Page 9 of The Bonventi Rise

The clock reads 6:30 AM—earlier than Marco's warning about the 8 AM news.

What could it be?

My hands tremble as I open my news app, the sound of my heartbeat filling my ears.

What. The. Fuck.

The headline hits me like a freight train:

BREAKING: GOVERNOR HARRISON ARRESTED ON SEXUAL ASSAULT CHARGES - MULTIPLE VICTIMS COME FORWARD WITH NEW EVIDENCE

The phone slips from my fingers, falling into my lap. The room spins, walls pressing in as my chest constricts. I can't breathe. Can't think. Can't?—

This can't be happening. It's not possible.I checked those documents he gave me proving those women were lying. I protected him. I staked my entire reputation on his innocence. Those womenwerelying. Right?

I stumble out of bed, nearly tripping over the tangled sheet. I stagger to the bathroom, gripping the marble counter. I look up at the mirror, and my reflection stares back at me. I'm pale and in shock.

"No, no, no," I say, my voice breaking. "I verified everything. Every single claim."

But Marco knew. God, he fucking knew.

Bile rises in my throat.

The phone keeps buzzing in the other room. Each vibration feels like an accusation. How many calls am I going to ignore? How many reporters are already trying to reach me? My career, everything I've built—it's all unraveling with each passing second.

I splash some cold water on my face. My mind is flying a million miles a second as I go through every conversation, every document, every detail of the campaign.

What did I miss? What didn't I see? Or worse, what did I choose not to see?

Back in the bedroom, I retrieve my phone. Twenty-seven missed calls. Forty-three text messages. Five voicemails.

I clear out the notifications and open the article back up, scanning for more details. Each word feels like an assault on my character. Multiple women coming forward. Evidence of paying victims off to keep it quiet. It's worse than I could have imagined.

And buried in the middle of the article is the twist of the knife, what feels like my downfall to Hades.

Sources close to the investigation suggest that top members of Harrison's campaign team were complicit in covering up the allegations.

I start to sob. I can't hold it back even if I wanted to. I've gone from rising star to being potentially involved in a horrendous crime overnight. Every sacrifice, every compromise, every late night—all of it, meaningless now.

Another message from Jen pops up.

Hey, I thought we agreed no shady shit to win. CALL ME. This doesn't look good, Alina.

I tap on it to open up her texts and call her. She picks up on the first ring.

"What the fuck, Alina?" Her voice pierces through the phone. "Tell me you didn't know about this."

"I didn't!" My voice is stern. "Jen, I swear to God, I had no idea.

"It's everywhere," she cuts me off. "CNN, Fox, MSNBC. They're speculating that Harrison’s team knowingly covered it up. This is the kind of stuff that gets people arrested."

Arrested?

"That's impossible," I say."

"Alina, I need you to tell me exactly what's going on," Jen demands, her voice tense. "What did you do?”

I take a deep breath. "Okay, look. When those women came forward with their allegations, Governor Harrison gave me some information. Personal details about the women, inconsistencies in their stories, that sort of thing, to clear his name."