Chapter 53 Media Nightmare

Chapter 53 Media Nightmare
(Tony POV)
The headline on my phone screen made my blood boil: "BILLIONAIRE'S MISTRESS: Did Tony Stark Orchestrate Rival's Arrest for Love?"
I threw the phone across my office. It hit the wall and clattered to the floor, screen cracked but still glowing with that damning article.
"Tony." Pepper stood in the doorway, holding a tablet with at least twenty different news sites pulled up. All saying the same thing. All destroying Lily. "We need to do damage control. Now."
"Damage control?" I laughed bitterly. "How do you do damage control on lies, Pepper? How do I prove that I didn't seduce Lily, that I didn't have Alex arrested to steal his wife?"
"By telling the truth. Hold a press conference. Explain.."
"Explain what? That I've been visiting a woman in the hospital every day because she looks exactly like my dead sister? That'll really help." I ran my hands through my hair, feeling helpless in a way I hadn't since I was twelve years old watching Anna's casket being lowered into the ground.
Pepper set the tablet down. "The board is panicking. Stark Industries stock dropped four points this morning. Investors are nervous. The Redstone contract renewal is in jeopardy."
"I don't care about the stock."
"You should. Because if Stark Industries goes down, you can't protect Lily. You can't hire security teams or legal defense or.."
"Fine." I cut her off. "Schedule the press conference. But I'm not apologizing for trying to save an innocent woman's life."
"No one's asking you to apologize. Just... clarify. Set the record straight."
But how could I set the record straight when I didn't fully understand my own feelings? Yes, I'd initially been drawn to Lily because she looked like Anna. But somewhere along the way, it had become about more than that. It had become about Lily herself, her strength, her resilience, her determination to survive.
"What about Lily?" I asked. "Has she seen the news?"
Pepper's expression turned grim. "The hospital called. Paparazzi are camped outside. They tried to sneak into her floor twice this morning. Security stopped them, but Tony... she's not doing well."
I was out the door before Pepper finished speaking.

