Truth Untold (Eligible Bachelors #1)

Chapter Two

"You have got to be kidding me!"

Vanessa was incredulous as she scrolled through the hundreds of tweets under the thread about her marriage to Alexander. It was tweeted by some Twitter user who shared it with a caption that read:

'I'm disappointed. I used to be a huge fan of @VanStein and I was so looking forward to purchasing her new and upcoming book but after finding out that she's basically a golddigger who stole her sister's man and married him...Ugh! @VanStein, you've just lost a fan and I will never again buy another one of your books.'

Beneath the user's caption was a link to a website that gave the story in full detail, painting Vanessa as the evil half-sister in some kind of twisted Cinderella tale where the ugly, evil stepsister got a happily ever after and the prince to boot. The website labelled Daphne Stein as the victim, indicating that several netizens – none named – and magazine and press article sources stated that Alexander and Daphne had been the happy 'it' couple. Included in the article were pictures of Alexander and Daphne in public, at gala events, and on the cover of magazines, one in particular capturing the image of a shiny, diamond rock on Daphne's finger.

That picture added fuel to the fire as all hell broke loose on social media. People were calling Vanessa horrible names, and Daphne's social media fans were making death threats up and down on the internet. They said it explained why Daphne had been so silent and it was almost as if she and Alexander had disappeared off the face of the planet.

An exaggeration because they both still made the covers of magazines, pap, and press releases. They just hadn't been seen in public together for about a year.

Weaved into the chaos were a few social media users who were the voices of reason, stating that it was only an article and without evidence to back up the claim, such accusations were useless and could lead to a defamation suit if Vanessa wished to push the issue.

"I think it's Daphne," Lyn stated once Vanessa had had enough of Twitter and slumped into her chair. The latter scoffed.

"No way! Daphne would go crazy if this story had burst. She'd rather have people think they broke up instead of him marrying someone else."

"Ness, we know she's more than capable of lying. While we have no evidence that this is Daphne, I wouldn't rule her out as a suspect."

Vanessa scoffed, standing up and beginning to pace the length of Lyn's office. Lyn's gaze followed her friend, with each turn she made. She watched as Vanessa tapped her palms against her thighs, crossed her arms over her chest, roll her neck, as if trying to digest the scandal.

"Even if it was Daphne, what is she hoping to gain?"

Lyn took Vanessa's laptop and turned it toward her, gesturing to the Twitter feed. "Your ruination. And the timing is perfect, too. Your next novel is about to be completed and will be published within the next month." Lyn paused and considered something.

In the seven years she had known Vanessa, she knew her friend to be a private individual. She rarely shared anything about her personal life, her job, or her family.

"Ness, who knows about your new book?"

Vanessa frowned, turning to look at Lyn. "Other than you, and the editor...my brother. I told Scott I had an idea for a book. Why?"

"Did you tell Scott anything else about the book? Like when we're expecting to have it published, or that marketing campaign schemes aren't as plentiful?"

"Whoa! Calm down, Lyn!" Vanessa snapped, gesturing her hands for Lyn to do as she said. Her eyebrows scrunched. "The first ad for the book dropped about a month ago so I'm sure many people saw it. But are you seriously implying that Scott did this?"