An emergency broadcast from Winters' firm claimed fraud, accused Liana of forgery, painted her as an unstable woman with “a history of emotional instability.”

It was loud.

Ugly.

Public.

Kael slammed the laptop shut, eyes sharp. “We can hit back. I’ll call"

“No,” Liana said, calm. Too calm.

Kael paused. “Liana…”

She stood, walked to the mirror, and pulled her hair up with a simple tie. Something in her shifted like armor clicking into place.

“They want a villain?” she said. “Let them have one.”

She disappeared into her father’s old office and came back with a folder marked CONFIDENTIAL. Kael hadn’t seen that one before.

“This isn’t just about the land,” she said. “It never was. I didn’t just find his mistakes I found everyone he’s ever paid off. Including the judge who signed away my mother’s property rights twenty years ago.”

Kael looked stunned. “You’ve been holding this?”

Liana met his eyes. “I’ve been waiting.”

She didn’t blink. Didn’t flinch. Just handed him a flash drive.

“I want this leaked to the press. International, not local. And I want it timed exactly three minutes before Winters’ press conference.”

He took the drive slowly. “That’ll destroy him.”

She nodded. “Good.”

At 2:57 PM, the file went live.

By 3:05 PM, Winters was stuttering through an answer he couldn’t spin fast enough. News anchors cut him off mid-sentence. Words like embezzlement, bribery, land fraud rolled across headlines.

And Liana?

She stood at the window, coffee in hand, watching it unfold like the morning news.

Kael walked in, eyes wide. “You did it.”

She turned, smile slow and dangerous. “I’m not done yet.”