[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":10},["ShallowReactive",2],{"viewer-data-26032289AC7C-177":3},{"id":4,"number":5,"name":6,"content":7,"isLocked":8,"price":9,"hasRead":8},177,16,"Chapter 16: The Price Of Your Beautiful Lies","\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan Meyer’s chest tightened, a cold dread settling in his gut. \"What are you talking about?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The assistant hesitated, choosing his words with agonizing care. \"She... she was vague, but the implication is clear. She’s claiming Maya was jealous and staged a series of incidents, even injuring herself just to frame her. She also accused Maya of abandoning her elderly parents to go abroad—painting it as a cold-hearted betrayal.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He took a shaky breath. \"Sir, the online discourse is spiraling. People are absolutely tearing Maya apart.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan’s jaw locked, his expression darkening to thunder.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He ended the call and immediately opened his social media.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Sure enough, the long-winded post Alexandria Rodriguez had crafted was trending.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The prose was performative, dripping with heavy-handed victimhood. She detailed her return to the Cole family and her attempts to \"reconcile\" with her sister, only to be sabotaged at every turn—from the freezer incident to the car crash. She painted herself as the fragile, kind-hearted martyr, casting Maya as a vicious, ungrateful brat who had abandoned her aging parents without a second thought.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The comment section was a cesspool.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">*I had no idea the real Cole daughter was this toxic!*\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">*My heart breaks for Alexandria. She’s been through so much and still maintains such grace.*\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">*She’s really that cold-blooded? How could anyone support a monster like that?*\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">*Maya Cole, get out of the family! You don’t deserve the name.*\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Callahan scrolled through the vitriol, his temples throbbing. His fury was reaching a breaking point.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Alexandria Rodriguez. How dare she.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He dialed her number.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">It rang for several beats before she answered, her voice practiced, fragile, and laced with a sniffle. \"Callahan? You...\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Delete it.\" Callahan’s voice was arctic, utterly devoid of warmth.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Alexandria froze. A few seconds later, she feigned shock, her tone turning wounded. \"Callahan? You... you want me to take it down? I’m just telling the truth! Maya already—\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"The truth?\" Callahan let out a sharp, jagged laugh that silenced the room. \"What truth? The fact that you rammed her car on purpose? That you hurt yourself to frame her? Or that you strong-armed her into taking the fall for your own failures?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">His voice dropped, lethal and low. \"Alexandria, do you want me to compile the surveillance footage from that crash? The bank records of the witnesses you bribed? I can send it all to the press tonight. Let’s see how your 'truth' holds up under a magnifying glass.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Dead silence on the other end. Only Alexandria’s ragged, panicked breathing broke the quiet.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"How... how do you...\" Her voice trembled; the fragile facade crumbled instantly.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"How do I know?\" Callahan’s voice was terrifyingly calm, carrying a crushing weight. \"I was indifferent before, Alexandria, not stupid. The security camera blind spots, the anomalies at the crash site, your medical reports... do you want me to lay them out for you one by one?\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Callahan! No! Let me explain! It’s because... because I love you!\" She began to spiral, her voice rising in a desperate, manipulative pitch. \"I love you so much! I only wanted you to notice me! I was wrong, I know I was wrong, please—\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"Love me?\" Callahan cut her off, his tone dripping with icy contempt. \"You know damn well you don't love me; you love the title of being a Meyer. It wasn't until Maya left—until the silence in my life became deafening—that I realized I’d just mistaken our childhood history for love. Now, I find even that connection repulsive.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He paused, his ultimatum sharp and clear.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">\"This is your final warning. Delete the post. Issue a public retraction and an apology to Maya. Otherwise, I won’t hesitate to use the full weight of the Meyer Group to ensure you—and anyone who helped you spin these lies—end up exactly where you belong to face the consequences.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He hung up before she could argue.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">He dialed his assistant immediately. \"Two things. First, scrub every tag related to her post. Bury it. Second, release a formal statement in my name—no, make it the Meyer Group’s official channel.\"\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">Half an hour later, the Meyer Group and Callahan’s verified account released a scorched-earth statement.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The internet went quiet.\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The statement was short and legally binding:\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">*Mr. Callahan Meyer hereby issues a formal declaration: All recent rumors and malicious speculations regarding Ms. Maya Cole are fabrications born of ulterior motives. The Meyer Group’s legal department has secured comprehensive evidence and will be filing suit against all relevant parties. There will be no leniency.*\u003C/p>\u003Cp class=\"chapter-paragraph\">The reaction was instantaneous. The commentators who had been tearing Maya apart were caught off guard. The tide of public opinion shifted in an instant.\u003C/p>",false,0,1774272930518]