Chapter 45: Fighting Back

By eight the next morning, Freya had already sent her editor a complete evidence package. It included dated outlines, local file histories, cloud backups, early drafts, revision notes, and screenshots showing when individual chapters had been created. Whoever had manufactured the plagiarism accusation had expected an inexperienced author who would panic. Instead, they had picked someone who had spent years protecting her work.

Her editor called shortly afterward. "The evidence is more than enough. Our content team compared the books too. The accusation doesn't hold up." Freya relaxed slightly. "What about the accounts?" "Most were created recently, and several posted identical wording. We're treating it as coordinated harassment."

The platform removed the defamatory posts by noon and issued a notice beneath Freya's book stating that the plagiarism reports had been reviewed and found unsupported. Ironically, the controversy attracted curious readers. Her views rose instead of falling.

Freya stared at the dashboard. "That backfired spectacularly." Louis, sitting across the table with his laptop, looked up. "Good." "You sound disappointed that I solved it before you could destroy somebody." "I wasn't planning to destroy anybody."

Freya gave him a long look. "Sure."

The design problem required a different approach. Chloe's firm couldn't force the canceled client to return, but Adrian contacted Freya personally. "We've reviewed your work. One anonymous warning isn't enough for us to stop using you." He offered her another project to replace the canceled one.

Freya accepted, but only after asking him to forward any future messages questioning her reputation. If someone wanted to interfere with her work, she wanted a paper trail.

By evening, Derek had traced more of the campaign. The public-relations subcontractor denied knowing the true client, but payment records led through two intermediaries connected to a Knox Group executive.

Louis placed the report before Freya. "Marcus, not Clement." "You're sure?" "As sure as we can be without exposing how we obtained the information."

Freya frowned. Clement was irritating, but Marcus was strategic. That made the attack more concerning. "What does he expect? That I'll run to Clement because one client cancels?"

"He may expect pressure on you to become pressure on me." Louis's expression hardened. "He chose the wrong method."

Freya tapped the report. "Don't retaliate through my careers." "Explain." "If you suddenly crush the companies involved, they'll know I'm important enough to you to provoke a response. That makes me more useful as leverage."

Louis was quiet. She had reached the same conclusion he had.

"Let them think it failed naturally," Freya continued. "My editor cleared the accusation. Chloe's firm kept me. From their perspective, they simply underestimated me."

Louis looked at her for several seconds. "You're getting very comfortable with corporate warfare." "I'm a novelist. We manufacture conflict professionally."

That night, Freya uploaded another chapter on schedule. Readers filled the comments with support, unaware of the fight behind the scenes. The attack had cost her several hours and one client, but it had also taught her something important. Knox Group had tested her. Now they knew she wouldn't collapse easily—and Freya knew exactly which direction the next attack might come from.

Louis watched her close the evidence folder and felt a quiet satisfaction he didn't voice. He had expected to protect Freya when the attacks began. Instead, she had protected her own career before he could intervene. That independence complicated his instinct to shield her, but it also made him respect her more. She wasn't standing beside him because she needed someone to rescue her. She was standing there because, for reasons he still didn't fully understand, she had chosen to.

The situation was far from resolved, but neither Freya nor Louis had reached this point by rushing blindly into the next move. For now, they would keep working, watching, and gathering what they needed. The larger game could wait another day.