Chapter 11 - The Desperate Plea
The glass door of the private office swung open before Marcus could even raise his hand to knock. Arthur looked up from a stack of financial portfolios, while Mia, who had returned from her shift downstairs, stood by the mahogany desk with a cup of hot tea in her hand.
“Report, Marcus,” Arthur commanded, his eyes fixed on the attorney's tense posture.
“The tide has completely inverted, Mr. Sterling,” Marcus said, breathless with a mixture of professional triumph and disbelief. “Within the last thirty minutes, the unedited footage has crossed ten million views. The investigative tech blogs have utterly destroyed her credibility, and her management agency has officially dropped her contract, citing gross breach of morality and fraudulent public manipulation.”
Mia set her tea down softly, watching Marcus closely. “And the influencer herself? Where is she now?”
“That’s the complication,” Marcus replied, swiping his tablet to pull up a live location feed and a flood of incoming communication requests. “She realizes her entire digital career is dead. Every brand has blocked her numbers, her followers are unsubscribing by the tens of thousands every minute, and her management team refused to take her calls. She is outside the downtown cafe right now, begging to speak with Mia in person.”
A heavy silence settled over the room. Arthur’s silver eyebrows knit together in deep disapproval. He tapped his wooden cane against the floor with a sharp, echoing thud.
“She made her choice when she brought a camera into a private business to humiliate an innocent worker,” Arthur said coldly. “She does not deserve an audience with my granddaughter.”
“Grandfather, wait,” Mia interrupted softly, her voice calm and measured. She looked toward the street-facing window of the office, where the rain had finally stopped, leaving a slick, gray reflection of the sidewalk below. “Let her come up.”
Arthur turned his sharp gaze toward her, surprise flickering across his stern features. “Mia, you owe that woman nothing. She tried to ruin your life.”
“I know she did,” Mia replied steadily, meeting her grandfather’s eyes without flinching. “And that is precisely why I want to see her face-to-face. If I hide behind you and your corporate lawyers forever, I will never truly understand how to command this empire. Let her come up here. Let her see that the person she tried to destroy isn't broken.”
Arthur studied his granddaughter for a long, quiet moment, searching her dark eyes for any sign of hesitation or weakness. Finding only absolute, unshakeable strength, a slow, proud smile broke through his stern expression. He nodded once toward the attorney.
May you like
“Let her in, Marcus,” Arthur instructed quietly. “But stay in the room.”
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