Chapter 18 - Daniel Strikes Back With Devastating Proof in Court
Daniel didn't panic or call a crisis management PR firm when he saw the tabloid smear campaign online.
Instead, he picked up his desk phone and connected directly to Arthur Vance in the legal department downstairs.
“Arthur, file a multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuit against the tabloid bloggers and trace the IP address of the burner account,” Daniel commanded.
“Already on it, Daniel; our cyber forensics team traced the posts straight to a luxury IP address in Miami,” Arthur replied smoothly.
“Miami?” Daniel’s lips curved into a dangerous, confident smile. “Directly to Vanessa Cole’s apartment building.”
“We have her digital signature, her financial wire transfers to the bloggers, and the original server logs,” Arthur added.
“Attach criminal extortion and corporate harassment charges to the civil defamation suit,” Daniel instructed.
“Make sure the court papers are served to her front door by tomorrow morning before she finishes her morning coffee.”
By Tuesday afternoon, legal documents were plastered across every major news network in North Carolina and Florida.
Vanessa Cole’s anonymous smear campaign was exposed as a bitter, retaliatory stunt executed by a disgraced former fiancée.
The tabloids that had published the rumors were forced to issue front-page retractions and public apologies to Grace Parker.
Grace sat at her executive desk on the 40th floor, reading the court press release with a profound sense of vindication.
Daniel walked into her office, holding two cups of hot coffee and a certified copy of the federal injunction order.
“Looks like Vanessa’s social media career in Miami has officially been grounded,” Daniel said, handing her a coffee cup.
Grace took the cup, looking up at him with a mixture of amusement and deep affection in her green eyes.
“You really don't know how to do things by halves, do you, Mr. Whitfield?” she teased gently.
May you like
“Only when it comes to defending the people who matter most in my life,” Daniel replied, his voice dropping into a soft, intimate tone.
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