Chapter 5 - The Digital Storm
By eight o'clock that evening, the sun had fully set over the lake, leaving the horizon painted in deep shades of indigo and violet. Inside the villa’s cozy living room, a fire crackled in the stone fireplace. Bruna was upstairs putting Liam to bed, leaving Caleb alone in his study.
The soft chime of his laptop alerted him to an incoming email notification. When he opened his browser, his inbox was already flooded with messages from senior board members at Sterling Logistics.
Attached to three of the emails was a link to a trending video on a popular social media platform.
Caleb clicked the link. The video had been uploaded by Valerie just an hour earlier. It was heavily edited: it began at the exact moment Bruna slapped Diane across the face, completely cropping out the initial frame where Diane hit Liam. The caption above the video read: “My brother’s gold-digger wife physically attacks my sister at our family Sunday dinner. Unbelievable cruelty!”
Within sixty minutes, the clip had accumulated over two hundred thousand views, with hundreds of furious comments condemning Bruna and questioning Caleb’s leadership.
A second later, his phone rang. The caller ID displayed the name of Marcus Vance, the chairman of the board and a long-time ally of Caleb’s late father.
Caleb answered, placing the phone on speaker. “Marcus.”
“Caleb, what in the world is happening at your estate?” Marcus’s voice sounded frantic and strained. “Have you seen the video online? Two corporate sponsors have already called my office asking if Sterling Logistics is associated with public violence!”
“The video is fake, Marcus,” Caleb said steadily, leaning back in his leather chair. “Valerie edited out the part where Diane physically struck my five-year-old son.”
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There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. Marcus let out a long, heavy sigh. “Caleb, I believe you. But the internet doesn't care about context. The board is meeting tomorrow morning at nine. Diane and Valerie have already formally requested an emergency vote to strip your executive voting rights.”
“Let them request it,” Caleb said, his jaw clenching. “I’ll be there at eight-thirty.”