The scene outside County General was chaotic. News vans lined the street. Reporters with cameras jostled for position. I pushed through them, ignoring shouted questions.
"Mr. Stark! Is it true you're having an affair?"
"Tony! Did you pay Alex Morrison's wife to accuse him of abuse?"
"Mr. Stark! Is Lily Morrison carrying your baby?"
That last question made me stop dead. I turned to see a young reporter with hungry eyes and a microphone thrust toward my face.
"What did you say?"
She smiled, sensing blood in the water. "Sources say Mrs. Morrison is pregnant. Is it yours? Is that why you're so invested in her case?"
"Get away from me." I pushed past her, but the damage was done. By tomorrow, that rumor would be everywhere.
Inside the hospital, the fourth floor was locked down. Two security guards I'd hired personally stood at the elevator.
"Mr. Stark," one of them nodded. "She's in her room, but sir... she's not accepting visitors."
"What do you mean not accepting visitors? I'm not a visitor."
"She specifically said no one. Including you."
I felt like I'd been punched. "Let me through."
"Sir.."
"Let. Me. Through."
They exchanged glances but stepped aside. I walked down the corridor to Lily's room and knocked gently.
"Go away," came her muffled voice.
"Lily, it's me. Tony."
"I know. Go away."
I opened the door anyway. Lily sat on her bed, still in her hospital gown, her face pale and tear-streaked. The television was on, showing yet another news segment about our "scandalous relationship."
"I told them not to let you in," she said without looking at me.
"I don't take orders well." I stepped inside and closed the door behind me, muting the TV. "Lily, you can't listen to this garbage."
"Why not? It's about me. Don't I have the right to know what everyone is saying about me?" She finally looked at me, and the devastation in her eyes gutted me. "They're calling me a gold-digger, Tony. A liar. A whore who seduced you to get out of my marriage."
"No one who matters believes that."
"Everyone believes it!" She grabbed the remote and unmuted the TV. A panel of talking heads was discussing "the Morrison scandal."
"..clearly manipulated Mr. Stark's well-known savior complex.."
"—questions about her credibility as a witness.."
"—convenient that the husband gets arrested just as she's getting close to a billionaire—"
Lily muted it again. "See? They think I made everything up. That Alex didn't poison me, didn't abuse me, didn't..." Her voice broke. "They're going to destroy me on the stand. Alex's lawyer will use all of this to prove I'm lying."
"No, they won't. The medical evidence is irrefutable. The mercury in your system, the recordings from the baby monitor.."
"They'll say I planted those. They'll say you helped me plant them." She stood up, wrapping her arms around herself. "Don't you see? By trying to help me, you've made everything worse. Your involvement makes me look guilty."
"That's ridiculous."
"Is it?" She turned to face me. "Think about it, Tony. Alex Morrison is your business rival. You beat him for the Redstone contract. You've been competing with him for years. And suddenly his wife reaches out to you, crying abuse, and you swoop in with the FBI and have him arrested. How does that not look suspicious?"
"Because it's the truth!"
"The truth doesn't matter anymore!" Lily's voice rose. "What matters is the story. And the story is that I'm a manipulative bitch who used abuse allegations to trade one rich husband for another."
I moved toward her, but she held up a hand. "Don't. Please don't come closer."
"Lily.."
"Do you know what happened this morning?" She laughed, but it was hollow. "A reporter dressed as a nurse got past security. She came into my room with a camera hidden in her clipboard and started asking me questions about our relationship. About the baby. About whether you're the father."
My hands clenched into fists. "Who was it? What news outlet?"
"Does it matter? She's not the only one. They're all trying to get in. They're bribing orderlies, impersonating staff, doing whatever it takes to get the story." She sat back down on the bed, looking exhausted. "I can't stay here. But I can't leave either. There are paparazzi camped outside my apartment. They're following Dr. Chen. They even found my parents and tried to interview them."
"I have a safe house," I said immediately. "Fully secured, private location. You can stay there until the trial."
"No."
"Lily, be reasonable.."
"I am being reasonable!" She stood again, agitated. "Don't you see what's happening? You're getting dragged down with me. Your stock is dropping. Your investors are nervous. Your business is suffering. All because of me."
"I don't care about the business."
"Well, you should!" She was crying now, tears streaming down her face. "You've worked your whole life to build Stark Industries. I won't let you destroy it for me. I'm not worth it."
"You are worth it."
"No, I'm not. I'm broken, Tony. I'm damaged goods. I'm carrying a rapist's baby and I can't even decide what to do about it. I have panic attacks when men touch me. I can't sleep without nightmares. The media thinks I'm a liar and a whore. I'm poison to everyone around me."
"Stop it." I moved closer, wanting to hold her but respecting her boundaries. "You're not poisonous. You're a survivor."
"Surviving isn't enough anymore." She wiped her tears angrily. "I need you to leave, Tony. I need you to stop visiting me, stop protecting me, stop being associated with me in any way."
"No."
"It's not a request."
"And I'm not listening." I stood my ground. "You're scared. I understand that. But pushing me away won't make this better."
"It will make things better for you." Her voice softened. "Please, Tony. You've done so much for me already. You saved my life. But now you need to save yourself. Walk away before I take everything from you."
"I'm not walking away."
We stared at each other for a long moment. Then Lily's expression shifted to something cold, something final.
"Then I'll make it easy for you." She picked up her phone. "I'm calling Dr. Chen. I'm getting discharged today. And I'm accepting your offer of a safe house, but with one condition. You don't visit. You don't call. You don't contact me until after the trial."
"Lily.."
"That's the condition, Tony. Take it or I'll disappear on my own and you won't find me."
I knew she meant it. I could see the determination in her eyes, the same determination that had kept her alive through Alex's poisoning.
"Fine," I said through gritted teeth. "But you take my security team. No arguments."
"Fine."

Two days later, I sat in my office reviewing security reports from the safe house. Lily had arrived safely. She was eating. Sleeping. The guards reported no incidents.
But something felt wrong. I couldn't shake the feeling that she was planning something.
At 3 AM, my phone rang. The head of security.
"Mr. Stark, we have a problem. She's gone."
My heart stopped. "What do you mean gone?"
"She left sometime between the 2 AM check and now. The bedroom window was open. She climbed down using bedsheets. Sir, she left a note."
"Read it to me."
"It says: 'Tony, I'm sorry. Sarah is right, I'm putting you in danger just by existing. She sent me an email. She knows where I am and she's coming for me. If I stay, she'll hurt you to get to me. This is the only way to keep you safe. Thank you for everything. Please don't look for me. -Lily'"
The phone slipped from my hand.Lily was gone.And Sarah was hunting her..