Chapter 10

At first, Victoria hadn't planned to do anything about Claire coming to see her. But something happened the next day that made her change her mind.

At nine in the morning, just after Victoria arrived at the office, Chris from sales came running over with his phone. "Ms. Lane, look at this."

On the screen was an article from a social media account. The headline read: [Inside Foster Group CEO's Divorce: Ex-Wife Victoria Left With Nothing, Suspected of Cheating During Marriage]. The article was written like it had all the juicy details, claiming Victoria had been involved with some rich playboy during her marriage, that Stephen had found out, and that she was the one who asked for the divorce. According to the post, she left with nothing just to preserve the last shred of her dignity.

There were a few photos attached underneath. They were blurry, but she could still tell they showed her having dinner with a man at a restaurant. She knew exactly who he was. A college classmate she'd run into on the street last month. They'd grabbed a meal together, and the whole thing hadn't even lasted forty minutes.

But the photos had been edited, cropping out the other diners around them and leaving only Victoria and the man behind, making it look like they were a couple on a date.

Victoria read the whole article from top to bottom, then looked at the account name: Gossip Queen. She knew that account all too well. In her last life, it was the same one that had exposed Stephen and Claire's relationship and turned Victoria into the pathetic ex-wife who couldn't let go.

"Find out which company is behind this account." Victoria handed the phone back to Chris. "I want to know who's running it before the day's over."

Chris moved fast. By two in the afternoon, he had the result. "Ms. Lane, the company behind the account is called Starlight Media. The legal rep is a guy named James King, but the actual operator is a woman named Sophie Sinclair."

Sophie Sinclair.

Victoria wrote the two words down on paper, the corner of her mouth curling up. Claire Sinclair. Sophie Sinclair. She couldn't even be bothered coming up with a decent fake name.

She picked up her phone and dialed a number. The former finance director had given it to her in her last life. She'd kept it ever since, not expecting to use it this soon in this life.

"Mr. Carter, it's Victoria. Last time you said you had some materials on the Foster Group Acquisition Case. I'd like to see them."

The other end went quiet for a few seconds. "Miss Lane, have you really thought this through? Once this stuff gets out, Foster Group's stock price will drop at least ten percent."

"I know."

"Alright. I'll send everything over tomorrow morning."

After hanging up, Victoria called another number. This one she'd saved even before her rebirth. It belonged to Woods from Metro Times, a veteran investigative reporter who specialized in digging up corporate dirt. In her last life, he had been the first one to report on Foster Group's financial problems.

"Mr. Woods, I've got a lead for you. It's about the Foster Group acquisition deal. Interested?"

Woods's voice sharpened instantly. "Talk."

Victoria didn't give him too much. Just a few keywords: financial fraud, insider trading, and related-party benefit transfers. Woods sucked in a breath on the other end. "You have proof of this?"

"I do."

"Then I'll come see you tomorrow."

After setting all of that in motion, Victoria sat alone in her office. Outside the window, the city glowed with nighttime lights. Beneath every light, someone was living, struggling, choosing.

Three days later, Metro Times ran a front-page story: [Questions Around the Foster Group Acquisition: Hundreds of Millions Missing]. The article quoted a large number of internal documents and data, laying out in detail how Foster Group was suspected of financial fraud, concealing major related-party transactions, and channeling benefits to related parties during an acquisition two years earlier.

That same day, Victoria bundled together the fake article from Gossip Queen and the recording she'd made of Claire at Starbucks, then sent them to several major influencers and media accounts. In the recording, Claire's line, "Stephen and I are really just coworkers," was clipped out and paired with the false accusations made against Victoria in the article. The contrast was brutal. On one side, the smeared ex-wife. On the other, the fake innocent secretary pretending she'd done nothing wrong.

Public opinion exploded.

That afternoon, three topics shot straight to the top of the trending list at the same time: [Foster Group Acquisition Case], [Claire Sinclair Recording], and [Gossip Queen Spreads Lies]. Foster Group's stock dropped on the spot, closing down more than six percent and wiping out over 1 billion dollars in market value.

When Stephen called, Victoria was having dinner at home.

"Victoria, was that article leaked by you?" His voice was heavy, like thunder before a storm breaks.

Victoria picked up a rib, chewed slowly, swallowed, and only then picked up her phone. "Mr. Foster, which article are you talking about? The Metro Times piece on the acquisition case, or the online post with Claire Sinclair's recording?"

"Both."

"Then my answer is this. Yes. So what?"

There was a long silence on the other end. Victoria could hear Stephen breathing, rough and repressed, like he was using every ounce of strength to keep his temper under control.

"Do you even know what you're doing?" he said at last, his voice lower than before. "Foster Group's stock dropped six points. It's not just me this affects. Thousands of employees depend on this company to make a living."

"You're right, Mr. Foster. Thousands of employees matter." Victoria put down her chopsticks, her voice calm as if she were reading from a textbook. "So maybe you should take a hard look at why Foster Group's stock can drop six points over one article. Is it because the report is fake? Or because it's true?"

"You..."

"Stephen Foster, listen carefully." Victoria cut him off. "Every single word in that article is true. Every data point can be verified. If you're unhappy, go ahead and sue me for defamation. But the second you do that, I'll have no choice but to submit even more materials to the court. Are you sure that's what you want?"

Stephen didn't say a word.

"And about Claire Sinclair's recording, I only released part of it. The full version is a lot longer, and she says a lot more than just 'coworkers.' Want to hear what she really thinks of you as her boss?"

A dull slam came from the other end, like something had just been smashed onto a desk. Then the call disconnected.

Victoria set her phone down and went back to eating.

Mary watched her daughter from the side, her expression complicated. She had no idea when her girl had become this formidable, but she liked this version of her just fine.

"The ribs are really good," Victoria said. "Mom, make these again tomorrow."