Alle Kapitel von BURNED EMPIRE : Kapitel 51 – Kapitel 55

George’s povBy morning, the clip had over two million views, and Camila's public image, which had taken months to rebuild into something the board and the press actually respected, cracked wide open along exactly the line Alessia had been aiming for from the start.I hadn't slept. Neither had Camila. We'd spent most of the night watching the number climb, refreshing the same headlines over and over like doing so might somehow change what they said, both of us too exhausted and too furious to actually rest. I spent the entire night on calls, first with our media team, then with Priya, then with three separate reporters who owed me favors I intended to finally cash in."We need our own statement," our media director said, exhausted, her third cup of coffee going cold beside her laptop. "Something that reframes the narrative before the custody hearing. Right now the story is 'CEO used her own daughter as leverage in a business relationship.' We need it to be 'devoted mother protecting

George's POVPriya's office at midnight looked like a war room, papers spread across every surface, three associates she'd called in on emergency notice working through case law while Camila sat rigid in a chair across from Priya's desk, her hands wrapped so tight around a cup of coffee that her knuckles had gone white.I stood near the window, watching the city lights below, feeling helpless in a way I wasn't used to feeling. I'd spent years learning how to solve problems with money, with leverage, with the kind of quiet influence that made obstacles simply disappear if you knew which door to knock on. None of that worked here. A judge couldn't be bought, not without destroying the exact case we needed to win, and Alessia knew that better than anyone, which was exactly why she'd chosen this particular battlefield."Emergency temporary custody motions are difficult to grant," Priya said, trying to sound reassuring, though the tightness around her eyes told a different story. "Courts

George's povThe fertility specialist's office was in one of the richest‚ and therefore‚ quietest‚ neighborhoods of town‚ and it had a clientele who paid extra for discretion․ I wasn't expecting to get anything out of them directly‚ as doctor-patient privilege being what it was‚ but money and pressure somehow always seemed to get the tongues of professionals to wag when applied by the right person․I'd sent my best investigator‚ a former detective named Marcus Wren who'd worked for me on and off for years‚ someone thorough enough to find a thread in a haystack of paperwork and patient enough to pull it slowly without spooking whoever was holding the other end․ He'd called me twice over the course of that day with updates․ Every time he called me‚ another door was softly and firmly closing in his face․"Nobody at the practice is talking‚" he told me around six in the evening‚ his voice tired through the phone․ "Doctor-patient privilege is airtight here‚ and none of the current staff se