The fallout was immediate.
News feeds flooded with headlines as the evidence went live, screenshots, financial trails, leaked emails. Marcus Blackwood's carefully built image cracked in real time.
BLACKWOOD PATRIARCH LINKED TO ILLEGAL SURVEILLANCE
MEDIA MANIPULATION EXPOSED IN CEO SMEAR CAMPAIGN
BOARD SHOCKED BY DISCLOSURES
Aaliyah stood in the center of the penthouse, phone in hand, watching the story rewrite itself.
"They're not denying it," Elise said, scanning her tablet. "They're stalling."
Rowan stood by the window, eyes fixed on the city. "That's all he has left."
Aaliyah's pulse raced. "What if he retaliates?"
"He will," Rowan replied calmly. "But now he's doing it from a position of weakness."
Elise looked up. "The board is already shifting. Several members have issued statements distancing themselves from Marcus."
Rowan turned. "Good."
Aaliyah stepped closer. "Are you okay?"
Rowan hesitated. "I will be."
Aaliyah reached out, stopping just short of touching her. "This is personal."
"Yes," Rowan said. "Which is why it matters."
A notification chimed.
Elise's eyes widened. "Emergency board meeting canceled."
Aaliyah exhaled sharply. "Canceled?"
"Yes," Elise said. "They've postponed until they can 'review new information.'"
Rowan's mouth curved faintly. "Which means he lost control of the room."
The city outside buzzed with a thousand versions of the same story.
Aaliyah looked at Rowan. "What happens now?"
Rowan took a breath. "Now we wait."
"For what?"
"For him to make his last mistake."
And as the tension settled into something sharper, Aaliyah knew,
This wasn't over.
It was just becoming impossible to hide.
Marcus Blackwood did not stay quiet.
Within an hour of the exposé going live, a press conference was announced.
Rowan and Aaliyah watched it from the penthouse, the large screen dominating the sitting room.
Marcus stood behind a polished podium, expression grave, the picture of wounded dignity.
"I am the victim of a coordinated smear campaign," he said calmly. "Designed to undermine my credibility and destabilize Blackwood Enterprises."
Aaliyah's stomach tightened.
"He's reframing," Elise muttered. "Classic."
Marcus continued, "The information released is distorted, taken out of context, and part of a deliberate attempt to manipulate shareholders."
"And the board?" Aaliyah asked.
Elise checked her tablet. "Divided. But they're listening."
Marcus's gaze sharpened as he added, "My daughter has been emotionally compromised. This so-called relationship has clouded her judgment. I fear for her well-being."
Rowan's hands curled into fists.
"He's painting me as unstable," Rowan said quietly.
"And me as the disease," Aaliyah whispered.
Rowan turned to her. "You're not."
Aaliyah met her gaze. "I know. But that won't stop him from trying to make me one."
Elise looked up. "He's announcing legal action."
Marcus's voice echoed through the room. "I will be filing for temporary corporate guardianship until this crisis is resolved."
Aaliyah gasped. "He wants control of your company."
"And my life," Rowan replied.
Elise's voice was sharp. "If he gets a sympathetic judge, he could freeze Rowan's authority."
Rowan exhaled slowly. "Then we don't give him time."
Aaliyah's heart pounded. "What do we do?"
Rowan walked to the center of the room, something lethal settling behind her eyes.
"We end this publicly," she said. "Once and for all."
Elise frowned. "How?"
Rowan turned to Aaliyah.
"With you."
Aaliyah stiffened. "Me?"
"He made you the target," Rowan said. "So we let you speak."
Elise hesitated. "That's risky."
"Yes," Rowan replied. "But it's also powerful."
Aaliyah swallowed. "You want me to go in front of the world?"
Rowan's voice softened. "Only if you're ready."
Aaliyah thought of her mother.
Of the shell companies.
Of being quietly erased.
"I am," she said.
Rowan nodded once. "Then we tell the truth."
As cameras and headlines continued to explode across the world, a different storm gathered inside the penthouse.
Marcus Blackwood had chosen war.
And Aaliyah Moore was about to become the face of his defeat.
The studio lights were brutal.
Aaliyah felt them the moment she stepped onto the small broadcast set Elise had secured—too bright, too revealing, turning every breath into something visible. The backdrop was simple. No branding. No manipulation.
Just her.
Rowan stood just off-camera, arms crossed, gaze locked on Aaliyah with an intensity that made her feel anchored instead of alone.
"You don't have to perform," Rowan had said before they went live. "Just speak."
The red light blinked on.
The anchor smiled into the camera. "Tonight we are joined by Aaliyah Moore, the woman at the center of the Blackwood controversy. Aaliyah, thank you for being here."
Aaliyah nodded, her hands steady in her lap. "Thank you for having me."
"Many people are asking, who are you in this story?" the anchor asked.
Aaliyah inhaled slowly. "I'm a person who was watched without consent, investigated without cause, and used as a pawn in a power struggle I never asked to be part of."
The room went very still.
"Marcus Blackwood paid people to dig into my life," Aaliyah continued. "To find something he could twist into a weapon. When he didn't find anything damning, he planned to create it."
Screens behind her lit up—emails, financial records, shell company links.
"This is the evidence," Aaliyah said. "It's real. And it's why he's afraid."
The anchor blinked. "You're accusing him of surveillance and manipulation."
"I'm stating facts," Aaliyah replied calmly. "And I'm done being quiet about them."
"Some say you're influencing Rowan Blackwood's judgment," the anchor said carefully.
Aaliyah's gaze didn't waver. "I didn't make Rowan brave. I just refused to be invisible."
A pause.
"Is your relationship with Rowan real?" the anchor asked.
Aaliyah didn't look at the screen. She looked at Rowan.
"Yes," she said simply.
Across the room, Rowan exhaled.
The broadcast ended minutes later, but the impact was immediate.
Phones exploded. Headlines shifted. Marcus's narrative began to crumble.
Back in the green room, Rowan pulled Aaliyah into a fierce, grounding embrace.
"You were incredible," Rowan whispered.
Aaliyah clutched her, heart pounding. "I was terrified."
"And you still spoke," Rowan said. "That's courage."
Outside, the world reeled.
Inside, something far more important had changed.
Marcus Blackwood had lost control of the story.
And for the first time, Aaliyah Moore wasn't just a target.
She was a voice.
A voice the world could no longer ignore.