Chapter 14 - The Journalist
Leaking the master ledger required someone with unquestionable integrity and a massive platform. Releasing it anonymously online would just be dismissed as a fake by Thorne’s PR machine. They needed a heavyweight.
Sarah reached out to Arthur Vance, an aging, Pulitzer-winning investigative journalist known for taking down corrupt governors and mafia bosses. Vance operated outside the modern, click-driven media circus. He met Sarah and Mark in the back room of a dusty, used bookstore he owned in Brooklyn.
Vance adjusted his thick glasses, slowly scrolling through the printed pages of the ledger Sarah had provided. The silence in the room was deafening, save for the faint sound of traffic outside.
"This is thermonuclear," Vance finally said, tapping his finger against Elias Thorne's name. "If I publish this, Thorne will deploy every asset he has to stop the presses. He will threaten my publisher, my family, and my life."
"I know," Sarah said, leaning forward. "That’s why we don't just publish it. We broadcast it. Live. During his keynote speech at the Global Economic Summit next week."
Vance raised an eyebrow, a slow, wicked smile spreading across his wrinkled face. Thorne was slated to be the guest of honor at the summit, an event broadcasted to millions of financial professionals worldwide.
"You want to hijack the summit's feed and project the ledger while he's on stage?" Vance asked, clearly impressed by the sheer audacity of the plan.
"Chloe has the digital capability," Mark confirmed. "We just need you to authenticate the documents on air, simultaneously publishing the full interactive database on your network's server so the public can download it before Thorne’s lawyers can issue a takedown notice."
"It’s a suicide mission for my career if we miss," Vance noted.
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"It’s the end of his if we hit," Sarah countered.
Vance looked at the young mother, seeing the unyielding steel in her eyes. "Alright, kid. Let's make some history."
