Chapter 5 The First Strike

The next morning, the news hit the city like a thunderclap.

"Selena Moore Spotted in Midtown - Missing Heiress Back from the Dead?"

"Blackwell Bride Returns-Sources Say Wedding Was a Setup?"

Selena sipped her espresso at a quiet rooftop café as her face lit up every news app in the city.

It was a calculated leak. A photo, taken by someone Jaxon trusted, captured her walking out of the lawyer's office yesterday, deliberately letting the cameras see her face.

The reaction had been immediate.

Lucas's PR team scrambled. Vanessa posted an emotional video, mascara perfectly smudged, begging Selena to "come home and explain." The crocodile tears fooled millions.

Selena wasn't among them.

---

Her burner phone buzzed.

Jaxon:

> Phase one worked. Lucas is panicking.

Time to hit his foundation next. Meet me tonight.

She typed back a single word:

Ready.

She was more than ready.

---

That evening, she entered the Blackwell Foundation Gala in a sharp black gown, hair swept back, no jewelry, no smile-only purpose. Her presence caused an instant ripple across the room.

People gasped. Whispers surged like waves.

"She's alive?"

"Didn't she run off?"

"I heard she overdosed-"

"No, Lucas said she needed time. That's why he's with Vanessa now."

She walked past them all, head high.

Across the marble floor, Vanessa nearly choked on her champagne.

Standing beside her, Lucas froze mid-sentence.

Selena saw the flicker in his eyes-not surprise, but calculation. Like a man watching a bomb drop and trying to guess the blast radius.

She took a glass from a tray and walked directly up to him.

"Lucas," she said coolly. "Vanessa."

Vanessa's fake smile cracked. "Selena. Oh my God. We were just-just talking about you."

Lucas recovered first. "You look... well."

"I'd say the same for you," she replied, her gaze sweeping over his suit. "Still dressing up like the man you pretend to be."

Vanessa stepped forward, lowering her voice. "Where have you been? We were worried."

Selena arched an eyebrow. "So worried you moved into my penthouse and started wearing my ring?"

The surrounding guests leaned in, pretending not to listen.

Lucas's jaw twitched.

Vanessa forced a laugh. "We thought you were gone, Sel. We didn't know if you were alive."

"Oh, I'm very much alive," she said softly. "And I've had time to remember everything."

The blood drained from Vanessa's face.

Lucas stepped between them. "This isn't the time or place for drama."

"On the contrary," Selena said, her voice like silk. "It's the perfect place. Public. Polite. And full of people who deserve to know the truth."

A hush fell over the surrounding crowd.

Lucas lowered his voice. "You think you can just show up and throw accusations?"

She leaned in, whispering only loud enough for them to hear. "No. I'm not here to accuse you, Lucas. I'm here to watch you unravel. One lie at a time."

---

Back outside, Jaxon was waiting in the shadow of the valet entrance, dressed like a driver. He opened the passenger door before she could speak.

"Two board members left the gala early," he said. "They saw the scene. I think they're beginning to question things."

"Good," Selena replied. "Let them doubt him. Let the rot show."

She pulled out her phone and opened a new folder titled:

PHASE TWO: ISOLATION.

Jaxon started the engine. "There's something else. A reporter from The Herald wants to meet. She's been digging into Blackwell Industries for years-blocked every time. She says she has sealed court records that link Lucas to two whistleblower payouts."

Selena blinked. "Payouts? You mean-"

"Blackmail, hush money, maybe worse," Jaxon said. "But she won't give them up for free. She wants a headline."

Selena smirked. "Then let's give her one."

---

Back in her hotel room that night, Selena replayed her conversation with Lucas at the gala. She watched the videos that already surfaced online-clips of her calm stare, Lucas's frozen smile, Vanessa's panic.

The court of public opinion was shifting.

But one thing still tugged at her: Noah.

He hadn't contacted her since showing up uninvited. Part of her was relieved. The other part-ashamed-had felt something stir when she saw him. A ghost of the past. A what-if still flickering.

She didn't have time for it.

Her war didn't need distractions. Only victories.

---

But someone else wasn't playing by her rules.

At 3:21 AM, her burner phone lit up with a call.

She almost didn't answer.

But when she did, a voice-mechanically distorted-cut through the darkness.

"If you keep digging, you'll end up like your father."

Selena sat up straight, pulse roaring in her ears. "Who is this?"

Click. The call ended.

She stared at the screen, hands trembling-not from fear, but fury.

They thought she'd back down.

They thought she was still the girl in the wedding dress.

They were dead wrong.

---

To be continued...