Chapter 166

No.1

Within an hour, the incident in the hallway had been mutated, weaponized, and distributed.

Someone on the camera crew had recorded the playback monitor on their phone. The blurry,shaky video was now circulating through the private group chats of the Aethel and JHU teams like a virus.

In the luxurious VIP breakroom, Allena threw a ceramic coffee mug against the wall. It shattered,sending brown liquid splattering across the white paint.

"She planned it!" Allena screamed, her face red and blotchy. "She knew the cameras were rolling! She threw herself at him to make me look like a fool!"

Devon Browning sat calmly on a leather sofa, typing rapidly on his phone.

"Relax, Allena," Devon said smoothly. "The video is blurry. It lacks context. We just need to provide the context before she does."

Devon opened his contacts. He began messaging his network of tech bloggers, Wall Street gossips, and PR fixers.

No.2

Did you hear about the desperate ex at Aethel?Fakéd a fainting spell in the hallway just to get Chambers to touch her. Pathetic. She's losing her mind over Allena's success.

The narrative was set. It wasn't an accident. It was a calculated, pathetic attempt at seduction by a jealous, unstable woman.

At noon, Elisa slowly made her way to the main .employee breakroom to get a glass of water to take her next dose of painkillers.

The room was packed with researchers and film crew members eating lunch. The moment Elisa stepped through the door, the ambient chatter died instantly.

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the room.Dozens of eyes turned to look at her. The stares were filled with disgust, pity, and naked contempt.

A group of production assistants sat at a table near the water cooler. As Elisa approached, one of them, a girl with bright pink hair, deliberately raised her voice.

"I just don't understand how someone can have zero self-respect," the girl said, looking right at Elisa."Throwing yourself at an engaged man? It's disgusting. Total slut behavior."

No.3

Her friends giggled, shooting nasty glares at Elisa.

Elisa kept her face perfectly blank. She reached for a paper cup.

Suddenly, another assistant stood up from the table.She walked directly over to the water cooler just as Elisa reached it, purposefully picking up the remaining full pitcher of filtered water and dumping it straight down the sink drain.

"Oops," the assistant sneered, tossing the empty pitcher aside. "Sorry, I think we're all out of water for... guests. You might want to try begging somewhere else. Don't want you to 'trip' and fall while looking for a drink. I'm not a billionaire to catch you."

The sheer audacity of the insult sent a spike of cold fury through Elisa's veins. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the paper cup. The pain in her spine throbbed in time with her racing heart, but the

carbon-fiboer brace held her posture rigid. She didn't flinch. She didn't step back.

She slowly turned her head and locked eyes with the assistant.

No.4

Elisa's eyes were so cold, so devoid of human emotion, that the assistant's sneer faltered. The girl instinctively took a step back, suddenly feeling like she had poked a sleeping predator.

The breakroom doors swung open again. Allena walked in, flanked by Devon and two security guards.She looked like a grieving widow, her face pale, her eyes downcast.

She stopped in the middle of the room and looked at Elisa.

"Elisa," Allena said, her voice trembling with fake hurt. "I know you are struggling with my position here. But what you did in the hallway today... trying to compromise August in front of my crew... it's unacceptable. I demand a public apology."

Devon stepped forward, playing the role of the outraged defender. "Your behavior is a liability to this joint venture, Ms. Wilder. It's unprofessional and

frankly,pathetic."

The crowd murmured in agreement. Elisa saw a few of her Aethel colleagues exchange uneasy glances,their loyalty to Faye warring with the overwhelming social pressure. Tessa Vaughn started to take a step forward, her mouth open to protest, but Elisa gave her a subtle shake of the head, a silent command to stand down. The slut-shaming was complete. She was surrounded by enemies, condemned by a lie.

No.5

Elisa filled her paper cup with water. She took a slow sip, letting the cool liquid soothe her dry throat.

She looked at Allena, then at Devon, and finally swept her gaze across the room of judgmental faces.

"If anyone in this room," Elisa said, her voice carrying clearly through the silence, "cannot tell the difference between a woman falling and a man lunging to grab her, I suggest you schedule an appointment with an optometrist."

She turned her eyes back to Allena. A razor-sharp smirk touched her lips.

"And Allena," Elisa added, her tone dropping to a lethal whisper. "If you are so insecure about your

hold on your fiancé that a five-second accident sends you into a panic, perhaps you should keep him on a shorter leash. Or better yet, lock him in a cage."

Allena's face turned a violent shade of purple. She opeñed her mouth to scream, but no words came out.

No.6

Elisa didn't wait for a response. She turned and walked out of the breakroom, her posture perfect,leaving them choking on their own manufactured outrage.

She walked back to her isolated cubicle. She sat down,ignoring the throbbing in her back, and pulled out her encrypted phone. She dialed Jewel.

"Jewel," Elisa said the moment the line connected.

"I saw the blurry video on Twitter," Jewel yelled,furious. "They are tearing you apart! Let me release a statement.Let me destroy them."

"No statements," Elisa said calmly. "I need you to use your producer credentials. Hack into the documentary crew's server. Find the raw, unedited B-roll footage from camera three in the west corridor.The high-definition file."

"I'm on it," Jewel said, her fingers already clacking on a keyboard in the background. "What do you want me to do with it?"

Elisa looked at the calendar on her desk. Tonight was the phase-one wrap party for the film crew at a restaurant in Manhattan. Everyone would be there.

No.7

"Process the file," Elisa commanded, her eyes gleaming with dark intent. "Enhance the lighting.Slow down the playback speed by fifty percent. And get ready to hijack the AV system at the restaurant tonight."

"Oh, I love this plan," Jewel purred.

Elisa hung up. She swallowed her painkillers. The rumors could swirl for a few more hours. She didn't care.

Because tonight, she was going to burn their narrative to the ground.