Chapter 4: The Smear Campaign
Chapter 4: The Smear Campaign
The tabloid article dropped the following morning, and the socialite circles of Los Angeles ate it up. THE BILLIONAIRE'S RAGE: Why Bianca Laurent Fled the Hale Estate in Terror.
The article was a masterpiece of fiction. Bianca painted herself as the victim of a controlling, terrifying tyrant who kept his mentally unstable mother locked away. She claimed Julian had thrown her out in a fit of jealous paranoia because she suggested Martha needed professional psychiatric help.
Julian’s public relations team was frantic, blowing up his phone with strategies to counter the narrative. Julian instructed them to issue a single, brief statement: Mr. Hale's primary concern is the safety and well-being of his family. The truth will be addressed at the upcoming Hale Foundation Charity Gala.
Bianca, emboldened by Julian’s relative silence, began parading around town with a new sense of victimhood. She even managed to secure the arm of Julian’s biggest corporate rival, a sleazy tech mogul named Victor Vance, who reveled in the opportunity to publicly embarrass Julian.
"She thinks she's won," Martha said one evening as they watched a news segment covering Bianca's newfound celebrity status.
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"She thinks she's playing chess," Julian replied smoothly, adjusting his cufflinks. "She doesn't realize I flipped the board three days ago."
He had already upgraded the security system around the estate, discovering that the night of the incident, the cameras had captured everything. Bianca hadn't realized that the decorative stone owl near the pool housed a high-definition, audio-enabled lens. Julian had the footage. Now, he just needed the perfect stage.
