One mistake is all it needs...

Change for the better...

Tony was fixing his outlook as he was about to make an public appearance. There were conspiracy theories circling around that he had passed away. He had to go out and talk with people. It was an act, to show everyone he was (mostly) alive and well. People were being unreasonable and believed the rumors, based on the fact that he was last seen a rather long time ago. He had been given the job to get rid of these rumors, as they were bad for the company's wellbeing. And the shareholders had made it clear that they don't want the rumors trashing their reputation. He didn't find it as important as they did. These were just some baseless rumors.

There was someone familiar in the middle of the crowd that had gathered. It was Sandra Mint.Tony felt like it had been just yesterday, when Yaila took her place and saved him from big trouble. It was hard to look at the journalist without getting reminded of someone dear. 

 But it didn't bother Mrs. Mint. She was on a hunt for a story. Bigger the scandal, the more she gets paid, so she's eager to capture it. Tony Stark had always been scandalous. So scandalous that the fact that there hadn't been any problems or bigger news about him lately, was strange enough for her to start investigating deeper. What caused him to stay low? It took some time to get closer to truth. People close to him knew almost nothing and it was hard to find them. In the end, after many headaches and sleepless nights, all she found was that he indeed did use to have someone in his life. Details about the person and what had happened to them, were lost. Like they had never even existed.

 It couldn't stop her. She connected all the dots possible. Some years ago it was rumored there had been someone else besides Stark in the car, but no remains were found. Details about the incident, were kept a secret by the police. Mint was now sure that Tony had lost his lover that day in the accident. But as she had close to no proof at all, she couldn't make news out of it. She was sure that Stark would deny everything. 

So she had no story. Until she accidentally discovered something bigger than Stark's secret lover. It will be the story of the decade if she finally publishes it one day. (Reason being that it would shock everyone. Right now no one had even a slightest idea about the situation.)While trying to guess why Stark had decided to hide his relationship, she had looked up descriptions of how drug addicted people look. She did it because of one other story she was covering at the same time but too many things were similar. What if his lover had been someone in problems with law. Or had he hidden it because his lover was a man? Mint didn't know, but she tried to understand every possibility there was, to understand what was going on right now. Well, she found out that not his lover but Stark himself was an addict. It wouldn't have normally been big news because everyone knew he was always in problems. Mostly because of alcohol. Never drugs. But right now it would have been a disaster for the company. So, she wrote to him, stating that she knows about his addiction and if he doesn't want the news to leak out, he has to get clean. To get his attention she also mentioned that she knows what had happened to his lover. (Who she was sure had been real). One could say, she was blackmailing him and understanding the risks of that, she saved everything she had found out, someplace else so if something happens to her, news would reach the world and everybody would know who was behind that. After that, all she had left to do was wait for the results.

Sandra Mint was blackmailing him. Tony couldn't believe what he saw when he finally read the letter. So he called her to know if it was real and not just some sick joke. There had been few before.

"Did you really send me letter, stating that I'm drug addict and that I even had a lover, who went missing in that accident?"

"Yes. I'm actually glad you called. That means it reached you without problems and you already know what I'm demanding."

"Yeah, I know, but I can't understand. You're not the type to leave such a big story in the dark. And you definitely don't blackmail people. You're ruthless and do anything to let others know what some of them are hiding in the darkness." Mint on the other side of line, sounded annoyed after his words.

"I'm not like you seem to think I am. You see, I'm blackmailing you. So it's your choice if you change or I let the world know everything I have found out."

"It's still unusual for you to make offer like that."

"I have ruined things for you before and I won't apologize for doing that. But I don't want to ruin another life this time. That's the reason I'm staying quiet now, ignoring my duty as an journalist." she finished the call. Tony recalled after thinking for some time, that he had heard someone say that Sandra Mint was a life ruiner and a killer. Apparently someone had killed themselves after she had made a story about them, revealing all kinds of stuff. But she still had a heart. Or else she wouldn't have kept the story unpublished. And Mint was an excellent journalist. Always the first and the best. But it made her fearable. Different company's tried everything so she wouldn't make stories out of them. Blackmailing didn't help and so far she was still alive even after all these threats to her life. Tony couldn't understand what she still found in that job but whatever it was, it didn't look like she was going to stop anytime soon. 

He sighed and called to get help. He didn't want for the world to find out, so he was going to give in and follow what Mint had demanded.

AN: As more than a year has passed from the time I finished writing this story originally, my writing style has evolved and as a result of that, I didn't like where my story was going anymore. It, in the end, was a happy ending, but the middle part was weird and too hopeless. So I decided to rewrite the ending from scratch. Hopefully it's better now.