Chapter 46 The Industry Strike

Chapter 46 The Industry Strike

Luna's POV
I walked into my production office for the first time in two weeks and it felt wrong, like visiting a place I used to live that someone else owned now.
The space was too quiet, half the desks empty because I'd had to let people go after the digital attack destroyed our master files.
Michelle met me at the door with a thick folder and an expression that said the news inside was bad.
"I compiled everything that happened while you were dealing with Theo," she said, following me to my office. "You should probably sit down first."
I sat behind my desk and took the folder.
The investor exodus was complete, every single one had pulled funding citing concerns about the project's stability and my personal drama affecting professionalism.
The film was officially dead without money to finish it.
But that wasn't the worst part.
Michelle had included printouts from industry publications and blogs, articles from the past week that all focused on me but not on my work.
"Luna Reeves, caught between Lycan King and ex-husband in bitter custody battle."
"Director's personal life overshadows professional achievements."
"Industry insiders question Reeves's stability as scandals mount."
Every article reduced me to a woman caught between powerful men, my six years of work and three successful films mentioned only as footnotes to the gossip.
I was being erased, transformed from filmmaker to scandal in real time.
"It gets worse," Michelle said quietly. "Three projects that had offers out to you rescinded them this week. They didn't give official reasons but the message is clear."
"I'm untouchable."
"You're considered too risky right now." She pulled out more papers. "I also got calls from two industry friends warning me that working with you might damage my own career."
I looked up at her. "Are you leaving?"
"No. But I wanted you to know what people are saying." Michelle sat down across from me. "Luna, they're destroying your reputation systematically. Everything you built is being torn apart by gossip and insinuation."
My wolf snarled inside me, wanting to fight back, to make everyone see the truth.
But how did you fight whispers and rumors and carefully placed articles that never quite lied but painted me as unstable?
"What do I do?" I asked.
"I don't know. This is beyond normal PR damage control." Michelle looked genuinely worried. "Whoever is orchestrating this knows exactly how to destroy a career in Hollywood."
Vivienne. Of course it was Vivienne, using her money and connections to spread poison through the industry.
My phone buzzed with a text from Damien saying he was on his way up.
He arrived five minutes later looking serious, the kind of expression that meant he had news I wouldn't like.
"I heard about the investors," he said, closing my office door.
"News travels fast."
"I have a proposal." He sat in the chair Michelle had vacated. "Winters Film absorbs your company completely. We take on all your current projects and employees under our umbrella, which protects them and gives you the resources to finish your work."
The offer was generous and practical and everything I should want.
It was also exactly what I'd been fighting against since this whole mess started.
"So I become part of Winters Film," I said flatly. "My company disappears and I work for you."
"You work with me. As a partner, not an employee." His voice was patient. "This protects what you've built, Luna. Without funding, your company dies anyway."
"My company. That I built from nothing." I stood up, anger rising. "You're using this crisis to take control."
"I'm offering protection—"
"The result is the same!" My voice got louder. "Either way, I end up dependent on a man's resources for survival. Either way, everyone's assumptions about our relationship get confirmed. The struggling director saved by the powerful Lycan King."
Damien stood too, his own frustration showing. "This isn't about control. This is about keeping you from losing everything you've worked for."
"By making me give up my independence."
"By giving you the tools to survive a coordinated attack!" His eyes flashed gold briefly. "Vivienne is destroying your reputation and your company piece by piece. Without help, you have nothing left."
"So I should just surrender? Let you absorb everything I built?"
"I'm not asking you to surrender. I'm asking you to accept help from someone who wants to see you succeed."
We stared at each other across my desk, both angry and both right in different ways.
Michelle knocked and opened the door carefully. "Sorry to interrupt but this is urgent."
"What is it?" I asked.
"StreamVision wants to meet with you. They're interested in funding your next three projects." She handed me a printed email. "But there's a condition."
I read the email and my stomach dropped.
StreamVision would provide full funding and distribution for three films over five years, complete creative control, generous budget.
The condition was stated clearly in the third paragraph.
They required public confirmation that I was operating independently, not as part of Winters Film or in partnership with Damien Winters.
They wanted me to distance myself publicly from Damien to prove I was making my own decisions.
"This is Vivienne," I said quietly.
"What?" Michelle looked confused.
"She orchestrated this. The timing is too perfect." I handed the email to Damien. "She destroyed my company with one hand and offered salvation with the other."
Damien read it, his expression going dark. "StreamVision's CEO is someone Vivienne has connections with. This is absolutely her move."
"So what do I do?" I looked between them.
"You tell them to go to hell," Damien said immediately. "This is manipulation."
"This is my career." I took back the email. "StreamVision is huge. This deal would set me up for years."
"At the cost of publicly rejecting the mate bond." His voice was hard. "That's what she wants. She wants you to choose your career over me, to prove you'll never be a suitable Lycan Queen."
"Maybe I'm not a suitable Lycan Queen!" The words came out sharper than I intended. "Maybe I'm just a filmmaker who wants to make films without all this supernatural politics."
"You don't mean that."
"Don't I?" I looked at the email again. "Six years ago I gave up everything for Marcus and lost myself completely. I swore I'd never do that again. Never tie my survival to a man's power."
"This is different—"
"Is it? Because from where I'm standing, I'm facing the exact same choice." I set down the email. "Accept help from a powerful man and become dependent, or fight alone and probably fail."
Damien's jaw tightened. "You're not alone. You have me."
"For how long? Until Vivienne finds another way to attack? Until the next crisis that requires your resources to solve?" I shook my head. "This is exactly what she wanted. She engineered a situation where I have to choose between my career and my mate."
And I had no idea which choice would destroy me more.