Elaine's Fury: The Woman Reborn

family's tech company. I played my part as Elaine Stewart, the perfect philanthropic daughter, engaged to my fa

n the private airfield next to the event hall. My fiancé, Cole, and my cous

rra, the four-year-old "niece" Col

ker corporate crime. My own father had framed Juliette for a data breach he orchestrated, and sh

l recording. My cousin and

cousin," Juliette's voice dripped w

and nothing more. A cold fury burned through

n two weeks, live-streamed to the entire world.

replace it with irrefutable proof of the af

to find out how

pte

told me my cousin J

, isolated assignment for Stewart

s her p

ch that almost destroyed everything

years, I pla

the philanthropic da

Koch, the company's brilliant CO

rformance, all designed to uphold

, and stood by Cole's side, a symbo

he lie. I li

tered on a T

product, the "Nexus," and the air in t

eside me, her hand patting mine, a picture of maternal pride. Cole squeezed my

it just f

ng at me all evening. A feeling

Juli

erile office in Singapore, bu

vate airfield adjacent to the event hall,

asn't

as wit

th their hands, was a little

rld s

d into a dull roar. The cha

as t

or anything. Cole, my Cole, looking at her with a

ing to make sense

Kiarra. Cole' s "niece." The one he showed me pictu

ad l

ing was

PR stunt. A shield for their secret f

from the window,

or "focus" and "atonement," was in on it. He had to be. He

ving an affair. She had

corporate espionage he orchestrated. He had framed his own niece,

ose clean reputation and perfect engagement wer

unknown number an hour ago, buried under a flood of con

tte's face filled the screen, a smirk pla

Asia," Juliette's voice dripped with mockery. "God, she' s

e harder than a

ity

tle, less-ambitious daughter. The one wh

through the shock, melting

eeting was in two weeks. It was alwa

video was always the c

t this

I would r

able proof of the affair, the s

he core of Stewart Dynamics

I was a naive

to find out how

e y

as raised like my sister, had made a catastrophic mistake. A data breac

'd sent her to Asia to lead a new, isolated division. A chance to redeem

t was also the night of the Nexus launch, the product that

ps brushing my temple. His arm was wrapped securely

t, designed to reassure, to charm, to control. He was the perfect COO,

t's a big night for

life was dedicated to my non-profit, a passion my family tolerated as a "gentle hobby." They saw me as kind, empathetic, and

deliers. "Darling, your father is about to speak. We need to be front

om," I said,

father talking to a board member. He looked

for Juliette," I said, testing the

. My mother' s smile tightened. My fath

and firm. "Juliette needs to focus. This is a critical time

nuine ache in my chest. I did m

l. "But what's best for the company, and for her, is

uld she really accept five years of silent exile without a fight? She had taken the fall for the data breach, a disaster that had always felt... off. I remembered the chaos, the frantic late nights. I had offered to help, with my own bac

one to be alone," I pushed, lookin

e is tough. She's handling it. We have to trust the process." He gave my h

of being utterly alone in a room full of people I wa

I murmured, pulling my hand fr

e cool night. The manicured gardens of the event center led toward the private air

The scene that would e

rture. And standing at the base of the stairs were t

her, a deep, passionate kiss that was nothing like the chaste pecks h

ice cream when we

dd

in the sudden si

large potted palm, my hand clamped over my mouth to sti

love I had never seen on him before. A genuine, ung

. "We have to go, my love

I'll see you both in Aspen tomorrow

she said, he

iving her one last kiss before t

uture, my family-it was all a facade. A carefully constru

guttural sound escaped my throat, a mix of a gasp and a sob

deafening in t

hipping around in my d

elf deeper into the shadows, my

the darkness, his fac

e screen, and his expression changed.

t wait.

k into the suffocating brightness of th

in my hand. A te

u? Your fathe

screen. I found the saved video file. My heart pounded as I watche

again. This time, it

ol

as calling me. After kissing her goodbye. Afte

swiping to answer. My n

sly steady. "Sorry, just got turn