Bad news spreads faster than good news.
The phenomenon was not different in Reyona's case.
She started checking the comments and reposts.
The original post had been reposted more than one hundred times already.
Comments upon comments danced before Reyona's eyes as she scrolled fast and furiously.
Most of them were tagging her company pages.
Bloggers had started posting about it.
#chronicleofacheater was everywhere.
Reyona couldn't even begin to imagine the extent of the damage.
Her office phone rang, and she contemplated letting go of it, but she knew that was not the moment to ignore her calls.
There are people who count on her.
People would be sorely disappointed about what they were seeing and reading about her.
She picked up the call on the third ring.
"Good afternoon, CEO Lanoth. Have you seen...?"
"Yes, I have seen it, Roaurke. It is not true."
"But you…"
"Yes, I was the one in the video, but the narrative is wrong."
The man on the other end sighed and said, "You need to do something urgently, ma'am. I have held the news back from being published at my station. I could speak to some other colleagues too to hold off on it for a while. But that is all I can do, ma'am. This is a very unfortunate situation, and most people would want to bank on it. I can't assure you that someone won't broadcast it soon. I can only do my best."
"I thank you for that," Reyona said gratefully.
"You need to give them something, ma'am. They will want to hear from you. As soon as possible too," he said.
"I will get to it." Reyona said. "Thank you"
Rouarke disconnected and unhooked the telephone.
It was a good thing that she didn't have a board yet.
At this point, she knew where the heat would have come from the most.
Reyona took her mind off the pounding in her head and tried to concentrate.
This was no time to curl up and wish that the ground could open up and swallow her.
This was the time for action.
She would deal with the bastard later, but for now, her company and everyone connected to it were counting on her.
Rouarke was right.
She needed to give those who gave her consideration something in return.
Whoever gets to the media first owns the narrative, after all.
This damaging news had already put her at a disastrous disadvantage, but she would not admit defeat and just lay down for the last killing blow.
Her company was her baby; she would save it first.
But first, she dialed a number that she had thought she would never have to call again.
He picked up on the first ring.
"Hello, you know who I am. There is a video clip trending online at the moment. The narrative is wrong, but then it wouldn't matter to people. They are already running with it, but then I want to know if you can make them disappear. I have seen what incredible prowess you have. Is this one of the things you can do?"
"Yes," the man, who had never introduced himself to Reyona, said simply.
"Do you need me to send you the link?" Reyona asked.
"No, I have seen it already."
"So, let me know what it is going to take. Just do this for me immediately and I want the culprit found too."
"That is easy. As for my payment, there is something you can do for me."
"What is that?" Reyona asked instantly.
She was ready to pay any amount, no matter how exorbitant it might be.
Her reputation and company's survival cannot be compared to anything else
So she was surprised when he said, "An agreement."
"Agreement?" she asked, just to be certain that her shock wasn't affecting her hearing.
"Yes, it is about a little detail in what I did for you before."
By the time he finished telling her what he wanted, Reyona was too numb to be shocked.
She agreed instantly, and the latter agreed to get her job done within the hour.
Reyona disconnected and looked blankly at the sheaf of paper in front of her.
She tried so hard to keep every thought at bay so that she could draft out a coherent speech.
Yet, as she picked up her pen, her hand shook uncontrollably.
She looked up as she heard her door handle rattle.
Go away. She thought.
She couldn't get her words out as her vision blurred.
The handle shook violently again.
Then she heard her sister's voice: "Rey? Rey, please open up. What is going on, Rey? Please open up and talk to me."
Reyona could only look at the door as unbidden tears trailed down her face.
Words clogged her throat as she sat, like she was paralysed.
She wanted to reach out and pull Victoria into the office so she could hug her and never let go.
She wanted to pour out her pain and grievances to one of the people who would never forsake her or take advantage of her in any situation.
She wanted to run into her sister's arms at that moment and cry out all the balled-up pain in her heart.
Yet all she could do was stare at the rattling handle as her words got so loud in her mind that they crowded her head.
Everybody wins, Toria.
Everybody wins but me.
Everyone got what they wanted eventually, at my expense.
I am the casualty in their game.
More tears trailed down her face and plopped on her lap as she heard Charlotte and someone else persuade Toria to give her a space.
Eventually her sister relented and moved away from the door, even as she vowed that she wouldn't leave the company until Reyona spoke to her.
Reyona nodded as if her sister could see her.
Then she swiped at her sweat- and tear-drenched face.
Then she picked up her pen and started scribbling furiously.