Chapter 6 - THE RETALIATION
Three days later, I was back at my corporate headquarters in downtown San Francisco.
The high-rise office was quiet, flooded with morning sunlight. My assistant, Sarah, walked into my glass-walled office and set a steaming cup of black coffee on my desk, alongside a stack of legal documents.
“The divorce papers have been served to Bradley’s temporary address,” Sarah reported softly. “And your security team updated the building’s access protocols. He tried to come up to the 14th floor yesterday afternoon, but security turned him away at the lobby.”
“Thank you, Sarah,” I said, keeping my eyes fixed on my laptop screen. “Has there been any reaction from Richard or Barbara?”
“A lot,” Sarah sighed, holding up an iPad. “They’re playing dirty, Maddie.”
She slid the iPad across my desk. On the screen was a Facebook post that had been shared over five thousand times in local Bay Area community groups.
It featured a photo of me from two years ago, captioned with a long, rambling sob story written by Barbara. She claimed that I was a "ruthless, heartless corporate sociopath" who had abandoned her struggling husband, stolen family vehicles in the middle of the night, and thrown an elderly couple out onto the street during a family vacation.
The comments section was filled with outrage from people who didn't know the truth.
“How can someone be so cruel to her own family?” one comment read.
“Money really corrupts people. Poor Bradley!” read another.
I looked at the screen for a long moment. A small, cold smile touched my lips.
“They think public shame is going to force me into giving them a settlement,” I murmured.
“Should I call our PR team to issue a cease and desist?” Sarah asked anxiously.
“No,” I replied, closing the tab. “A cease and desist looks defensive. Barbara wants a public war? Let’s give her absolute transparency.”
I picked up my desk phone and dialed my lead corporate attorney, Eleanor Vance (no relation to Bradley).
“Eleanor,” I said. “Release the security footage.”
“All of it?” Eleanor asked with a dark chuckle.
May you like
“All of it,” I confirmed. “The patio cameras at the Grand Azure Estate recorded high-definition video with crystal-clear audio. I want the unedited footage of Bradley ordering his cousins to grab me, Barbara clapping, Richard laughing, and Bradley shoving me into the freezing pool uploaded directly to our corporate response portal. Along with the itemized receipts showing who paid for the rental, the food, and the vehicles.”
“Consider it done,” Eleanor said. “They just dug their own grave.”
