Chapter 6 - The Scandal Unleashed|
By noon, the internet had exploded.
The security camera footage from the Children’s Legacy Fund gala had been leaked to every major news outlet in North America. The video was crystal clear: Saraphina Rivers shoving a visibly pregnant woman, kicking her while she lay helpless on the floor, and Matthew Hayes standing by like a statue, doing absolutely nothing while Julian Sterling swept in to save her.
Public outrage was instantaneous and overwhelming.
#JusticeForElise and #BoycottHayesDynamics trended number one worldwide. Protesters gathered outside the corporate headquarters of Hayes Dynamics, carrying signs that read PROTECT MOTHERS and MATTHEW HAYES IS A COWARD.
In a penthouse suite in SoHo, Saraphina Rivers paced frantically across her marble floor, her phone ringing off the hook.
"What do you mean the agency dropped me?!" Saraphina screamed into the receiver. "I’m the face of the spring campaign!"
"You were the face of the campaign, Saraphina," her agent replied coldly over the line. "Now you’re a public nightmare. Every brand has canceled their contracts with you. The DA just issued a warrant for your arrest for felony assault. Don't call me again."
The line went dead. Saraphina threw her phone against the wall, shattering it into pieces.
"This is that pathetic little mouse's fault!" Saraphina shrieked, her face twisted in rage. "She set me up!"
Her assistant stepped back, terrified. "Miss Rivers, the police are downstairs in the lobby..."
Meanwhile, at Bellevue Hospital, Julian sat by Elise’s bed, holding an iPad.
"The court has granted an emergency temporary restraining order," Julian informed her softly. "Matthew cannot come within five hundred feet of you or the hospital. And Saraphina has just been taken into custody."
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Elise looked out the window at the sunny autumn skyline. "It feels like a bad dream. I feel like I’m watching someone else’s life on television."
"It’s not a dream," Julian said gently. "It’s the beginning of your freedom."
