Chapter 26 The Storm
Lara's pov
It was 7am on Tuesday.
My phone wouldn't stop buzzing.
I grabbed my phone, half asleep, thinking maybe it was an emergency.
Eight six notifications.
What the hell?
I opened my phone and immediately my stomach dropped.
"EX-HUSBAND SUES TECH CEO FOR $50 MILLION"
"LARA MONTGOMERY ACCUSED OF THEFT"
"DID SHE STEAL HER WAY TO SUCCESS?"
No.
No, no, no.
I sat up in bed, scrolling my phone like someone that's looking for what is lost.
Every news site. Every gossip blog. Every tech publication were all running the same story.
Lucas was suing me.
He was claiming I stole proprietary information.
That Montgomery Tech was built on stolen IP.
That I owed him half of everything.
"Lara?" Damien appeared in the doorway. He was fully dressed. His phone to his ear. "I know. I'm handling it."
He hung up and came over.
"You saw it?”
"How could I not? It's everywhere."
"I'm on the phone with our lawyers.
They're drafting a response now."
My phone rang.
Sarah. My PR director.
I answered. "I saw."
"Lara, we need to get ahead of this. The board is freaking out. Investors are calling.
We need a statement–"
"That lying bastard!" I stood up, pacing.
"He knows this is all bullshit! He's just trying to manipulate me."
"I know. But we need to respond.
Professionally. Can you come in?"
"Give me an hour."
I hung up and threw my phone on the bed.
"He's doing this on purpose," I said. "He knows he won't win. He just wants to hurt me."
"I know." Damien pulled me close. "But we'll destroy this lawsuit. It's baseless. Our lawyers are already making things work out."
"It doesn't matter!" I pulled away. "The damage is already done! People are reading these headlines and believing them!"
Damien's phone rang again. Again and again.
Both our phones wouldn't stop.
This was a nightmare.
By the time I got to the office, it was chaotic.
Reporters camped outside. Cameras everywhere.Security had to escort me through the crowd.
"Ms. Montgomery! Is it true you stole from your ex-husband?"
"Did you cheat on Lucas Ward?"
"How do you respond to these allegations?"
I kept my head down, I didn't say a word or answer.
Upstairs, my entire executive team was waiting for me.
Sarah. Jamie. Marcus. My CFO. My head of legal.
Everyone looked stressed.
"Okay," Sarah started. "Our stock dropped three percent this morning. Not catastrophic, but not good. Investors are nervous. Three major clients have called asking for reassurance."
"This is insane," I interrupted. "Lucas is lying. Everyone who knows me knows he's lying."
"The public doesn't know you," my lawyer said. "They just see headlines.
'Ex-husband sues for sixtymillion.' That's a big number. It makes people wonder."
"So what do we do?"
"We will respond. Aggressively. Press conference. Full statement. We tear his claims apart piece by piece."
"When?"
"Today. This afternoon. Before this gets any worse."
I looked at Damien. He nodded.
"Okay. Let's do it."
The press conference was scheduled for 3pm.
I spent all morning preparing. Writing my statement. Rehearsing.
Looking professional. Composed. Not like a woman whose ex-husband was trying to destroy her.
We held it in the main conference room.Fifty reporters showed up.
Cameras everywhere. Microphones shoved in my face.
I stood at the podium. Hands shaking but hidden under the table.
"Thank you all for coming," I started. Voice steady. "I'm here to address the lawsuit filed by Lucas Ward."
Everyone leaned forward.
"The claims made against me are completely false. I built Montgomery Tech from nothing. Every patent, every innovation, every success—it's mine. I have the documentation to prove it."
"Ms. Montgomery!" A reporter shouted.
"Did you use information from your father's company?"
"My father's company was sold by Lucas Ward while we were married. He had full access to all patents and technology. I had none. Montgomery Tech uses completely different technology, developed by my team, with no connection to my father's work."
"Did you cheat on your husband?"
I gritted my teeth.
"Lucas Ward and I divorced three years ago. My personal life is not relevant to this lawsuit."
"But you remarried quickly—"
"Next question."
"Is it true you left with nothing?"
