The story broke before Aaliyah even made it back to the penthouse.
Her phone began vibrating in her hand as soon as she stepped into the car.
One headline after another flashed across the screen.
ROWAN BLACKWOOD'S PARTNER ACCUSED OF "OPPORTUNISTIC MANIPULATION"
SOURCES CLAIM AALIYAH MOORE IS USING THE CEO FOR ACCESS AND MONEY
INSIDERS QUESTION HER MOTIVES
Aaliyah's chest tightened.
Marcus hadn't waited.
Security shut the car door behind her and the vehicle pulled away from the café, the city blurring past. Every message felt like a needle.
They weren't attacking Rowan.
They were attacking her.
When she reached the penthouse, Rowan was already there.
She was standing in the center of the sitting room, tablet in hand, eyes blazing.
"He moved fast," Rowan said.
Aaliyah nodded, forcing herself to stay calm. "He warned me."
"What did he say?" Rowan asked sharply.
"That he could destroy me," Aaliyah replied. "And that he was curious to see if you'd still choose me."
Rowan's jaw clenched. "I don't negotiate with men who threaten people I care about."
The word care landed softly but firmly.
Elise entered, expression tight. "The articles are being pushed by three of Marcus's media partners. They're framing Aaliyah as a grifter."
Aaliyah felt heat rise behind her eyes. "They're rewriting my life."
"Yes," Elise said. "And they're doing it very well."
Rowan turned to Aaliyah. "You don't have to take this."
"I won't disappear," Aaliyah said. "Not again."
Rowan studied her. "He's testing how far he can push you before you break."
Aaliyah's voice was steady. "Then let him find out how wrong he is."
Rowan nodded once. "Good."
Outside, the world was already sharpening its knives.
But inside the penthouse, something more dangerous was forming.
A refusal to be erased.
The lies multiplied overnight.
By morning, Aaliyah's name was everywhere, twisted into something ugly and unrecognizable.
"Aaliyah Moore: From Student to Social Climber"
"How Rowan Blackwood's Girlfriend Inserted Herself Into a Billionaire Empire"
"Is This Love or a Calculated Infiltration?"
Aaliyah sat on the edge of the bed, phone in hand, her fingers numb.
"They're using my financial aid records," she whispered. "My mother's hospital bills."
Rowan stood in the doorway, eyes dark. "He's building a narrative."
"He's turning my survival into proof I'm guilty," Aaliyah said.
"Yes," Rowan replied. "That's how men like him operate."
Elise rushed in. "Marcus has filed a motion with the board. He's requesting an ethics review of Rowan's leadership based on 'romantic impropriety.'"
Aaliyah felt the room tilt. "He's using me to destabilize you."
Rowan stepped closer. "He's trying to force me to choose."
"And?" Aaliyah asked quietly.
Rowan didn't hesitate. "I already have."
Elise hesitated. "This is getting dangerous. Investors are nervous."
Rowan's voice was cold. "Then they'll have to learn to sit with discomfort."
Aaliyah swallowed. "What do we do?"
Rowan took her hands gently. "We stop playing defense."
Elise looked between them. "Meaning?"
Rowan's eyes sharpened. "We go after his credibility. Not his tactics."
Aaliyah frowned. "How?"
Rowan replied, "By showing the pattern."
The penthouse filled with quiet determination as Elise pulled up files, old lawsuits, settlements, silenced partners, women whose lives Marcus had ruined quietly.
"This isn't new," Elise said. "He's been doing this for decades."
Rowan looked at Aaliyah. "You're just the first one who refused to disappear."
Aaliyah straightened. "Then we make sure no one else ever has to."
Outside, the headlines screamed.
Inside, something far more powerful was taking shape,
A reckoning.
The reckoning didn't wait for permission.
By noon, Elise had built a digital wall of evidence, testimonies, sealed settlements, financial trails that showed how Marcus Blackwood had bought silence as easily as he bought companies.
"These women were paid to disappear," Elise said quietly. "Careers ended. Reputations erased. All because they got too close to his secrets."
Aaliyah's chest ached. "He didn't just try to destroy me. He's done this to so many people."
Rowan's expression was dark and steady. "And he'll keep doing it unless we stop him."
Aaliyah looked at Rowan. "Then don't make this about me. Make it about all of them."
Rowan nodded. "That's the point."
Elise's fingers hovered over her tablet. "Once this goes out, there's no pulling it back. He'll retaliate."
Rowan's voice was cold. "Let him."
Aaliyah took a breath. "Release it."
The files went live.
Within minutes, the narrative cracked.
FORMER BLACKWOOD EMPLOYEES SPEAK OUT
SECRET PAYOFFS LINKED TO MARCUS BLACKWOOD
DECADES OF SILENCED ACCUSATIONS EXPOSED
Aaliyah watched the story change again, not to glorify her, but to reveal him.
Rowan turned to her. "You did this."
Aaliyah shook her head. "We did."
Outside, the city was erupting.
Inside, Rowan took Aaliyah's hands, holding them with quiet intensity.
"No matter what happens now," Rowan said, "he doesn't get to define you."
Aaliyah felt something settle in her chest.
For the first time since Marcus had entered her life, she wasn't afraid.
She was ready.
Because the man who thought he could own everyone,
Had finally met someone he couldn't erase.