Farewell to Love: The CEO's Desperate Chase novel Chapter 754

Beneath the explosive headline, the comment section was a warzone of leaked information.

There were high-res photos of Emilia and Christian hurrying out of the Aegis Dynamics building.

There were flight logs showing the lead engineer boarding an international flight.

It was relentless.

Caleb immediately released an official statement clarifying that Elias Thorne was merely traveling abroad for urgent business, but the internet tore it apart.

The timing was too perfect.

To the public, it reeked of a desperate cover-up.

The investment firms that had been circling Aegis Dynamics earlier that week were practically throwing parties to celebrate their narrow escape.

"Thank God someone tipped us off about the engineer fleeing at the crack of dawn. We were an inch away from throwing our money into a black hole."

"Right? We scrambled into the office hours early to verify the rumors. Thank God we dodged that bullet."

The executives who had been in the conference room that morning eagerly chimed in.

"Our boss was literally sitting at the table. If someone hadn't barged in with the news, we'd be bankrupt right now."

The narrative quickly snowballed.

Amateur analysts summarized the 'scam'.

"Aegis Dynamics only looked like a dark horse because it was all smoke and mirrors! Caleb Lewis knew they were doomed, so he orchestrated a massive hype campaign to cash out before fleeing!"

"The whole setup was incredibly sketchy. For three days, Aegis was completely booked and rushed every meeting. Whenever someone asked a hard technical question, Caleb conveniently had an emergency."

"That sudden overseas order? A classic distraction tactic! This was a textbook pump-and-dump scheme!"

Inevitably, the crosshairs locked onto Emilia.

"So, Emilia and Christian were the only idiots who actually fell for it?"

"Looks like it. And word is, Emilia dragged Christian into it."

This catastrophic failure instantly drew widespread attention, especially since Emilia's investment firm, Inceptus, had just hosted a massive launch party.

The gala had been an open-door event, crawling with paparazzi and journalists.

...

Inside the car.

Both Emilia and Christian's phones began vibrating violently.

Emilia and Christian exchanged a look.

Christian answered his first.

It was his grandfather, Alexander Donovan.

"Yes, Grandpa. Don't worry, I have everything under control," Christian promised. "No, I'm not just being stubborn. You'll see soon enough."

On Emilia's end, it was Tara Lister.

"Tara?" Emilia answered.

"How are you holding up? Did you pull the trigger on the deal?" Tara asked sharply. "Julian Quinn is with me right now. Do you want us to help you legally claw the money back from Caleb? If there was fraud, we might be able to salvage this."