lack car, heels clicking against the driveway of her penthouse suite. She dismissed the driver with a quick nod and disappeared inside. Once the door closed, silence wrapped around h

her's caught you. Am I wrong?" Jason didn't deny it. "Look her up," Walker said. "I did some digging. She's clean. Graduated top of her class, has three international consulting credits to her name, joined KaneWave at twenty-three and interned there two years prior. She's earned her stripes." Jason nodded slowly. "But why let a man like Bryan tamper with her work?" "That's not a professional problem, Jason. That's a heart one." Jason turned back to the window. Maybe it was none of his business. But he hadn't come this far in life by ignoring gut instincts. And something about Leona Blake felt too important to overlook. Later that evening, Leona sat in her apartment, face bare, hair wrapped in a silk scarf, staring at her laptop screen. She was reviewing the upcoming marketing roadmap when a notification popped up. Incoming video call: Sasha She answered. Sasha's face appeared, frowning. "Turn on the TV," she said. Leona blinked. "What channel?" "Entertainment Daily. Right now." She did. And there it was. Bryan Kane. Ava Monroe. Spotted at a late-night jazz club. Holding hands. No caption. Just grainy footage and wild speculation. Leona didn't flinch. Sasha looked stunned. "Leona?" But Leona just smiled faintly. And closed the laptop. The next morning, a bouquet of white orchids sat on Leona's desk. No card. No note. Just one name printed neatly on the delivery box: Jason Carter. And beneath the flowers, folded carefully between the stems, a handwritten message on thick stationery: The world only remembers the loudest voices. But the ones that matter are the ones that dare to stay true. -JC. Leona read it twice. And for the first time in weeks, she smiled. ******* The crisis broke like a thunderclap across KaneWave's gleaming halls the morning after the gala. Screens lit up with headlines, blogs and gossip sites frothing with juicy scandal. "KaneWave Love Triangle? Ava Monroe and Bryan Kane in Secret Affair?" the words screamed across digital banners, paired with strategically blurry photos of Bryan and Ava in a compromising angle at the previous night's event. Within minutes, the PR department was in shambles. Leona stood by her office window, phone buzzing incessantly in her hand, her jaw tight. Sasha was pacing behind her, muttering curses under her breath. "Half the board has seen it," Sasha said. "Emil's assistant just called. They're demanding a full internal sweep. Ava's contract is on the line." "I'm aware." "Then say something, Leona. Please. Before Bryan walks in here and starts crying again." Right on cue, the door burst open. Bryan Kane looked a mess. For the first time, the ever-composed heir to KaneWave wore rumpled clothes and guilt like a cologne. His eyes were bloodshot, and he clutched a crumpled copy of one of the tabloids. "Leona, please-" She didn't turn. "Have you seen the internet?" "I didn't touch her." His voice cracked. "It's not what it looks like. It was a setup. You have to believe me." Sasha scoffed. "You expect her to believe that with the photos flying around like confetti?" Bryan ignored Sasha and stepped forward. "Leo, they're calling Ava a home-wrecker. Me? A corporate predator. This could tank everything, sponsors, our share prices, the new WestEdge deal-" "I said I'll handle it," Leona said quietly. He dropped to his knees, clutching her hand. "Then please... order PR to fix this. Say we were rehearsing a scene for Ava's new music video. Something, anything!" Sasha barked out a laugh. "A music video, Bryan? That's your cover story?" Leona finally turned, her eyes dark and unreadable. "Let me think." Before she could speak further, another wave of noise came crashing down the hall. Ava Monroe burst through the elevator, surrounded by assistants and frantic interns. Her makeup was streaked with tears, mascara bleeding down her cheeks like rivers of guilt. "My career is over!" she wailed, sinking into the lobby couch as a photographer snapped from outside the glass walls. "Everyone thinks I slept with him! I can't even show my face at the recording studio. This is all ruined!" PR heads rushed in, trying to shield her. Bryan broke away from Leona and knelt beside Ava, murmuring reassurances. That visual - her fiancé comforting the woman he supposedly didn't touch - was enough to draw stares. Murmurs rose from corners. "She's jealous," someone whispered. "Maybe that's why she's not helping." "She's been waiting for