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The elevator doors open, and we step inside. My phone vibrates before I can press the button.
Another alert appears.
A larger entertainment account has reposted the original story, adding a question about Wolf Shield’s early investors. The comments are climbing fast.
Lena reads my expression. “Bigger?”
“Getting there.” I hit the button for the Communications floor and open my calendar. “Can you move my four o’clock meeting?”
She pulls out her phone. “I’ll handle it.”
I send Bane a message before the elevator starts moving.
Emma: Can you meet me in Communications when you’re free? The posts about your missing years are spreading.
His reply arrives before we reach the next floor.
Bane: On my way.
I slip my phone into my pocket as the elevator doors open, then walk out with Lena beside me and head straight for communications.
Spencer taught me enough about how he creates a story that I know exactly what he’s doing, and this time I’m already moving before he gets to decide what happens next.
CHAPTER FORTY
Bane
SEPTEMBER 28TH
My phone rings before Theo finishes reading the headline on my computer screen, and by the time I answer, three more alerts have appeared beneath the article.
“Wolf.”
“Bane, we need you downstairs,” Claire says.
She’s the head of the Communications team, and the tension in her tone tells me the rumors we’ve been tracking for the last two weeks have finally become the attack Emma expected.
Theo turns the laptop toward me. I get to my feet and reach for my jacket.
BILLIONAIRE BODYGUARD’S MISSING YEARS: QUESTIONS GROW OVER WOLF SHIELD FOUNDER’S SUDDEN FORTUNE
“How bad is it?” I ask as I head for the door.
“Six entertainment outlets have picked it up, two business sites are asking for comment, and three investors have already called. We also have anonymous sources claiming you used charity work to build relationships with wealthy donors.”
I stop walking, which forces Theo to pull up before he runs into me. “What exactly are they saying?”
Claire hesitates before answering.
“One outlet claims you volunteered with shelters because their boards gave you access to investors. Another says Wolf Shield’s first funding came from relationships you built while working with vulnerable organizations that couldn’t properly vet your intentions.”
Half the people I helped barely knew me beyond the work I did before moving on, yet Spencer has taken those months and turned them into a business strategy.
“I’ll be downstairs in five.”
I end the call and start toward the elevators again, with Theo beside me already opening the latest articles on his phone. “He’s dragged Celeste’s work into this.”
“He’s targeting mine,” I tell him as the elevator arrives. “The connection to Celeste makes the story easier to twist.”
