Chapter 308: Smoke and Silence
Back home, Jonathan quickly assessed the situation. Seeing that the drama surrounding Sierra was merely a smokescreen, and the real attack was directed at him, he actually relaxed a little. But Sierra wasn’t as calm.
“Was it the Zach family? Shane? Or someone else?” she asked.
More and more information about Jonathan had been leaking online. Everything except his identity as a member of the Wynn family was now public. Even the financial war between him and the Zach family had been unearthed. That battle had cost many people their jobs—and now those same people had found their scapegoat. They flooded the internet, blaming Jonathan for everything.
The stock price of Jonathan’s company plummeted to a new low. Sierra had been closely watching online developments. She didn’t care what people said about her, but when it came to Jonathan, she couldn’t stand idly by.
Keyboard warriors stirred the pot, and the internet followed suit. They even blamed Jonathan for the poor state of the economy. The brighter someone had once shone, the harsher the fall when public opinion turned. Jonathan was now being treated like he’d committed a national crime.
“And all of this started because of me,” Sierra murmured, her expression turning cold. She registered a new account and posted her first public statement. It was short, just like everything else she did:
“Finn crossed the line on his own. This has nothing to do with anyone else. No capital games, no conspiracies. Jonathan Yeager is a good man. Stop slandering him.”
The statement exploded online. Emotions were already high; her words only added fuel to the fire. People in a frenzy don’t want the truth—especially when bad actors are intentionally fanning the flames.
“She even cut ties with the Xander family—shows how cold she is.” “Yeah, disowned her own parents. Just like that.” “She used to be so praised, and now look at her.” “Sure, she and Jonathan might be talented, but their character is garbage.” “Hope the state starts cracking down on people like them. Research is important, but character matters more.” “We should be investigating all these so-called scholars and experts.”
Jonathan had been aware of the online mess, but he hadn’t acted—until Mateo showed him a screenshot of Sierra’s statement. His face, which had been dark for days, finally softened.
“You’re starting a fire,” he said, looking at her.
“I just stated the facts,” Sierra replied, clearly frustrated. She hadn’t expected people to be this unhinged. Instead of helping Jonathan, it felt like she’d made things worse.
“It’s fine. I’ll quiet things down soon,” Jonathan assured her.
All the conspiracy theories vanished overnight. That’s when Jonathan made his move. Quietly, but effectively, every major peddler of conspiracy theories received a cease-and-desist letter from his legal team. Suddenly, the internet fell silent. Trolls disappeared.
Some still whispered about Sierra’s supposed coldness—especially since Finn’s mother was still in the ICU. They said if Sierra had shown just a little compassion, maybe none of this would have happened. But now, voices began rising in her defense.
“Are you serious? It was a state secrets case. What exactly could Sierra do? Finn’s parents showed up just to humiliate her and block her from leaving. That’s not asking for help—that’s gaslighting.” “If you think she should’ve begged, go try it yourself. See if you can get someone out.” “It was classified intel. This isn’t something you ‘plead’ your way out of. He deserved punishment.” “I don’t know Finn personally, but judging by his parents, he probably wasn’t so great either.” “I’ve never seen gaslighting this intense in my life.”
As support for Sierra grew, the hate began to die down.
“You pulled strings?” she asked Jonathan.
“Mateo wrote the code,” he replied simply.