"Yes. Lucas threw me out of our home with one suitcase. I had no money. No resources. I rebuilt everything from scratch."
"Then how did you start a company?"
"I took out a loan. I worked eighteen-hour a day on a daily basis. I earned every single dollar."
Damien stepped up beside me.
The cameras immediately shifted to him.
"My wife is one of the most brilliant minds in tech," he said. His voice was calm but firm. "These accusations are baseless.
Lucas Ward is a bitter ex-husband trying to profit off her success. And we will prove it in court."
People were asking more questions and people were shouting.
But we were done.
I walked off the stage, Damien's hand on my back.
When I got to a corner, I finally breathed.
"That was good," Sarah said. "You were strong and confident."
"It won't stop them," I said.
"No. But it's a start."
She was right.
The media frenzy didn't stop. It just got worse.
Over the next three days, it was non-stop.
Tabloids ran stories with my face plastered everywhere.
"FROM RAGS TO RICHES: DID LARA MONTGOMERY STEAL HER FORTUNE?"
"THE TRUTH ABOUT LUCAS WARD'S EX-WIFE"
"TECH CEO'S DARK PAST REVEALED"
My phone wouldn't stop ringing.
Clients. Investors. Board members.
Everyone wanted reassurance.
"Is this going to affect our contract?"
"Should we be worried?"
"What's the truth here?"
I spent every waking hour doing damage control.
Meanwhile, paparazzi were everywhere.
Outside my office. Outside my house.
Following my car.
On Wednesday, I came out of a meeting to find photographers camped outside Ethan's preschool.
That was it.
I called Damien immediately.
"They're at Ethan's school."
"What?"
"Paparazzi. Taking pictures. Trying to get photos of him."
He took a sharp breath.
"I'm handling it. Right now."
"Damien—"
"No one goes near our son. I'm getting a restraining order. Hiring more security. This must end today."
And he did.
By that evening, there were security guards at Ethan's school.
A restraining order filed against paparazzi within 600 feet of the preschool.
But it wasn't enough.They were still everywhere else.
At my office. At our house. Following us to the grocery store.
I couldn't breathe without someone taking a photo.
It was on a Friday afternoon,I received a call from my lawyer.
"We're filing a countersuit."
"For what?"
"Defamation. Harassment. Frivolous litigation. We're asking for one hundred million in damages."
"One hundred million?"
"He wants to play dirty? We'll bury him."
"Do it."
I hung up and sat in my office.
Staring at nothing.This was my life now.
A media circus. A legal battle. Paparazzi stalking my family.
All because Lucas couldn't handle that I moved on.
Damien came in without knocking. He sat down across from me.
"How are you holding up?"
"I'm tired," I admitted. "I'm so tired of this. I just want it to be over."
"It will be," he promised. "Our lawyers are already tearing his case apart. He has no evidence. No proof. Nothing. This won't hold up in court."
"But the damage is done. My reputation is—"
"We're gonna recover. You've done nothing wrong. The truth will come out."
"When?"
"Soon. I promise. And when it does, Lucas will have nothing left."
I wanted to believe him.
But right now, sitting in my office while the media tore me apart?I didn't feel like someone who'd won.I felt like I was back where I started.Fighting just to survive.
My phone buzzed.
Another notification.
I didn't even look at it.
Just put my head in my hands.
"I built all of this," I whispered. "Everything. From nothing. And now Lucas is trying to take credit for it."
"He won't succeed."
"But people believe him."
"Some people. Not everyone. The ones who matter,your clients, your employees, your investors,they all know the truth."
I looked up at him.
"What if this destroys everything I built?"
"It won't. I won't let it."
"You can't control the media."
"No. But I can control the narrative. And so can you. We fight back. We prove he's lying. We show everyone who you really are."
"And who's that?"
"A survivor. A fighter. Someone who refused to stay down."
I took a shaky breath.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"Okay. We're gonna fight."
Damien smiled.
"That's my girl."
But as I sat there, phone still buzzing with notifications, reporters still camped outside, Lucas's lies spreading across every platform…
I couldn't help but wonder.
How much more could I take before I broke?
And what would be left of me when this was finally over?