Chapter 26 – The Real Betrayal
The media firestorm was immediate.
"BREAKING: VossTech's Founder Tied to New Privacy Scandal."
"Anonymous Source Claims Hidden Data Mining Program."
"Another Tech Giant Under Fire?"
Within 24 hours, VossTech's stock began to dip. Journalists circled like sharks. Reporters camped outside their building. Elara's inbox filled with press inquiries—and hate.
Damian took the hits calmly, like a man who'd been through the war once and learned how to bleed with grace.
But Elara? She couldn't shake the unease crawling down her spine.
Because this time, the attacks were too precise.
Too personal.
"I reviewed the original documents," Juliette said, tossing a thick folder onto the marble kitchen island. "The code in question wasn't from VossTech's original development team. It came from a third-party acquisition five years ago."
Elara flipped through the papers. Her breath caught.
"These timestamps—this was during the time Vale Innovations was under review for sale."
Juliette nodded grimly. "That's why I brought it to you. There's metadata buried deep in this code. And one of the contributors… signed off as E. Vale."
Elara froze.
"I never worked on this," she whispered. "I never even saw this dataset."
Juliette crossed her arms. "Then someone used your name."
Elara's mind raced.
There was only one other person with access to her systems during that time. One person who had always stayed quiet. Who had watched Vale crumble from the inside, then vanished from the industry altogether.
Her father's protégé.
Lena Cross.
Damian saw the name on Elara's face before she even spoke it.
"She was the lead data scientist, wasn't she?"
Elara nodded. "She stayed when others walked. I trusted her. My father trusted her. And when the company started unraveling, she told me she had nothing left to give."
"Where is she now?"
"She… disappeared after the buyout. I assumed she left tech altogether."
Juliette pulled out her phone. "She didn't. She's been quietly consulting for Monroe's sister companies."
Elara's heart dropped.
"Which means," Juliette added, "she might've been the one feeding Monroe the real backdoor into Vale's IP. And now, she's resurfacing with a fake data breach story to destroy what's left of your name."
That night, Elara sat alone in the archives room of the penthouse, buried in hard drives and old backups.
And she found it.
A message. Buried deep in a 7-year-old log file.
You always thought you could save everyone, Elara. But you never saw what was rotting inside your walls. VossTech didn't kill your father's company. You did. –L.C.
Elara's vision blurred.
Lena had been the one who pushed her to accept the offer from VossTech. Who vouched for their integrity. Who insisted the "kill switch" in the code was a myth.
And all this time, she'd been the one who planted it.
Damian found her still in the archive room hours later, face pale, laptop open.
"Talk to me," he said gently.
"She used me," Elara whispered. "She watched my father fall apart, and she helped push the knife in. I blamed you, but it was her the whole time."
Damian didn't speak.
She turned to him, fury and grief twisted together in her eyes. "I spent years hating you for something you didn't do. And I let her walk out of my life without a question."
"You trusted her," Damian said. "That's not a crime. That's who you are."
"I'm done trusting the wrong people."
"No," he said softly. "Don't lose the best part of yourself for revenge. That's what they want."
She looked at him.
"I don't want revenge anymore," she whispered.
"I want closure."
Three days later, Elara stood outside a small café in Boston—hood up, heart heavy.
Lena Cross arrived right on time.
Her hair was shorter. Her eyes colder. She wore a tailored coat and no trace of guilt.
"Elara," she said, sipping her espresso. "You've aged well."
"You aged bitter."
Lena smiled. "Still as righteous as ever."
"You destroyed Vale."
"No," Lena replied. "Your father did that. I just made sure his fall served a bigger purpose."
"You betrayed the man who raised you."
"I survived him," Lena snapped. "You and your fairy-tale principles never saw how broken he'd become. Someone had to cut the cord before he dragged us all down."
"And you chose to burn everything."
"I chose me," Lena said coldly. "And I'd do it again."
Elara stared at her.
And for the first time in years, she let go of the anger.
"You're not powerful, Lena," she said. "You're just hollow. You sold your soul for survival, but you forgot the point of living."
Lena leaned back. "Are you going to expose me?"
"I already did."
Lena blinked.
"Your code. Your metadata. Your confession. It's already in the hands of a federal cybercrime unit."
Elara stood.
"This time, I didn't strike for revenge. I struck for justice. And I'm not running."
Lena's face twisted. "You think Damian Voss makes you invincible now?"
"No," Elara said softly. "I do."
And she walked away.
That night, back in New York, Elara curled into Damian's arms on the rooftop, exhausted.
"It's over," she said.
"For now."
She nodded.
"But we're not."
He kissed her hair. "Not even close."
For the first time since the fire started years ago—Elara Vale Voss felt clean.
Not because she had destroyed her enemies.
But because she had chosen herself.