The setup 2

The car had barely gone two blocks when June’s composure shattered.

She had been trying to stay calm, but the flashing lights, the shouting voices, the accusations they clung to her skin like smoke. Now, alone in the safety of Xander’s car, it all came crashing down.

“I didn’t cheat on my ex-husband!” she screamed, voice raw, barely coherent through her sobs. “I didn’t do anything wrong! I I was the one who was cheated on! I was the one who was broken! Why are they doing this to me?”

She clutched her hands to her chest like her very heart might spill out if she let go. Her entire body trembled not just from fear, but from the shame and helplessness the public shaming had reawakened.

“I just wanted a normal night. I just wanted peace,” she sobbed.

Xander pulled the car over to the side of the road. He turned off the engine and reached for her gently, placing his hand over hers.

“June,” he said softly, trying to meet her eyes. “You did nothing wrong. This isn’t your fault. This is a game someone’s twisted, vindictive game and you just got caught in the fire.”

But June couldn’t hear him.

She rocked slightly in her seat, whispering the same words again and again.

“I didn’t cheat… I didn’t cheat… I didn’t cheat…”

Xander felt his chest tighten. He had seen this version of her once before when he took her to the hospital after she collapsed the night Larry humiliated her at the firm. That same brokenness now crept back into her voice.

He reached forward and gently pulled her into his arms.

“Breathe,” he whispered. “Just breathe. I’m here. You’re not alone.”

The Message That Changed Everything

Just as her breathing began to slow, June’s phone vibrated in her purse.

She blinked through swollen eyes and wiped her tears. Xander offered to check it for her, but she shook her head and reached for it herself—her fingers barely steady.

It was a message from her assistant:

URGENT: The board has called an emergency meeting tomorrow at 9AM.

The media story is affecting investor confidence. Please be prepared to speak.

June stared at the words.

The numbness returned like a wave swallowing her.

The company the only thing she had left to prove she survived the wreckage of her marriage was now under fire. And she hadn’t even had time to respond, to clear the air, or defend herself.

She handed the phone to Xander without a word.

He read it. His jaw tightened.

“They’re using this,” he said. “Larry. Audrey. Someone is using this to make you look unfit. They want you rattled so you lose your footing at the company.”

June looked out the window. The lights of the city blurred through her tears.

“I feel like I’m being hunted,” she whispered.

“You are,” he said without hesitation. “But you’re not defenseless.”

*******

Xander helped her up to her apartment, keeping an arm firmly around her shoulder the entire time. Her steps were slow, almost mechanical.

“I’ll stay,” he offered quietly. “I’ll sleep on the couch, or by the door. You don’t have to say a word.”

June shook her head.

“Thank you, but I just… I need to be alone tonight. I need to think.”

Xander didn’t argue.

He helped her into her room, brought her a glass of water, and pulled a blanket over her shoulders.

As he turned to leave, she spoke again—barely above a whisper.

“Why do you care so much?”

He paused, turning slowly. “Because I see who you really are, June. And someone needs to stand beside you, especially when the whole world tries to twist the truth.”

Then he walked out and gently shut the door.

She sat in silence for what felt like hours. The only sound was the hum of the city far below and the ticking of a wall clock that suddenly felt like a countdown to something dreadful.

She stared at the glass of water.

The reflection of herself in the window didn’t look like a CEO. Didn’t look like a woman in control. She looked… hunted.

They had managed to do it again strip her voice, bury her truth, and use lies to smear her. The worst part wasn’t the shame, but the helplessness.

*******

Larry lounged in his penthouse study, the headlines glaring on his tablet screen like trophies from a victorious hunt.

"Scandal Erupts: CEO June Williams Accused of Infidelity with Mysterious Man"

"Source Confirms: June’s Romance Began Before Divorce from Larry “

He chuckled, throwing his feet up on the glass table.

“Beautiful,” he whispered, grinning with satisfaction. “Just beautiful.”

He took a slow sip of whiskey, leaned back, and clasped his hands behind his head, basking in the public chaos. For the first time in months, the tides had turned. June the one who dared to walk away, to succeed without him, to own what should have been his was finally on the defensive.

And it was all thanks to Audrey.

He tapped her number, the call connecting almost instantly.

AUDREY (wary): “Hello?”

LARRY (silky smooth): “Babe. Oh, babe... I owe you an apology.”

There was silence on the line for a beat. Audrey didn’t speak, but he could hear her breathing.

LARRY: “About the dinner. I was harsh. Unkind. I let my emotions get the best of me, but seeing what you did for me? Damn, Audrey… you’re a genius.”

AUDREY (warming up): “You saw the news?”

LARRY (chuckling): “Saw it? I nearly cried from joy! You’ve proven yourself more than loyal, babe. I underestimated you and I’m man enough to admit that.”

He paused, letting his charm drip into the silence.

LARRY: “Why don’t you come over tonight? Just us. A little wine… a little fun… my way of saying thank you, properly.”

Audrey hesitated her pride still smarting from how he dismissed her after the dinner but the tone in Larry’s voice was magnetic. This was the Larry she’d fallen for: confident, charming, powerful.

AUDREY (softly): “Okay… give me thirty minutes.”

LARRY (grinning): “That’s my girl.”

He hung up and tossed the phone on the couch, his grin widening.

“Works every time.”

As he poured himself another drink, Larry spoke out loud to no one in particular, relishing the villainous monologue he’d reserved in the recesses of his ego.

“Let the two women scramble, point fingers, and defend themselves while I take center stage. They can waste their energy throwing stones at each other while I stand untouched.”

He crossed the room and opened a drawer filled with old files press photos from his time as CEO, endorsements, interviews. He selected one, holding it up to the light.

“Time to remind the world who Larry Asika is.”

Instructions to His Assistant

He picked up the intercom and buzzed through to his assistant.

LARRY: “Anita. I need you in my office. Bring the PR draft for my public statement and get me a speechwriter. I want something raw, emotional… believable.”

A moment later, Anita stepped in with a notepad, slightly breathless.

LARRY: “We’re doing a press release. I’m calling it ‘A Man Betrayed: My Truth.’ Make sure we hold it at the old headquarters just enough nostalgia to tug hearts.”

ANITA (hesitant): “Should we address the rumors head-on, sir?”

LARRY (grinning): “No. That would give June credibility. Instead, I want tears. Heartbreak. ‘I tried to save my marriage… I sacrificed everything… I was blindsided.’”

He got up and began mock crying in front of the mirror, practicing his performance.

“I stood by her when no one else did. And what did I get? A knife in my back.”

“I’m not bitter. I just wish… I had seen the signs sooner.”

“Even now… I pray for her happiness.”

He turned back to Anita, eyes sparkling with devilish glee.

LARRY: “That’ll melt half the country. We’ll get sponsors, investors, pity votes. And when the board starts leaning my way again… boom. I take back the company.”

Anita scribbled it all down, her mouth tight. She didn’t like the way he was smiling. But she had learned long ago to keep her thoughts quiet around men like Larry.

After Anita left, Larry stood in front of the mirror, straightened his collar, and took one last admiring look at himself.

“Both women played their part beautifully,” he muttered. “Audrey, the little firecracker. June, the perfect fallen angel.”

He raised his glass to the reflection.

“Here’s to the greatest comeback the city has ever seen.”

He downed the rest of the drink in one gulp and walked out, humming under his breath oblivious to the quiet storm June was preparing behind closed doors.