[11:17 AM, Next Day]

Ethan skimmed through another set of incoming data showing exactly how much of a success this launch was before closing them all in a single swipe.

The celebration around OmniMed was loud.

A lot louder than it was with Sentinel.

People were praising the VitaBand like it was the second coming of sliced bread.

Which meant only one thing.

The counterattack should be arriving right—

Ping!

Athena's avatar appeared into the corner of his screen.

{Ethan… you need to see this.}

"What is it?"

{A coordinated drop. Multiple posts on multiple accounts, all hitting at once.}

"Show me."

The screen changed, and suddenly dozens of online articles filled the display.

[BREAKING: VitaBand Misdiagnoses Patient, Nearly Causes Panic Attack

Doctor Claims OmniTech Device Is 'Not Ready for Public Use'

Patient Data Leaked? Experts Raise Concerns Over Privacy

Anonymous: OmniTech's Health Tracker Is a Danger to Society]

Ethan frowned a bit, it wasn't like this was unexpected, after all, what better way of taking down a company than targeting their public image.

"Who posted the first one?" He asked, remaining completely calm.

{A throwaway account with a six-hour lifespan. It spread to news blogs within minutes, someone paid to push it.}

"And the doctor?"

{Not a doctor. A professionally made fake identity, with a fake license number too.}

"Privacy concerns?"

{Fabricated, they have zero evidence. Someone seeded the rumor and It's only spreading fast because people love drama.}

Ethan exhaled slowly.

"So they chose slander.'

{Yes and it's escalating pretty quickly.}

More windows popped up showing the shaky phone video of a man screaming at a hospital lobby.

"This stupid band told me I was DYING! My heart's FINE! I almost passed out because of this JUNK!" He shouted, pointing the camera at the Vitaband and then back at the doctor's face.

Comments were quickly flooding in.

[See? Told you it was suspicious]

[It did seem too good to be true]

[Just another scam]

[Why is no one regulating this company??]

And that's when Aria sent a text.

Aria: Lil is freaking out a bit. She's trying not to show it but she's worried, can you text her?

Aria: You seeing what's happening online??

Ethan didn't respond just yet, instead, he turned to look at Athena.

"How manufactured is this?"

{All of it. Even the man in the video, he's an actor, a lower-tier. He posted comedy skits last week.}

"Tch."

Victor's handwriting was all over this, he was sure he'd be going for Lillian but it seems the man had other plans.... except,

This was distraction, maybe to get his attention off her.

"Do they think this will work?" Ethan muttered.

{It might,} Athena said softly, {public opinion turns fast.}

"Mm."

Another window popped up.

A hospital spokesperson being interviewed, saying:

"We are investigating whether the VitaBand's data might have caused unnecessary alarm…"

Ethan stared at them for a while.

"And they are?"

{A pretty well known hospital, probably one Victor paid. Notice the scripting, they keep repeating the same phrase.}

Ethan closed his eyes for a second.

So this was their first strike.

He picked his phone up and dialed Lillian's number, first, he had to ensure his girlfriend was calm, before returning the strike.

Lillian picked up on the second ring.

Her voice was steady… but only because she was forcing it to be.

"Hey."

"Aria texted me," Ethan said calmly, leaning back in his chair, "she said you were worried."

"I'm not... okay, maybe a little." She said, letting out a tired exhale, "It's just… there's so much of it, all at once. Every platform and news blog, even a hospital that's relatively trusted—"

"They were paid," Ethan cut in gently.

She paused.

"…Paid?"

"Yes, everything you're seeing is manufactured, none of it is real, hey're trying to provoke panic," he kept his voice completely steady, "and more importantly, they're trying to distract me."

Lillian went silent, and he could practically picture her sitting at her desk, one hand massaging her forehead.

It wasn't like she hadn't expected that to be the reason, after all, with that much hitting all at once, there was definitely foul play behind the scenes.

And she guess her guys was right.

"…You sound really calm," she pointed out after a short while.

"Well, that's because I am," A small smile appeared on his lips, "this is the least creative attack they could have made."

"Least creative? It feels like the end of the world out here," she said with a chuckle.

She hadn't put out any press release because she had to discuss with Ethan first and the whoever was orchestrating this was taking that silence as an opportunity to fan the flames and making it even worse.

"They're using our silence to make it look like we're guilty or panicking," Lillian said with a sigh

"Exactly," Ethan nodded "But that's fine. For now, let them keep talking, let's let them think they're controlling the narrative."

"And we aren't?" she asked quietly.

Ethan smiled a bit wider.

"We will," he said, "just… not yet."

There was silence on her end, but it wasn't from confusion.

"Okay," she whispered after a short while, "tell me what you need me to do."

"First," he said, his voice had taken on a softer tone, "calm down,know that none of this will touch OmniMed or even dents us."

"…Right."

"And second," Ethan continued, "do nothing publicly, not yet at least. Give no statements, clarifications or even panic responses. Let them shout into the void for a few hours."

Lillian nodded slowly, the tension in her shoulders easing bit by bit.

"I can do that."

"Good."

She paused again, then chuckled weakly.

"You know… every time I think I'm getting used to being COO, something like this reminds me that I still have a long way to go."

"You're doing perfectly," Ethan replied, "just think of this as one of those sudden pop quizzes, but this time you've got your extremely smart boyfriend by your side."

Lillian chuckled at her words, though there was a blush on her face at the way he addressed himself.

"…Okay."

"Good girl."

"For now, just put the PR team on hold and don't accept any interviews." Ethan finished.

"Right… okay," she whispered, sounding far calmer than before. "Thank you."

"Mm. I'll handle the rest."

"…I know."