Compared to the kind of scandals celebrities get dragged into, what I had dropped barely counted. It was just a test run.

When the second eight-hour mark hit, I released the next piece.

This time, it was evidence that Paul had deliberately set up a scheme to suppress a local company.

Back then, he had driven them into the ground and wrecked their lives. The owner had been appealing for years. I just handed over the proof he needed.

The two leaks hit at once, and the reaction online was way bigger than I expected.

People started reaching out to me that same day, but I didn't reply to anyone.

The internet blew up on its own. It didn't take long before people started digging and uncovered the history between me and Paul.

[So she got laid off without severance and decided to expose him? Doesn't sound like she's innocent, either.]

[Did she just get out of prison or something? That's bold.]

[OP, can you take a look at this company's stock? Is it still worth buying? I'm thinking of getting in cheap.]

The comments were all over the place. Some supported me, some didn't. I didn't care either way.

But it definitely hit Paul where it hurt. He couldn't sit still anymore.

He messaged me directly.

[You just want compensation, right? Fine, I'll give it to you. Name your price. Just stop messing with me, alright?]

I laughed under my breath.

Did he really think this was just about money?

Not even close.

I didn't reply. I stayed outside Oliver's hospital room. As his condition slowly improved and he finally started waking up, the tight knot in my chest loosened.

At the same time, the data on my laptop finished processing.

I stared at the screen for a moment, then pressed send.

When I didn't respond, Paul called to threaten me.

"Selene, if you don't want trouble, you'd better keep your mouth shut. Your husband still needs money, right? I'll give it to you. It's just severance. I'll settle it at double compensation."

I let out a short, cold laugh.

"That's nothing," I said. "You pinned billions in losses on me and ruined my name. Now you think a few hundred thousand will make it go away?"

"So what do you want?"

"Two million."

"In your dreams! I'd rather spend that hiring people to bury you online than give it to you!"

"Then there's nothing more to talk about."

I hung up.

Right then, the third drop hit the trending charts.

[BloomRise Foundation Charity Fraud]

That one set the entire internet on fire.

[Wait, this is fake? Then where did all the donations go? Didn't they say it was for building school libraries?]

[Are you serious? They spent ten grand on travel, but only six grand on donated school supplies. So this was basically a group-funded vacation? And they even picked a school out by a tourist spot!]

[Fun fact: that school shut down two years ago. So where did the money actually go?]

[Mr. Cunningham's busy right now. He's off climbing a mountain.]

[The one exposing him used to be an accountant. This is one of those moves where you hurt them but hurt yourself, too. She's not planning to survive this!]

They were wrong.

It wasn't that I didn't want to survive.

It was precisely because I wanted to survive that I chose this path.

By now, Paul was clearly panicking.

In just 24 hours, I had dropped three major leaks. One set his personal life on fire. One damaged his reputation. And the last one shoved him and his company straight into the spotlight.

Questions flooded in from every direction.

Both his personal account and the company account were buried under demands and ridicule. Their PR team was falling apart trying to keep up.

A former coworker I was still on good terms with messaged me privately.

Paul had rushed back. Everyone was working overtime, scrambling to come up with a response as fast as possible.

I couldn't help but smile.

If it were that easy to fix, I wouldn't have picked these three in the first place.

By the time Paul showed up, I had just walked out of the doctor's office.

The doctor said Oliver's condition was stabilizing. If everything kept improving, he could be discharged soon.

For the first time in a while, I felt like I could finally breathe.

Then I looked up and saw Paul.

He stood there with that half-smile I knew too well and held out a bank card.

"There's 100 grand here," he said. "Take it and stop. There's no need to make this uglier than it already is. What do you gain by pushing me into a corner like this?"

I pushed the card back toward him.

"You made me take the fall. You ruined my reputation and left me drowning in mortgage payments with no way to keep up. My husband needed money to stay alive, and you wouldn't give me a cent. So don't blame me for what I do next.

"I'm only doing this so I can survive.

"Paul, I gave you seven years. That's not something you buy back with 100 grand. I want two million. Not a dollar less."

His expression darkened, like he hadn't expected me to push back this hard.

"Fine," he said coldly. "We'll see how this ends."

He turned and walked off. I didn't even bother watching him go.

The retaliation came fast.

Early the next morning, the police showed up and took me away right from the hospital.

"Selene Jensen, you've been reported for defamation. You'll need to come with us."

I had already asked my mother-in-law to stay with Oliver so he wouldn't worry.

When the police arrived, I stayed calm and went with them.

The second we stepped out of the hospital, reporters swarmed in from every direction.

"Mrs. Jensen, you accused Mr. Cunningham's company of charity fraud, and now you've been detained. How do you feel about that?"

"When you exposed the harassment case involving that female employee, did you even get her consent?"

"You call yourself righteous, but aren't you just another person violating someone's privacy?"

I just smiled.

"Eight hours are up," I said calmly. "There's another drop coming. I hope Mr. Cunningham hired enough people this time to save himself."

The crowd surged forward instantly.

"What is it? Can you tell us anything?"

"What is it about?"

I stopped, turned toward the cameras, and met their eyes.

"It's a piece of evidence that will ruin Paul completely and leave him with nothing," I said, my voice steady.

Then I smiled and got into the police car.

At the station, they didn't interrogate me much. They just had me confirm that I was the one who made the posts.

I provided the supporting evidence.

Not long after, two lawyers showed up, claiming to represent Paul's company, Unity Holdings.

"Ms. Jensen, we're filing a lawsuit against you for defamation and extortion."

I let out a quiet laugh.

"If it were fabricated, sure, you could sue me," I said, "but facts aren't defamation. And don't call this extortion. That's completely made up. This is money Paul owes me, my severance, and the dividends from my original shares. It's been seven years, and I still haven't seen a cent. I'm just asking for what's mine. Since when is that illegal?

"You're lawyers. You should know better. Take a look at this shareholder agreement. Tell me if you see a problem."

The moment they read it, their expressions changed.

I smiled.

"Go tell Paul he has three minutes," I said. "After that, the next drop goes live."

They turned and immediately called him.

Through the phone, I could hear him shouting.

"Tell her to keep dreaming! That agreement is fake! I don't believe she can do anything. Take her down!"

I let out a quiet sigh.

If that was his answer, then there was nothing left to say.

Three minutes later, a 24-page PDF hit the internet.

Unity Holdings shot straight to the top of the trending list.

When Paul saw it, he collapsed back into his chair.