Chapter 9 Truth Under Fire

The Channel 7 studio felt like a battlefield under the bright lights. I sat in the makeup chair, watching the artist cover the dark circles under my eyes, the stress that had shown on my face all week.

"You're going to do great," Elena said, checking her notes one final time. "Remember, this is your chance to tell your story. Stay calm, stick to the facts, and don't let anyone rattle you."

On the studio monitor, the opening words flashed: "LIVE AT 8: MAYA COLLINS SPEAKS OUT." My stomach twisted, but Mom's voice rang in my head, Don't you dare let them silence you. Don't you dare say sorry for telling the truth.

"Thirty seconds to air," the floor manager called.

Elena took her position across from me, her professional smile masking the intensity in her eyes. She knew this interview could make both our career or destroy them.

"Good evening, I'm Elena . Tonight, we have an exclusive live interview with Maya Collins, the Westfield University student at the center of what's being called the Stone Family scandal. Maya, thank you for joining us."

"Thank you for having me, Elena."

"Let's start with the obvious question. Alexander Stone publicly denied ever meeting you. He suggested you might need psychiatric help. How do you respond to that?"

I took a breath, feeling the weight of my mother's faith, of Jake's broken nose defending me, of the students who held signs believing in my truth.

"Alexander Stone is lying," I said clearly, looking directly into the camera. "Not just to the public, but to himself. We spent the night of March fifteenth together at the Grandview Hotel. We talked for hours. He told me about feeling trapped by his family's expectations, about drowning in other people's dreams. I told him about my mother's illness, about raising my brother. We connected as two people who understood what it meant to carry impossible weight."

"You're saying you had an intimate relationship?"

"I'm saying we had one night together. One night where two lonely people found something real." My voice grew stronger. "And yes, I'm pregnant with his child."

Elena leaned forward. "But Miss Collins, why should people believe you instead of a well known businessman with such a perfect reputation?"

"Because I have nothing to gain from lying. Alexander Stone has everything to lose from telling the truth. His inheritance, his engagement, his family's merger worth billions of dollars. I'm a scholarship student working two jobs to support my dying mother and teenage brother. What exactly am I supposedly gaining from this nightmare?"

"Some would say money,"

"I never asked him for money. Never demanded anything. I was planning to raise this baby alone because I knew his world and mine could never mix."

Elena pressed her earpiece, frowning. "I'm being told we have a caller who wants to respond to your claims. Maya, are you willing to take questions?"

My heart pounded, but I nodded. "Of course."

"We have Victoria Blackwell on the line. Miss Blackwell is Alexander Stone's fiancée. Victoria, you're live on Channel 7."

Victoria's voice came through, smooth and cold. "Hello, Elena. Thank you for letting me answer these shocking lies."

The trap. Of course Victoria had been waiting, ready to strike.

"First, I want to share sympathy for Miss Collins and her clear mental health struggles," Victoria said, her voice sweet but fake. "But these fantasies are becoming dangerous. Alexander was at a business dinner the whole evening with three respected investors. I have receipts, witness statements, security footage,everything to prove he was never near that hotel."

"Maya, how do you respond?"

I felt the trap closing, but something in Victoria's overly smooth delivery sparked my anger instead of fear.

"Victoria, you're lying, and we both know it." My voice was steady, controlled. "But let me ask you something,if Alexander truly had nothing to hide, why did he look so guilty during that press conference? Why couldn't he look directly at the cameras when he denied knowing me?"

Because he was shocked by these false stories

"Or because he was ashamed of abandoning the mother of his child?" I leaned forward. "Victoria, tell me,when did you first find out about that night?"

Silence. Then ,There was no night to find out about."

"Really? Because someone's been very busy leaking my personal information to gossip bloggers. Someone with access to my medical records, my class schedule, my family's private details. Someone who knew exactly when and where to direct photographers."

Elena's eyes widened, sensing bigger prey. "Maya, are you suggesting coordinated harassment?"

"I'm saying someone has been planning this whole campaign to ruin me. Someone with money, connections, and a lot to lose if the truth came out."

Victoria's calm look faltered a little. "That's a serious claim with no evidence"

"Actually, I do have evidence." I reached into my purse and pulled out a folded piece of hotel stationery. "Elena, I want to show you something Alexander left me that morning.

"What is it?"

"A note. In his handwriting." I unfolded it carefully. "It says: 'Maya Had to leave early for family obligations. Thank you for the most honest conversation of my life. Last night was extraordinary. Alex.'"

The studio went quiet. Through the phone, Victoria's breathing could be heard.

"That could be fake," Victoria said, but her voice sounded less sure.

"It could be. But it's not. And Victoria, there's something else. I know you've been working with some blogger who first linked my pregnancy to Alexander. How else would he know I went to clinic? How else would he have so many details about my private life?

"You can't prove"

It was a bluff, but Victoria's sharp intake of breath told me I'd struck gold.

"Tell me, Victoria,what did you promise them Exclusive access to the Stone family? Money? Or just the satisfaction of destroying a threat to your perfect merger marriage?"

"This is ridiculous"

"Is it? Let's talk about what else you've been doing. The planted stories about my family. The harassment at my mother's hospital. The way you've systematically tried to isolate me, discredit me, destroy any support I might have."

"I don't have to listen to this."

"No, you don't. You could hang up right now and prove you're exactly the kind of person who runs when confronted with truth. Or you could stay on the line and explain to viewers why you're so terrified of one pregnant college student."

Victoria's laugh was sharp, bitter. "Terrified? Of you? You're nothing. A nobody scholarship girl who got lucky one night and thought she could climb the social ladder on her back."

The mask had finally slipped. Elena leaned forward, recognizing the moment when politeness gave way to raw truth.

"So you admit you know about that night?"

Silence. Then, quieter: "I admit nothing."

"Victoria," I said, my voice steady despite my racing heart, "here's what I think happened. You found out about Alexander's night with me. Maybe he told you, maybe you had him followed, maybe you just know him well enough to see the guilt written all over his face. But instead of confronting him privately, you decided to destroy me publicly. Make me the villain so you could be the victim."

"That's

"You orchestrated this entire media circus. Fed information to bloggers. Made sure those hotel photos surfaced at exactly the right moment. Turned my pregnancy into a weapon against me." I looked directly into the camera. "The question is,why go to such lengths unless you knew the story was true?"

The line crackled with tension. When Victoria spoke again, her voice was pure hanger

"You have no idea who you're dealing with, little girl. No idea what you've just done."

"Is that a threat, Victoria?"

"It's a promise."

The line went dead.

Elena stared at me with something like awe. "Maya, that was... intense. How do you feel about Victoria Blackwell's response?"

"I feel like the truth has a way of revealing itself. Victoria Blackwell just showed the world exactly who she really is. And I think Alexander Stone needs to ask himself if that's the woman he wants to spend his life with."

The interview wrapped quickly after that, Elena's closing remarks about seeking truth in a world of spin. But I barely heard her. My phone was already buzzing with notifications as the interview exploded across social media.

But one message stood out, from an unknown number:

"You think you've won something tonight. You have no idea what's coming. Some people should know when to stay quiet. ,A concerned observer"

I stared at the text, ice spreading through my veins. The interview was over, but something told me the real war was just beginning. Victoria's parting words echoed in my mind: "It's a promise."

What exactly had I just unleashed?