---- Chapter 9 Mark stood before the mirror, adjusting his tuxedo. The launch party slash wedding reception was in an hour. He felt a strange unease, a knot in his stomach. Chloe came up behind him, radiant in her designer gown. "Nervous, darling?" He forced a smile. "Just pre-event jitters." "You don't think Ava will try anything, do you?" Chloe asked, her voice laced with feigned concern. Mark scoffed. "I told you, security has her picture. She won't get within a mile of this place. Besides, she wouldn't dare. Not after what happened at the park." He was confident in his preventative measures. He believed Ava was cowed. Chloe sighed dramatically. "| just feel so awful for her. And for Poor Leo. It must be so hard on them." Manipulation. Hypocrisy. Subtly reinforcing the narrative of Ava's malice. Mark felt a pang of something that might have been guilt, but he pushed it away. He was doing this for Chloe, for their baby. He owed it to her father's memory. Maybe, down the line, after the baby, after Chloe's brand was ---- a global success, he could re-evaluate things with Ava. But for now, Chloe was his priority. He was bound by his perceived obligation. Chloe, meanwhile, smiled to herself. She had no intention of ever letting Mark go. This "temporary" arrangement, this "debt" he felt he owed... she would make it permanent. She would secure her future, and Maya's. And this new baby's. The ballroom was magnificent, filled with Austin's elite. Mark and Chloe stood at the entrance, greeting guests. Suddenly, a commotion at the door. Reporters. Dozens of them, cameras flashing, microphones thrust forward "Mr. Thompson! Is it true you diverted an ambulance from your dying wife to your mistress?" "Ms. Davis! Sources claim your 'wellness brand' is funded by " embezzled money from Thompson Architects! "Mark Thompson, did you abandon your critically injured son to protect Ms. Davis after a staged accident?" Chaos. Shock. Public exposure. Chloe immediately burst into tears, clutching Mark's arm "Oh, Mark! It's Ava! She's doing this! How could she? After | was so understanding about Leo!" Manipulation. Hypocrisy. Falsely accusing Ava, playing the victim. Mark's first reaction was fury, misdirected at Ava. ---- She did this. She ruined everything. How dare she? His assumption was immediate. The journalists were relentless. "Ms. Davis, are these your DMs taunting Ms. Rodriguez with images of her husband's belongings in her bedroom?" "Mr. Thompson, can you comment on these financial records showing large, unexplained transfers to Ms. Davis's shell company?" "Is it true you gave your son's life-saving allergy medication information to Ms. Davis, who then used an expired EpiPen on him, leading to hospitalization?" Exposure. Humiliation. Public outrage was palpable. The guests were murmuring, staring. Smartphones were out, recording. Social media exploded. "Mark Thompson is scum!" "Chloe Davis is a manipulative fraud!" "Boycott Thompson Architects!" "Justice for Ava and Leo!" Public anger. Moral condemnation. Mark finally turned to Chloe, the damning evidence from the reporters' questions echoing in his ears. The DMs. The financial records. The expired EpiPen incident (which Ava had documented from hospital records after Leo's allergic reaction when Chloe was "babysitting"). ---- "Chloe?" he stammered, disbelief and anger warring within him. "What is all this? Did you... did you really do those things?"