The sound of shattering glass echoed through Thomas's penthouse office as another crystal tumbler met its demise against the wall. His fury simmered dangerously close to boiling over, fueled by the positive reaction to Elizabeth's interview. What was supposed to weaken her had only solidified her position.
"Sir, we have one last card to play," his assistant said cautiously, standing by the doorway as if ready to flee at any moment.
Thomas turned sharply, his expression dark. "This better be good."
The assistant hesitated before stepping forward, handing over a manila folder. "It's about Elizabeth's family. I thought it might be useful."
Thomas snatched the folder and began flipping through its contents. With each page, a slow, malicious smile crept across his face.
"This… this is perfect," he said, his voice a low growl.
"What should we do with it, sir?" the assistant asked.
Thomas tossed the folder onto his desk, the papers fanning out. "Leak it. And make sure it's tied directly to her. I want everyone questioning everything they think they know about Elizabeth Cole."
Elizabeth and Xavier were enjoying a rare moment of calm at the penthouse. The fallout from the interview had shifted in their favor, and for the first time in weeks, the media frenzy seemed to be quieting down.
"I can't believe it," Xavier said, scrolling through supportive comments on her phone. "People are actually standing up for me."
Xavier smirked as he poured them both a glass of wine. "You've always had more strength than you give yourself credit for. People see that now."
She smiled back at him, but her gratitude was cut short by the sharp buzz of her phone. Her stomach sank as she saw Clara's name on the screen.
"Clara?" she said, answering quickly.
"Elizabeth," Clara began, her voice tight with urgency. "Something's come up. You need to see this."
Before Elizabeth could ask for clarification, Clara sent her a link. Her blood ran cold as she opened it, her eyes scanning the headline:
"Hidden Truths: The Family Elizabeth Cole Left Behind."
The article was accompanied by photos of her estranged father, a man she hadn't spoken to in over a decade. It painted a damning picture, detailing his criminal history, his abandonment of Elizabeth and her mother, and even suggesting that Elizabeth had distanced herself to protect her rise into wealth and power.
"Elizabeth?" Xavier's voice pulled her back to the present.
She handed him the phone, her hand trembling. "He's gone after my family," she whispered.
Xavier's jaw tightened as he read the article. "This is a new low, even for Thomas."
Elizabeth sank onto the couch, her head in her hands. "I thought I'd put this behind me. I worked so hard to build a life away from him, from all of it."
Xavier sat beside her, his hand resting on her back. "We'll handle this, Elizabeth. He's trying to rattle you, but we won't let him win."
By the next morning, the story had spread like wildfire. Every major outlet was running with it, and journalists were camped outside the penthouse, shouting questions about her family.
Elizabeth paced the living room, her frustration mounting. "What am I supposed to say to them? That my father is a criminal? That I left him behind because he left us first?"
"You don't owe them anything," Xavier said firmly. "But we can't let this linger. We need to get ahead of it."
Victoria entered the room, her laptop in hand. "I think I have an angle. We can frame this as a story of resilience—how you overcame your past to build the life you have now."
Elizabeth shook her head. "No. I don't want to talk about him. That's exactly what Thomas wants. He's trying to drag me back into a part of my life I've spent years trying to escape."
"Then we focus on discrediting him," Victoria said. "If we expose the lengths Thomas is going to, we can turn this around."
Xavier nodded. "What do we have on him?"
Victoria smirked. "Plenty. And more is coming in every day."
As the team worked tirelessly to counter Thomas's latest attack, Elizabeth decided to take matters into her own hands. She picked up her phone and dialed a number she hadn't called in years.
"Hello?" The voice on the other end was gruff, unfamiliar.
Elizabeth's chest tightened. "Dad. It's me."
There was a long pause before he responded. "Elizabeth? Why are you calling?"
She hesitated, unsure how to begin. "You've seen the news, haven't you?"
"Yeah," he said, his tone flat. "Didn't think you'd want anything to do with me after all this time."
"I didn't," she admitted. "But now you're being dragged into something that has nothing to do with you. I need to know if Thomas Cole contacted you."
There was a pause, then a weary sigh. "He did. Offered me money to talk about you. I told him to go to hell, but I guess he didn't need my help."
Elizabeth's grip on the phone tightened. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I figured you wouldn't care," he said gruffly. "You made it clear you didn't want me in your life."
She swallowed hard, her emotions warring inside her. "This isn't about us, Dad. It's about stopping him before he destroys everything I've built."
There was silence on the other end, then a resigned sigh. "What do you need from me?"
Elizabeth returned to the penthouse later that night, feeling both drained and oddly hopeful. She found Xavier in his office, reviewing documents with Victoria.
"How did it go?" he asked, looking up as she entered.
She sat down beside him, exhaling heavily. "He's willing to help. He'll go on record to refute the story, but I don't know if it'll be enough."
Xavier wrapped an arm around her. "It's a start. And with what we're building against Thomas, it might be the break we need."
Victoria closed her laptop, a rare smile playing on her lips. "Speaking of breaks, we've uncovered something big. Thomas has been funneling money into offshore accounts to fund his smear campaign. It's highly illegal, and if we leak this to the right people…"
Xavier's expression darkened, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Then we turn the tables."
As the pieces fell into place, Thomas remained oblivious to the noose tightening around him. But the game was far from over, and Xavier and Elizabeth were prepared to fight until the very end.
The battle wasn't just about survival anymore—it was about justice. And this time, they weren't holding back.