Chapter Thirteen: Fire in the Shadows
Alora hadn't felt this exposed since the shelter days — when survival meant sleeping with one eye open and trusting no one.
The Reddit thread had been picked up by a gossip site.
Now, it was everywhere.
#PhoenixScandal
#BuiltOnLies
The comments were brutal.
> "Knew she was too polished to be real."
"So she's just another scammer in heels."
"What a joke. Using trauma to cash out."
Her inbox was a war zone.
Sponsors pulled out.
Partnerships hit pause.
Speaking gigs were "rescheduled indefinitely."
Jayden called, panicked.
"I saw the video they're sharing. Lo, that's not your voice, right?"
"No," she whispered, "it's doctored. Spliced. I'd never say that."
"But people believe it."
She hung up and stared at her reflection in the window — mascara smudged, phone trembling in her grip, her breath fogging up the glass.
The girl who once spoke hope into the void was now being dragged through it.
---
That evening, Elijah showed up unannounced.
She opened the door to find him holding two steaming coffee cups and a cautious look.
"Thought you might need this," he said softly.
She stepped aside and let him in.
They sat in silence at her kitchen counter, the sound of rain tapping the windows like a slow drumbeat.
"I didn't do what they're saying," she finally said.
"I know," he replied instantly.
She looked up. "Do you?"
He nodded. "I've interviewed enough liars to recognize the truth."
That should've comforted her. But something tightened in her chest.
"You said you used to be an investigative journalist," she said slowly. "You ever write for The Uncovering?"
He hesitated. Just for a second.
"Yes," he admitted. "For two years."
Her blood ran cold.
"That's the platform that broke the story on me."
"I know," he said. "I didn't write it. I left before this piece. But… I still know people there."
Alora stood abruptly.
"Are you working with them?" she asked, voice rising.
"No."
"Are you feeding them anything?"
"No."
But his jaw was tight. His shoulders stiff.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, heart racing.
"Because I knew how it would look. But I swear, Alora — I haven't spoken to anyone there in months. I left because I was tired of selling people's pain for clicks."
"But someone there has access," she whispered. "Someone with your contacts. Someone who knows my past."
Elijah stood now too. "Are you accusing me?"
"I'm saying," she said, her voice cracking, "I don't know who to trust anymore."
They stood inches apart — anger and attraction colliding like storm fronts.
He stepped closer. "Then let me prove it."
"How?"
"I'll help you find whoever's behind this," he said. "I still know how to dig. I can trace the digital trail. The bank account. The leaks."
Alora's breath hitched.
"And if it is someone I once knew," he added, "I'll bring them down myself."
She didn't answer.
But she didn't stop him from staying.
---
Two Days Later
They set up a command center in her living room. Laptops open. Papers spread out. Coffee-fueled tension thick in the air.
Elijah traced the IP address linked to the anonymous Reddit posts.
It pinged back to Hamilton, Ontario — her hometown.
Then came the bombshell.
One of the flagged transactions — the $40,000 siphoned from Phoenix Rising — was transferred to a dummy account set up in the name of Reina Douglas.
Alora froze.
Reina Douglas was her former roommate at the shelter.
The first girl who ever read her blog drafts.
The same girl who had disappeared one night and never came back.
Her best friend.
Her sister in survival.
"She knew my passwords," Alora whispered. "I taught her how to blog. How to hide cash under blankets. How to... trust."
Elijah placed a hand on her shoulder. "Then it's time we find Reina."
Alora turned to him, tears welling up. "What if I don't want to know the truth?"
He stepped in closer. "Then I'll carry it for you. Until you're ready."
And in that moment — in the middle of betrayal and fear and ruined reputation — she didn't pull away when he brushed a strand of hair from her cheek.
She didn't flinch when he leaned in.
Their lips met — not in passion, but in pain, in fire, in faith.
It was a kiss that said:
"I see you."
And "I'm not going anywhere."
---
The next morning, Alora received a package on her doorstep. No return label.
Inside was a single flash drive.
And a handwritten note:
> "You shouldn't have come this far.
You're not the only phoenix.
Some of us still want revenge."