That evening, Eleanor asked Joslyn to make her daughter and Vivian''s favorite dishes-sticky-sweet zed ribs and fluffy steamed egg with shrimp. As she bustled around getting dinner ready for the kids, her phone rang. Seeing it was Joy, she picked up immediately. "Hello?"


    "Ellie, it''s bad. Someone just posted online that you walked away from the divorce with a huge chunk of Goodwin & Co''s assets. The story''s blowing up, and public opinion is turning ugly."


    Eleanor''s heart clenched. "How is this happening?"


    "I think someone''s targeting you. The whole inte''s calling you greedy and maniptive."


    Eleanor''s mind jumped straight to Serena. This had her fingerprints all over it.


    She hurried upstairs, opened her iPad, and started scanning the news.


    "Goodwin & Co. Divorce Scandal: Medical Prodigy or Gold Digger?"


    "Shocking! Goodwin & Co. CEO''s Ex-Wife Walks Off With Eight Companies and Millions A New Breed of Corporate Predator?"


    Multiple stories sat at the top of the trending charts. Clicking in, Eleanor found a flood of gossip ounts and frence journalists, all capitalizing on the scandal for clicks and shares.


    "Chief Researcher at Meridian Dynamics? She married her way into Goodwin & Co. power. Rumor has it she dropped out of college to tie the knot. How did she pull it off?"


    Thement sections were a toxic mess:


    "Yeah, right, she''s a researcher? Bet herst award was giarized, too!"


    "Poor Mr. Goodwin. What a snake in the grass."


    "She took that much in the divorce? Give me a break. She never deserved it."


    Eleanor''s fingers trembled as she scrolled. She forced herself to take a deep breath and stay calm.


    It was obvious someone was deliberately twisting the narrative, muddying the facts and painting her as a greedy opportunist.


    While she and Joy were still on video, Eleanor asked, "Joy, can you trace where these stories started?"


    "I''m already on it, but the source is fuzzy. The posts just exploded across several outlets at once. Don''t rush to respond yet, okay?"


    At eight-thirty, Xavier arrived right on time to pick up Vivian. He''d seen the online storm, too, and looked at Eleanor with genuine concern. "Ms. Sutton, if you need any help, just say the word."


    "Thank you, Xavier. I''ll let you know," she said, grateful.


    ...


    In the penthouse suite of a luxury hotel, Serena sipped her red wine, watching the chaos she''d unleashed online with smug satisfaction.


    Eleanor''s misery made her day.


    Her phone rang. Serena nced at the screen, a flicker of nerves crossing her face, and answered. "Hello?"


    "Serena, did you leak those stories about Eleanor?" her brother''s voice demanded.


    "Do I really have that kind of time? I''m out having drinks with friends," Serena deflected, refusing to admit anything.


    He ended the call.


    Frustrated, Serena puffed out her cheeks. Right then, Vanessa called. "Serena, have you seen what''s happening to Eleanor online?"


    "I''m watching it now. It''s glorious."


    "You didn''t have anything to do with it, did you?"


    "And if I did? What''s she going to do, sue me?" Serena replied, utterly unfazed.


    "Well, honestly, she had iting,” Vanessa remarked.


    "Of course she did! She''s always been greedy. Frankly, an online mob is letting her off easy," Serena scoffed.


    ...


    All night long, the smear campaign kept gaining momentum, directing every ounce of outrage toward Eleanor and making her the target of an entire city''s scorn.