RICHARD'S POV

I sat in my office and stared at the news on the wall screen. It was everywhere


'Thomson Hades found guilty." Headlines screamed about the trial and Jane Grande's face was all over the internet, the papers, even the gossip showed. Some called her a hero, while some others called her brave, however I knew what she really was.

I leaned back in my chair, and smiled to myself.

'She is weak now," I said and my voice echoed loudly through the four walls of the room 'This is the perfect moment."


I turned to my assistant, Diana. She stood beside my desk with a notepad, ready. She was fast, smart, and loyal, it was just exactly how I like them.

'Call the board," I said. 'Emergency meeting, toonight." She quickly nodded and rushed out.


I walked to the window and looked down at the city. The Mason Group was strong, but Jane's company, Grande Holdings, was everywhere, and it was even stronger. After Hades fell, her name only grew stronger and she took all the light, all the sympathy and all the power, but it wasn't for long.

'Let's see how well you shine, Jane, when I cut off your air."

___

Later that night, the boardroom was full. Men and women in suits sat around the long glass table and I stood at the head and there was tension in the air, it was just how I wanted it.

'She won," I began. 'She took him down and now the world treats her like a saint."

I clicked the remote and a slideshow appeared. Jane walked out of court, Jane giving a statement, Jane hugging a crying woman.

'She was fooling them," I continued. 'Using the media and controlling the narrative. But we know better."

Some of the directors nodded and a few looked unsure.

'We take her down. Not with lawsuits. Not with bullets. But with one thing the world eats up faster than truth, Rumor."

I laid out the plan and the digital war.

'Bots, paid influencers and fake headlines, deep fake footage and questions everything she says and twists everything she does."

I showed them charts, numbers, campaign ideas and the room slowly shifted and I saw it in their eyes.

'What do we gain?" one of the board members asked.

I smiled. 'Market space, power, control. and above all, silence her before she becomes untouchable."

By the end of the meeting, I had their full support and the budget was approved.

___

The next morning, I walked into the digital strategy room. My team was already working, ten laptops open, coffee cups everywhere, heads bent over screens.

'Make it believable," I told them. 'Not too obvious, start slow, then spread like wildfire."

One of the tech guys turned to me. 'We have got bots ready to push hashtags and trending topics in two days."

Another girl added, 'We hired influencers and they will start posting doubts, nothing direct, just questions and suspicion."

'And the video?" I asked

'Almost done," she said 'We took courtroom footage and spliced it with some of Emily to make it look like they planned the whole trial."

'Good," I nodded. 'Make Jane look like a manipulator. The real puppeteer."

It was all falling into place.

____

Two days later, the internet exploded.

#JusticeOrJealousy trends on Twitter.

YouTube influencers posted videos: 'Was Jane Grande too calm during the trial?"

Reddit threads break down the deep fake frame by frame, pretending it was real.

A blogger claimed she had a source who overheard Jane rehearsing her testimony.

Everything was a lie, but no one cared and the truth was boring.

__

Then I go to the public.

I appeared on a major business podcast and I sat across from the host, a woman named Cheryl who was always hungry for drama.

'Richard," she began, 'a lot of people say you are just bitter about Jane's success."

I laughed softly. 'No, Cheryl. I admired her. But we must ask the hard questions. Was this trial fair? Was there another side to the story?"

I made my voice calm, serious.

'Jane was powerful now and too powerful and you know sometimes power blinds us to truth."

The podcast went viral and millions listened and got invited to more shows and the plan was working perfectly.

___

That night, I drank a glass of scotch in my apartment and I watched the numbers. Stock for Grande Holdings was dipping and their latest ad campaign got boycotted and a few key engineers jumped ship, one of them joined us.

Diana brought me a folder.

'We got something," she said 'One of her team leaked it. It was a new AI project they have not launched yet."

I flipped through the pages. It was Interesting.

'Leak it," I said 'Quietly." And the. She left without a word.

___

But I know Jane wasn't stupid.

She didn't respond online, she didn't make a public statement and That made me nervous.

Why so quiet?



JANE'S POV

I was standing by the window in my office, a mug of coffee was in my hands, and I stared out at the city. It looked peaceful from up here and still like nothing had changed, But the storm was just beginning, and I didn't know it yet.

My phone buzzed on the table and I glanced over and frowned. Another notification, then another one then dozens.

Ping! Ping! Ping!

I walked over, picked it up, and the screen lit up with message after message.

'Are you seeing this??"

'Jane, don't open Twitter."

'We need to talk. Urgent.

I froze and my heart skipped a beat. A familiar cold crept into my chest, it was slow and thick like oil. I opened the browser against my better judgment.

And there it was

**#JusticeOrJealousy** is trending.

I scroll. And what I see knocks the air from my lungs.

A video of me on the witness stand. But something was wrong with it. The lighting's off, my voice sounded fake and cut-up. It was edited and twisted and the headline reads:

'Was Jane Grande's Testimony a Performance?"

My hands started to shake as I scrolled further.

'New Leaks Suggest Trial Was Scripted."

'Anonymous Source Claims Jane Controlled the Narrative."

'The Grande Puppetmaster: Who's Really Pulling the Strings?"

No, no, no...

I opened the comments. I knew I shouldn't, but I couldn't stop myself.

'She's lying. I never trusted her."

'This is what happens when rich women play the victim."

'If she was really assaulted, why did she smile after winning?"

'So fake. She set him up."

I dropped the phone and It hit the rug with a soft thud and my vision blurry as I pressed my hand to my chest. It hurts like something was cracking open inside me.

I turned to the TV and grabbed the remote. News channels were playing the same garbage. Talk shows debating my sincerity. Analysts comparing my trial to celebrity drama.

Then, my name, my face, again and again and the whole world was watching me.

But they were not clapping anymore, they were questioning, accusing and laughing and then I stumbled back onto the couch and curled in on myself.

My mind raced. Who would do this? Why now?

And then it hits me like a thunderclap.

Richard.

That smug smile and the silence during the trial. The way he vanished while I fought for justice, it had his fingerprints all over it.

And yet, I couldn't prove anything. Not yet.

My phone rang. It was my head of PR, he was yelling something about damage control, statements, counters, press and I couldn't speak, I was numb.