Chapter 4

By eight o'clock the following morning, the viral hit piece had turned my corporate headquarters into a trial courtroom.

After a sleepless few hours in the executive lounge, I took the elevator down to my office in midtown Manhattan. The ambient chatter in the marble lobby evaporated into a suffocating hush. Security guards avoided my gaze. Two junior analysts near the elevators turned their backs, whispering intensely over their glowing screens.

Pinned to the department bulletin board near my desk was a printed screenshot of Gracie weeping on my velvet sofa, my full legal name circled in bold red permanent…