LEAKED

Elena POV

The event was winding down, that quiet lull just before people started making polite exits, when this happened.

At first, it was just a flicker. Someone’s head dipped. Then another. The soft glow of phone screens started popping up all over the ballroom like fireflies. People went still, brows furrowed.

Then came the gasps.

Not loud. Just enough to shift the mood like the air pressure had dropped.

I felt it before I saw it. That tight, pulsing awareness that something was about to explode. My fingers curled around the stem of my champagne glass. Beside me, Damien didn’t move, but I felt him tense.

“What the hell…?” someone whispered from across the room.

Murmurs followed, growing louder. Like a wave. You could feel it rolling toward us.

And then someone said it clearly as a bell:

“Oh my god. That’s Adrian.”

Silence. The kind that sucks the air right out of the room.

Across the ballroom, Charlotte stood frozen, phone in her hand. Her expression was unreadable at first. Then her eyes narrowed, scanning the screen again. Once. Twice.

Then she looked up. Locked eyes with Adrian.

“Adrian,” she said. Quiet. Controlled. But her tone was like a loaded gun.

He looked confused. “What?”

She started walking, each step sharp and deliberate, and her heels slicing into the marble like she wanted it to bleed.

She stopped right in front of him and shoved her phone against his chest. “This. What the hell is this?”

He blinked down at the screen, and I watched it happen, confusion turning into realization, realization melting into panic.

His mouth opened. “This isn’t real. It’s been edited. Someone’s trying to set me up…”

Charlotte let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, sure. And I suspected the lipstick on your collar every third Thursday is just a figment of my imagination?”

People were watching now. Not even pretending to be subtle. Phones were aimed their way. The press, the influencers, the board members. All of them listening, hanging on every word.

“I defended you,” she said, her voice rising. “To everyone. To the board. My family. I stood by you. I married you because I thought you were the one person who wouldn’t screw me over. But I get it now. You’re a leech, Adrian.”

His face twisted. “You think I needed you?” he spat. “You were nothing when your parents died. Just a lost little girl playing dress-up. I’m the reason this company is still standing.”

And that’s when her eyes found me.

For a moment, neither of us said a word. I just looked back at her, calm, unreadable. Then I blinked once. Slowly.

Her jaw tightened. She took a step toward me.

“You,” she said. “You leaked this.”

I tilted my head, feigning confusion. “Leaked what?”

“The photo. Don’t play dumb.”

My voice was soft, just loud enough to carry. “Charlotte, I didn’t leak anything. I saw it trending and thought you deserved to know. I didn’t expect it to… spiral.”

Lie. But I sold it well.

Around us, a few people exchanged looks. The perfect little scene was unraveling fast.

Charlotte stared at me like she was trying to burn a hole through my skull. Her voice cracked—just slightly. “I can’t believe I trusted that fool.”

I almost smiled.

“This is just the beginning,” I thought.

I stepped a little closer, just enough to seem kind. “I’m really sorry. Do you want to sit down? Or talk?”

She shook her head stiffly. “Thank you, Aunty. I want to be alone for now.”

I gave her a hug, light and brief. She turned and pushed through the crowd, heels echoing like gunshots against the polished floor.

Adrian moved to follow her, but Damien stepped in his path.

“Don’t,” he said simply, his tone calm and final.

Adrian hesitated. For once, he had no comeback; he glared at Damien and pushed him out of the way to follow her.

Reporters moved fast phones up, cameras ready. Adrian was surrounded now, trying to explain, trying to reach Charlotte, who recoiled every time he took a step closer.

I drifted away from the center of the chaos and found a quiet spot near the window. The chandelier above threw warm light across the glass, and for a second, I just stood there, watching the aftermath like a spectator at a very expensive train wreck.

My heart was racing, but not from fear.

This time, it was adrenaline.

Victory.

“You did well,” Damien said beside me, his voice low as his fingers lightly brushed mine.

“She’s unraveling,” I murmured, still watching the crowd. “You could see it in her eyes. She’s starting to break.”

“She’ll cling to what’s familiar next,” Damien said. “She’ll start digging. Looking for answers. And when she does”

“She’ll realize Adrian’s been hiding more than just a side piece,” I finished.

He nodded. “She’ll lose everything.”

You leaked the photo at the exact right moment,” I murmured.

“Timing is everything,” Damien said. “We only needed the spark.”

“And now?”

“Now we watch it burn.”

“He looked back at Adrian, who was now cornered by a cluster of reporters.

“Now we watch it burn.”

I turned fully toward Damien. We stood close, too close, maybe. I could see the flicker of satisfaction in his eyes. Not joy. Not triumph. Just cold, quiet success.

“This is just the beginning,” I said.

“There’s still more to do,” he replied.

“But tonight,” I said, letting a small smile tug at my mouth, “we won.”

He didn’t smile back, but the look in his eyes said enough.

We stood there a moment longer, silence stretching between us. There was something charged in the air. Not quite tense. Not quite longing.

Just… something.

And I wondered for the briefest second when this stopped being just an alliance. When pretending started to feel like something more.

But I shut the thought down. Quickly.

Not tonight.

Tonight wasn’t about feelings.

It was about making the first move. About slipping the knife in and twisting just enough to watch them bleed.

Charlotte and Adrian built their little kingdom on lies and betrayal.

Now it was time for it to fall.