Part 19 –
By morning, the battle had moved from secret threats to the brutal, public arena.
Lila wasn't prepared for how fast it would happen.
How merciless it would feel.
But when you stood in the way of billionaires desperate to cling to their power, you didn't get the luxury of slow.
---
Lila – Caught in the Crossfire
It started with a headline.
A venomous article plastered across the city's biggest financial news site:
> "Ethan Wolfe's Mistress: Lila Hart's Fast-Track to the Top Exposed!"
With a nauseating drop in her stomach, Lila scrolled through the article.
There were photos harmless moments twisted to look scandalous:
A hand on her lower back at a company gala.
A private lunch, cropped tightly to remove the third and fourth people at the table.
Her entering Ethan's penthouse one evening without the explanation that she had been delivering emergency legal papers.
The article was littered with phrases like "unqualified but connected," and "leveraging personal relationships for corporate gain."
Her professional record?
Reduced to nothing more than whispered insinuations and cruel speculation.
And they weren't done.
By the time she got to the office, emails had flooded in.
Anonymous messages calling her names she couldn't repeat.
Invitations to sleazy interviews.
And the worst board members who had once smiled at her now staring at her with thinly veiled disgust.
They didn't say anything.
They didn't have to.
The message was clear:
Lila Hart was no longer welcome.
---
Ethan – The Public Gamble
Ethan stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of his office, watching the media circus spiral.
He had known they would come after him.
He had even expected them to come after Wolfe Enterprises.
But targeting Lila?
That had been a mistake.
Because now it wasn't just a power struggle it was personal.
His phone rang. It was Charles Lyman, the chairman of the board.
"Ethan," Charles said without preamble, "this… situation is hurting our stock. Badly. If you want to retain your position, you need to distance yourself from Miss Hart. Publicly."
Ethan's jaw tightened. "No."
"She's a liability now. You'll lose the company if you don't cut her loose."
"I said no," Ethan growled, deadly quiet.
A pause.
"Then you better prepare yourself, Wolfe," Charles said grimly. "Because you're going to war alone."
The line went dead.
Ethan lowered the phone slowly.
Not alone, he thought fiercely.
Not as long as Lila was by his side.
He picked up his suit jacket, straightened it, and headed to the elevators.
It was time to remind the world exactly who they were dealing with.
---
Facing the Storm Together
Lila sat at her desk, staring blankly at her untouched coffee, when the whispering started.
She knew it was about her.
She didn't even blame them.
It was easier to believe the worst about someone when it protected your own position.
She gathered her things mechanically, willing herself not to cry until she got home.
But when she stood, Ethan was there.
In front of the entire office.
He crossed the room with a presence that commanded silence, that shattered the gossip into stunned silence.
Without hesitation, without shame, he reached for her hand.
"Come with me," he said, voice low but unwavering.
Lila hesitated.
If she left with him now, the rumors would double.
The lies would get worse.
But the look in Ethan's eyes steady, certain, proud told her everything she needed to know.
He wasn't ashamed of her.
He wasn't abandoning her.
He was choosing her.
Slowly, she set down her bag and laced her fingers with his.
Gasps rippled through the office as they walked out together, side by side.
They didn't owe anyone an explanation.
Not anymore.
---
Public Declaration
At a hastily called press conference that afternoon, Ethan Wolfe stood before a sea of flashing cameras.
He didn't flinch.
He didn't blink.
"My name is Ethan Wolfe," he said, voice ringing with absolute authority, "and I stand by Lila Hart. She is an asset to Wolfe Enterprises. She is not here because of favoritism. She is here because she is brilliant, hardworking, and vital to this company's future."
He let the words settle before adding, voice dipping into something dangerous:
"Anyone who believes otherwise is welcome to challenge me.
But I promise you
you'll lose."
The reporters erupted into chaos, but Ethan didn't stay to entertain them.
He stepped down from the podium and headed straight back to Lila.
When their eyes met across the crowd, a smile ghosted across his lips.
For the first time in years, Lila felt seen.
Not as a pawn.
Not as a scandal.
But as an equal.
And she realized something important:
If the world wanted a war
they would give them a war.
Together.