CEO’s Regret After I Divorced (Serena and Ryan) novel Chapter 316

Chapter 316: Chapter 316 A Fabricated Truth

Serena’s POV

I felt like I was drowning in quicksand - the harder I struggled, the deeper I sank. It had been less than twenty-four hours since the plagiarism accusations first appeared, and now the situation had gone completely off the rails.

Lying in bed, I stared at my phone in disbelief. This Lance person had actually cooked up fake messages from me, complete with threats and intimidation, then posted them for the world to see. The manufactured conversation showed "me" warning him to delete his posts "or you’ll regret it."

"This is absolutely insane," I muttered, scrolling through the comments. People were going nuts over this, practically forming a digital lynch mob.

My phone rang - Maya again. We’d been glued to our phones since yesterday.

"Did you catch the latest?" I asked immediately.

"Yeah. We’re dealing with a complete nutjob," Maya sounded exhausted. I could picture her pacing around Quinn headquarters in London, probably having pulled an all-nighter. "The PR team is hitting brick walls. Every time we get something taken down, it’s back up within an hour."

"He faked messages from me, Maya. Using my actual profile picture." My voice cracked slightly. "How is that not illegal?"

"It’s not. Our legal team is putting together a case now." She paused. "Ethan’s helping too. He thinks we should ride out the initial shitstorm before making any major moves."

I shot upright, suddenly furious. "Ride it out?"

"I know, I know. I nearly tore his head off for suggesting it too." I could hear the slight smile in her voice. "But he might have a point about timing. Right now, people are too worked up to listen to reason."

I massaged my temples, feeling a killer headache coming on. "My metadata evidence isn’t doing jack shit. People just assume I doctored the dates."

Ryan appeared in the doorway, coffee mug in hand, immediately sensing my distress from my body language.

"I need to talk to Ethan directly," I told Maya. "Can you patch him through?"

There was some shuffling, then my brother’s voice came through. "Serena, how are you hanging in there?"

"How do you think?" I snapped, then immediately felt guilty. "Sorry. I’m just... this is a complete nightmare."

"I know. We’re pulling out all the stops from this end," Ethan assured me. "I’ve got people digging into this Lance Draven character. Something smells fishy about his background."

"He’s straight-up making up messages now, Ethan. Making me look like I’m some kind of thug."

"I saw. Don’t take the bait - that’s exactly what he wants."

Ryan moved closer, reading the tension in my shoulders. He sat on the edge of the bed, his presence immediately grounding me.

After hanging up, I tossed my phone aside and buried my face in my hands. "This is a total disaster."

Ryan’s arm wrapped around my shoulders, his steady strength calming my frayed nerves. "Let me help you."

"How?" I looked up at him. "Your involvement will just make everyone say I’m hiding behind my powerful husband."

"Not if we play this smart." His jaw was set in that determined way I’d come to recognize, his protective instincts kicking into high gear. "Blackwood Industries has one of the best digital forensics teams in the country."

"Digital forensics?"

"Yes. They can analyze those fake messages, trace IP addresses, maybe even nail this bastard for tampering." He took my hand, his determination evident in his grip. "We do this quietly, behind the scenes. No public statement from me, no obvious Blackwood muscle."

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