SECRETS AND SCARS

CRISIS IN SPOTLIGHT

Ivory's phone buzzed. She picked up her phone in a hurry and checked the messages. "Ivory, where did you go? Who did you send your pictures to?"

The messages deluged in, crashing into her like waves before she could even catch her breath. She tapped on the phone with shaking fingers as she scrolled through frantic texts from friends.

She had clicked one of the images and froze. Her heart was racing, goosebumps all over her body, The picture staring back at her—her face, her body, exposed—was impossible.

A scream clawed its way up her throat, and she swallowed it down. Her fingers shook so badly that she almost dropped the phone.

"No, no, this can't be real," she whispered, hardly able to force the words as she panicked.

The door burst open before she could make any sense. Laura and Leo strode through, their faces pale, their eyes wide with shock.

"What the hell is this?" Leo's voice taut, under tight rein. His eyes locked with hers in his quest for answers.

Laura's gaze was harder. "Your nudes are everywhere. People are sharing it like wildfire. Your father's company is…..in chaos.”

"I didn't do it!" Ivory's voice broke, the words tumbling out all in a rush. "It is not me! Someone edited these—photoshopped them or something! You gotta believe me!"

Laura wavered for just one second, a flash in her eyes, but Leo's face didn't ease; he was unconvinced. "Ivory, this is bad. Really bad. People don't care whether it's real or not, they're seeing it and they believe it.".

"But I didn't send those pictures to anyone!" Her voice reached a high pitch with desperation. "You know me, Leo! I wouldn't do something like this!"

He stepped back, running a hand through his hair; his face was a picture of uncertainty. "I don't know, Ivory. What am I supposed to think? But the damage is done.”

Ivory felt the room spinning, her legs buckled, she sank to the floor as her mind reeled. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. The room tilted, and the world went black.

*

*

Benson stood at the head of the boardroom table, his presence usually commanding but now diminished by this current stacked crisis.

"This is a disaster!" one of the board members exclaimed, wagging an accusing finger at him. "Benson, your daughter has put all of us in danger!"

"Our stocks are in freefall in less than three hours!" one joined in, his voice cutting with frustration. "We can't afford this kind of scandal, especially not now!"

Benson slammed his fist onto the table, jerking everyone from their noise. "That's not my daughter in that video. She wouldn't do that—"

"Whether it's her or not no longer matters!" Another board member flares up. "The damage is done. We're being slaughtered in the press, and our shareholders are losing faith. This is destroying us!"

Benson’s voice trembled as he spoke in anger and desperation. "I have given my life to this company, and you think that I would just let all that fall apart over some rumor? I'll get to the bottom of this. But for now, I need you all to stand by me."

"Stand by you?" the voice of another board member cracked with ice. "We've already called for you to step down and give up your shares, or we will force you out. The board can't afford to wait."

The floor seemed to rock under his feet. "You can’t be serious." The cold, unforgiving staring from board members was all that he needed to witness. They weren't going to back off. His shoulders sagged under something judgmentally heavy.

"You can't do that," he muttered, his voice hollow. "I've sacrificed all my life into this company."

He stormed out of the building, hardly noticing the cameras that flashed in his face, not much aware of the shouting reporters. The world outside had turned nasty; there was no place to hide.

The hospital was so crowded, with security working tirelessly to keep the tide of reporters at bay. Benson walked in, he made his way to his daughter's ward,his eyes blazing with a mix between fury and despair.

"Ivory!" His sharp tone cut through the air of the small room. "Do you have any idea what you have done? They're taking everything from me—all that I worked for!"

Ivory winced at his tone. "Dad, please—I didn't do it. I have no idea how it happened, but believe me, it wasn't me."

Benson's face screwed up in pain and confusion. "This is evidence here, Ivory. It’s you that everyone sees.”

"Dad, I don't even have pictures like that… You got to believe me. I'm telling the truth."

Benson slumped his shoulders as the fight weeded out of him. "I want to believe you, Ivory. But this… it's tearing me apart."

Ivory was discharged, the nightmare followed them home. The street outside their mansion was awash with news vans, their cameras snapping away as they stepped out of the car.

"Dad… I’m sorry. I didn’t do this, but I’m sorry."

Her father's hand covering hers, his voice softer, almost broken. "It’s okay. We’ll find a way. We have to…. Just… rest for now.”

*

*

The next morning, Benson started pacing the bedroom. Frustration laced his every movement.

"No, Laura! I will never sell my daughter off to any man, not even Leo, for the sake of transferring those shares. I never will!

Laura,drying her hands with deliberate slowness, shot back "And so you'd rather lose everything? Your emotions for Ivory are clouding your judgment. You don't see a thing because you are being over-protective."

Benson's jaw clenched tight. "I'm not letting my feelings dictate this. I just—"

Laura cut him off sharply. "You are being unrealistic. Ivory is not a child anymore. If you stop Ivory from marrying Leo, you are going to jeopardize everything you've worked toward. Everything you’ve built!"

Anger flickered across Benson's face. "She would never want to marry her stepbrother!"

Laura's eyes were cold, her voice steady. "Then which man would marry her with the issue going on? You have just a few days to save those shares!”

His shoulders slumped, and he couldn’t utter a word.

“Face it, Honey, the one who is going to lose everything is you, not me." She muttered.