Chapter 36: The Trap
"Please, check the news imdiately!" Anna ordered and hung up, allowing Eira to do so.
But before she could open it, her phone vibrated urgently in her hand as she sat by Callian’s bed, feeling numb.
She glanced down at the screen, and Liam’s na flashed insistently.
"Eira!" Liam’s voice burst through. "You need to see this! Now!"
"Liam, what’s going on?"
"It’s Henry! He’s live right now. Just—turn on the news."
Her heart sank; every nerve felt like it was on the edge.
She gave one last, worried glance at Callian before she hurried down the hospital corridor. "Damn it!"
Pulling up the live broadcast on her phone, she saw Henry standing in front of a cluster of microphones, flashing a look of what could only be described as pure, cold calculation.
The caras zood in on him, capturing every smug detail of his expression.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlen," Henry began, his voice sounding sincere. "It’s not easy to co before you today, but I feel it’s ti to address the ongoing rumors and stories involving my daughter, Eira."
Eira’s blood ran cold as she watched, her eyes widened. What’s he doing?
Henry continued, putting on a show of forced humility. "Eira... soone I have cared for, guided, and protected in my own way... has unfortunately made choices that I can’t ignore any longer. I’ve tried to keep this private, but she has forced my hand by attacking my integrity and my na."
"What...?"
Rylan had joined her in the hallway, watching over her shoulder. His fists clenched as Henry went on.
"Henry, you snake," Rylan muttered.
The caras cut to a slide projector beside Henry.
The next image flashed up—a blurry, grainy photo of a young girl with terrified eyes.
Her.
She knew that photo instantly. It was from the police report after her high school assault, but it was forced to be taken down as the teacher promised to destroy Eira’s aunt’s life.
She didn’t want that. "How did he get that?!"
Eira gasped, her hand imdiately flying to her mouth. "No... he wouldn’t..."
"Yes, he would," Rylan said in a tight voice.
Henry continued, staring straight at the cara, his eyes hardened. "Eira was hurt deeply during her teenage years—a tragedy that no one should ever experience. I did everything in my power to support her, yet she continued down a reckless path. The truth is, I couldn’t acknowledge her as my daughter because she never truly respected herself... or her family."
Eira’s stomach twisted. She could barely breathe.
"And let’s be honest," Henry’s voice grew sharper, harsher, "Eira’s mother was no saint either. She cheated on . Yes. She betrayed our family, bringing scandal and sha. And Eira, well... she inherited her mother’s deceit and lies. It’s heartbreaking but undeniable."
The crowd gasped; reporters started leaning in, snapping their hands up to capture every angle.
"Eira, in her ambition, has forgotten what it ans to be loyal and honorable," Henry went on. "And I believe her mother’s past, the darkness of her indiscretions, led to the death of her own uncle. She tried to bury her sins, but they’re right here—haunting her."
"That’s a lie!" Eira choked out. "He’s turning everything upside down!"
Henry’s eyes were like the clouds before the storm. "I’ve tried to guide Eira, to steer her toward responsibility, but she’s proven that she’s willing to ruin lives for her own gain. I want the world to know that I have done my best. But sotis, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree."
The screen flashed with more photos, more headlines, her life twisted and warped before her eyes.
Liam’s voice ca through her phone again, shouting over the noise on his end.
"Eira, he’s got everyone buying into this! Social dia’s exploding! He’s making you look like so... so crazy, vindictive daughter trying to bring down her saintly father."
Eira’s head spun; her body felt rigid as she stared at the screen, trying to grasp how it had all gone so wrong.
"He played . He knew exactly how to twist this."
Rylan looked down at her, his jaw clenched tight. "He’s trying to break you. But he ssed with the wrong people."
She clenched her fists. "I... I have to do sothing."
Rylan was already dialing on his phone. "Anna, it’s bad. Real bad. Get our lawyers, our best dia people. Henry’s started a full-blown sar campaign. We need to fight back, now."
Eira watched Henry.
"Please respect my privacy as I deal with this painful betrayal," he finished. "My only hope is that Eira finds her way back to integrity... and sanity."
The caras snapped and buzzed; reporters yelled questions.
The screen cut back to the newsroom, but Eira could hardly hear anything.
Her heart was pounding too loudly; her mind felt like it was in a horse race.
Rylan grabbed her by the shoulders. "Listen to , Eira. He wants you broken, helpless. But we’re going to turn this around. This isn’t the end. It’s just the beginning. Callian told to protect you and I will!"
Eira nodded slowly, feeling the numbness start to wear off, replaced by a burning fire in her lungs.
"He’s not going to get away with this. I’ll make sure of it."
Her phone buzzed again—this ti it was Anna.
"Eira," Anna’s voice was breathless, the background noisy with shouting voices, "we’re on it. I’m rallying reporters who actually want the truth, but it’s going to be a ss to control. We’ve got to hit back hard."
"What’s our strategy?" Eira asked in a sharper tone than before; she went back into action.
"We leak everything we have on Henry," Anna said. "No rcy. He wants to paint you as a villain? Then we’ll show them who he really is."
Eira’s jaw clenched. "Start with his dirty business deals. Every bribe, every cover-up, every di he’s paid to keep his secrets. I want it all out there."
"You got it." Anna hung up, and Eira pocketed her phone.
Rylan stepped beside her. "This won’t be easy, darling... a mouse and a cat’s journey."
"Then we go for everything he’s got. The companies, his supporters... even his reputation. I won’t stop until he’s ruined."
Rylan was admiring her. "That’s the spirit."
She took a long breath. "He tried to use my past to break , but he forgot one thing."
"What’s that?"
Eira’s lips twisted into a smile. "I don’t break. I fight."
Rylan’s phone buzzed, and he glanced at the ssage. "Anna’s got the first wave of information going live in an hour. Every dirty deal he’s ever done will be front-page news by tomorrow morning."
"Perfect. Let’s make sure Henry rembers who he tried to cross."
As she turned to leave the hospital, Eira glanced back one more ti at Callian; her hand trembled as she clenched a fist.
For him, for her mother’s mory, and for herself... she would take Henry down, once and for all.
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