Alexander Sterling's penthouse was usually quiet at night. The kind of silence bought by money and fear. But tonight, the silence was broken—by his own ragged breathing and the endless storm of alerts flooding every device in the room.
The wallscreens plastered his face across every channel. "BREAKING: Alexander Sterling Linked to Attempted Murder of Global Star." His name scrolled on tickers in bold red, his face flashing alongside Xavier's blood-soaked livestream clips. Commentators tore into him with savage glee.
He tried turning one off, but another screen lit up automatically, algorithms dragging him back into the chaos.
The public feed was merciless—hashtags chanting his death, clips of Xavier's "terrified" face racking up tens of millions of reposts. Old scandals Sterling thought buried were suddenly unearthed: corporate fraud, backroom dealings, rumors of assassinations long denied. Now the people stitched them all together, painting him as the devil wearing a suit.
