Chapter 4

They blamed Winnie for destroying our marriage.

Then a video breaking down my behavior and accusing me of cheating shot to the top of the trending list.

It broke down my every move over the past six months—where I'd been, what I'd done, even everyone I'd met.

Some of it was disturbingly accurate.

The comments turned on me instantly.

A flood of insults and mockery came pouring in.

I watched the video from start to finish.

Most of the details about my life were true.

The conclusions were complete lies.

Only one person knew that much about my private life.

I called Julian.

Winnie answered.

"We're already divorced, and you're still harassing your ex? Esther, do you have no shame? Weren't the people online brutal enough? You came back for more?"

She didn't hold back.

Nothing like the sweet, innocent act she put on around Julian.

I kept my voice flat.

"I recorded everything you just said. False accusations have consequences. You'll be hearing from my lawyer."

"You—"

I hung up.

When I checked again, the backlash had only gotten worse.

I opened the blogger's profile.

Sure enough, less than thirty minutes after I hung up, a new video had been posted.

This time, it flat-out accused me of cheating.

The creator even dug up the plagiarism scandal that got me blacklisted years ago and turned it into a full exposé.

The comments were flooded with hate.

[Wait, THAT plagiarist? Once a thief, always a thief. First she stole designs, now she's stealing husbands.]

[Julian gave her everything and she still cheated?? The greed is actually insane.]

[You can literally tell what kind of person she is just by looking at her. If she had no problem stealing someone else's work, why would she suddenly have morals in a relationship?]

Reading those comments dragged me straight back to the darkest time in my life ten years ago.

I opened the friend request Julian had sent two days earlier.

My hands shook as I accepted it.

Then I messaged him.

[Julian, did you leak those videos?]

His reply came almost instantly.

[Esther, you're Lumora Corp's largest shareholder now. You have more money than you could ever spend. But Winnie just joined the company. There can't be even a hint of bad press about her online.]

I took a breath and typed:

[You know I never plagiarized.]

The typing bubble stayed there for a long time.

Then Julian finally replied.

[No one cares. Let them talk. It'll blow over. Stop making such a big deal out of it.]

Ten years ago, Julian had held me and said, "Even if no one else believes you, I will."

Ten years later, he told me the truth didn't matter.

No one cared.

I stared at the message.

Whatever hope I had left was gone.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Through the peephole, I saw a wall of cameras aimed at my door.

Reporters shouted over each other.

"Ms. Everett, Mr. Seibert denied that Winnie Dunne broke up your marriage. What's your response?"

"Are the videos online true? Were you the one who cheated?"

"Do you have anything to say about the plagiarism scandal from ten years ago?"

My phone buzzed.

Julian had sent me a huge amount of money.

The note said:

[Compensation.]

I slowly exhaled and closed the chat.

Then I opened the door.

Camera flashes exploded.

I smiled at the cameras pointed straight at me.

"Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Esther Everett."