Ariyah Griffin had tipped off several media outlets ahead of time, and they showed up hungry for a scoop. With AEI Equity's CEO under scrutiny, no one wanted to miss a front-page story. The hospital entrance, already busy, was soon crowded with reporters.
Alyssa Jenkins had been running her mouth, painting Ariyah as arrogant, dismissive, and cruel to anyone she considered beneath her. To sell the story, she even leaked a handful of carefully cherry-picked photos of Ariyah looking cold and stern. Word spread that Alyssa was Milo’s first love and the real victim, ripped away from him because of Ariyah’s interference.
“I don’t need to strong-arm an intern,” Ariyah quipped, letting out a low chuckle as she glanced at the headlines.
“Aren’t you worried?” Joan was pacing the living room, visibly on edge. “There’s gossip everywhere. How can you stay so calm?”
Alyssa had already claimed the moral high ground, backing Ariyah into a corner. Scandals involving the rich and powerful were impossible to resist, and reporters were swarming both the hospital and Ariyah’s estate.
Joan was furiously dialing every PR agency, demanding to know what they were doing about the media circus. The agencies were drowning, barely able to keep up with the onslaught.
“So, Joan, is there any truth to the claims that Ariyah bullied people?” one of them actually had the nerve to ask.
Joan’s only response was to hurl her phone across the room in a fit of frustration.
Ariyah, however, remained cool and collected. Sipping her coffee, she laid out her plan without a flicker of worry. “There’s no rush. Alyssa’s the one who should be worried. The longer I wait, the more she’ll suffocate in uncertainty. Let her stew. She’ll end up pressuring Milo to make a move.”
The gossip kept circulating, eventually reaching even Solstice Capital. Matthew Robertson burst into Pablo Williams’ office, eyes bright with excitement. “I’ve got some seriously juicy news.”
Pablo didn’t bother lifting his gaze from his paperwork. “Is this about Ariyah being accused of throwing her weight around? Anything new?”
“And there’s talk she might be a mistress!”
“Anything else?”
Matthew hesitated, still perpetually puzzled by Pablo’s unreadable expressions.
“A ton of fake stories are floating around, and yet Milo hasn’t said a word,” Pablo mused, his brow furrowed. Ariyah had stood by Milo through everything, and now he was proving to be a man who did little except leave chaos in his wake. Well, this was a lucky break. His eyes flickered as he shuffled through the merger documents in front of him.
“Any word on a divorce?” Pablo asked, throwing Matthew off balance.
“Divorce? I haven’t heard anything like that. But word is Milo’s refusing to hand back the shares and won’t give up the woman and kid he brought over. They’re at a standoff.”
“Milo’s an interesting character—looks dependable, but then he moves in silence, like snatching someone else’s territory,” Matthew noted, right up until Pablo’s glare shut him up.
That man was unpredictable—it was best not to provoke him.
After two days of recovering at home, Ariyah reappeared as if nothing had ever happened and headed straight for the office. Delays weren’t an option; the company was in chaos.
Joan, sitting next to her in the car, kept glancing at the media vans tailing them. “Ariyah, this scandal could wreck the company’s reputation, right?”
“We have several major international deals lined up. If our partners decide to back out... the losses could be severe.”
Joan had a point. Ariyah had put her personal feelings aside a long time ago, but Milo had built a name for himself under her mentorship. Pulling him off key projects without warning would only create a mess.
Milo had the nerve to negotiate with her because he knew it too. Solstice Capital was tied up in several critical international mergers set to close before the end of the year. If Milo sabotaged those deals out of spite, AEI Equity’s year-end financials would take a devastating hit.
“One step at a time,” Ariyah said. “I’ll approach Solstice’s founder and see if they’d agree to a change in project lead...”
But even as she said it, a faint trace of uncertainty slipped into her tone. It rarely worked out in situations like this. When it came to building partnerships, people put more faith in an individual than in a company.
Cutting Milo out of both the company and the group entirely would be brutal—like carving flesh from bone. It would bleed the company dry. And judging by Alyssa’s stance, there was no way she’d let Milo give up his claim on the family assets. A showdown was inevitable.
As a light rain began to fall, Joan told the driver to pull up to the company’s side entrance, managing to shake off the media. Ariyah slid on her sunglasses and stepped out—only to freeze when a voice called out from behind.
