The netizens couldn't hurt me.
Only he could.
In my line of work—with Éclat Beauty and other projects—I had dealt with the media more times than I could count. I knew exactly how this worked.
Most people didn't think for themselves.
They followed whatever narrative was placed in front of them.
And someone… was working very hard to control that narrative.
Media outlets pushing the story.
Paid trolls amplifying it.
And Sophia—
Driving the knife in deeper.
Because I knew.
She was the only one capable of something like this from the inside.
Everything the public saw was carefully chosen.
Carefully curated.
But the truth?
That was being buried.
Silenced.
I had tried to post a clarification on Twitter.
Three seconds.
That was all it took before it disappeared.
Taken down.
Blocked before it could even spread.
My fingers tightened slightly in my lap.
Because I knew why.
Alexander.
