Chapter 11

Gone Viral

I hand Lila back to the nanny with a promise to return soon, pressing one more kiss to her forehead before hurrying into the hallway where Julian stands with his phone extended toward me, his expression grim.

"What is it." I take the phone from him, my stomach already tightening in anticipation.

The screen shows a social media post, Isabella's face perfectly composed even through what's meant to look like tears, a lengthy caption beneath a photo of her holding Ivy close.

**Isabella Voss:** *To everyone who has watched my family be torn apart over the last few days, I owe you the truth. I have loved Noah Frost since we were twenty three years old. When circumstances tore us apart years ago, I never stopped believing we would find our way back to each other. I have stayed silent through so much pain, watching him trapped in a marriage built on deception, watching my daughter treated as an afterthought in a home that should have been ours. Today I finally found the courage to fight for what's mine. I am not ashamed of loving him. I am only sorry it took a scandal for the truth to finally come out.*

The post already has hundreds of thousands of shares, the comments flooded with sympathy, hearts, women calling her brave for standing up for her family.

"She's rewriting this in real time." My hands tighten around the phone. "She's turning herself into the wronged woman before we can even present the real results."

"There's a timestamp." Noah's voice comes from behind me, and I turn to find him reading over my shoulder, his jaw set hard. "She posted this eleven minutes ago. Right after the board adjourned."

"She knew we were coming." Elena's voice is sharp with realization. "Someone at Frost Tower must have warned her the independent results existed."

"Or she's simply covering herself in advance," my father says, "in case her fabricated results don't hold up to scrutiny. If public opinion sides with her as the tragic, lovesick woman, it muddies the waters even if the board rules against her claims."

"Then we don't give the waters time to muddy." I hand the phone back to Julian, my voice steadier than I feel. "We go to Frost Tower now, before this post has time to spread any further, and we bring the truth with us."

"Amara, you were discharged against medical advice less than an hour ago." Julian's brow furrows with concern. "You should be resting, not walking into a boardroom confrontation."

"I've spent four years resting while other people decided my life for me." I meet his eyes, unflinching. "I'm done sitting quietly and letting someone else control the narrative. If Isabella wants a public fight, I'll give her one."

My father's expression shifts into something like pride, and he nods once, already moving toward the elevator. "Then let's not waste any more time."

The drive to Frost Tower is tense and silent, Noah in the front seat beside the driver, my father, Julian, and I crowded in the back, Elena following in a separate car with the physical copies of the lab results locked in a briefcase on her lap. My phone buzzes twice more during the ride, notifications piling up as Isabella's post continues to spread, and by the time we pull up to the glass tower that used to make me feel small every time I walked through its doors, the crowd outside has grown thick with reporters.

"They're already here." Julian curses under his breath, peering through the tinted window at the sea of cameras and microphones clustered near the entrance. "Someone tipped off the press."

"Good." I straighten my spine, ignoring the ache still radiating through my side. "Let them film every second of it."

Noah turns in his seat to look at me, something searching in his expression. "Are you sure about this? Once we walk in there, there's no controlling how this plays out."

"I stopped needing control over how people see me a long time ago." I meet his gaze evenly. "What I need is the truth out in the open, where Isabella can't spin it into something it isn't."

He holds my eyes a moment longer, then nods, reaching for the door handle.

The moment we step out of the car, camera flashes explode around us, reporters shouting questions over one another, microphones thrust toward my face faster than I can process.

"Mrs. Frost, is it true you lost your baby the same night the divorce was finalized?"

"Amara, do you have a response to Isabella Voss's claims about the paternity results?"

"Noah, will you be reconciling with your wife or pursuing a relationship with Ms. Voss?"

I keep my chin level, my eyes forward, walking steadily toward the entrance with my father on one side and Julian on the other, Noah trailing just behind, and just as we reach the glass doors, they swing open from the inside.

Isabella stands in the doorway, dressed in white, Ivy held protectively against her hip, and behind her, filling the lobby, stands the entire Frost Corporation board along with what looks like every senior executive in the building, clearly summoned the moment word spread that we were on our way.

Isabella's eyes lock on mine, and instead of fear, I see something far more unsettling.

She's smiling.

"Amara." Her voice carries easily across the lobby, calm and warm, performing for every camera crowded at our backs. "I'm so glad you're finally here. There's something I think everyone deserves to see."

She reaches into the small clutch at her side and pulls out a folded document, holding it up for the cameras before anyone can stop her.

"Before anyone accuses me of lying," she says, her smile widening just slightly, "I think it's only fair the board sees this too."