ethan stepped to the microphone.
Silence spread slowly across the room.
"I built Reed Holdings from nothing," he said clearly. "And I didn't steal a single dollar doing it."
Flashbulbs exploded.
"These accusations," he continued, "are retaliation."
The room shifted.
A murmur.
"Retaliation from who?" a reporter shouted.
Ethan didn't hesitate.
"Marcus Blackwood."
The name detonated.
Gasps.
Phones lifted. Tweets fired instantly.
"You're accusing a board member of framing you?" another reporter asked.
"I'm accusing a criminal," Ethan replied.
And just like that—
The war went nuclear.
Marcus watched the press conference from his office.
He smiled slowly.
"Good," he murmured.
Because public wars were easier to manipulate.
He picked up his phone and dialed.
"Release phase two," he ordered.
Across the city, Sophia's phone buzzed.
A new headline appeared.
FORMER EXECUTIVE SOPHIA BLACKWOOD SIGNED FRAUD DOCUMENTS
Her knees nearly gave out.
He sacrificed her.
Without hesitation.
Without regret.
Tears blurred her vision.
This was her father.
Her protector.
Her blood.
And he had just thrown her to the wolves.
Her phone rang.
Ethan.
She couldn't speak when she answered.
"I saw it," he said softly.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"No," he replied. "You're done apologizing for him."
Silence trembled between them.
"Sophia," he said carefully, "this is the moment."
"What moment?" she breathed.
"The one where you choose," Ethan said. "Him… or yourself."
Her heart pounded.
Because choosing herself meant choosing Ethan.
And choosing Ethan meant burning her last bridge.
Marcus or freedom.
Fear or truth.
Family or survival.
Sophia closed her eyes.
And made the hardest decision of her life.
"I'm coming to you," she said.
Ethan didn't hesitate.
"I'll be waiting."
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The war is just beginning.