Chapter 231: Testing Limits
Franz woke up and reached for his phone before he opened his eyes.
Today was the day. Arianne was supposed to come back.
The bed was cold on the left side. It had been cold for over a week. The pillow still smelled faintly of her shampoo, but the scent was fading. He had stopped pressing his face into it at night. That had made it worse.
He unlocked his phone. A text from Arianne. Sent late last night.
Massive delay on my end. Weather, logistics, everything. Won’t make it today. Looking at 3-5 more days. I’m sorry.
Franz stared at the screen. Read it twice. Three times.
He typed back: Don’t apologize. Just get home safe.
Then he set the phone down and lay there. The ceiling was white. The room was quiet. The empty space beside him felt bigger than it had yesterday.
The twins were already at the kitchen table with Aunt Estella. Lily was talking. Something about what she wanted to show Arianne first. Her drawing. The new puzzle. The dinosaur that roared when you pressed its belly.
Leo was eating his cereal. The whale was on the table next to his bowl. He didn’t hold it during meals anymore. Not since the second day after Arianne left. But he kept it close.
Franz sat down. Poured coffee. Watched the steam rise.
Lily noticed. "Uncle Franz. You look weird."
He put his phone on the table. "Aunt Aria isn’t coming today."
Lily’s spoon stopped halfway to her mouth. Cereal dripped back into the bowl.
"What?"
"There’s a delay. Weather. She said three to five more days."
Lily put her spoon down. Her face didn’t crumple. It just fell. The happiness drained out of it. Her shoulders dropped. Her chin tucked in.
"But she promised."
"She didn’t promise. She said she would try."
"Same thing."
"It’s not."
Leo hadn’t moved. His spoon was in his bowl. His eyes were on Franz. Then he looked at the whale. He picked it up. Held it against his chest with both hands. His knuckles went white.
Franz reached across the table and touched Leo’s hand. "She’s coming back. Just not today."
Leo didn’t nod. Didn’t type. Just held the whale.
Lily crossed her arms. Her bottom lip pushed out. "I’m not drawing her anything anymore."
Franz almost smiled. "Yes you are."
"Fine. But I’m not happy about it."
"That’s fair."
Aunt Estella set a plate of toast in front of Franz. She didn’t say anything. Just put her hand on his shoulder for a moment, then went back to the stove.
Franz left the twins with Aunt Estella and went to his study. Closed the door. Sat at his desk. Stared at the wall.
Then he opened his phone.
News alerts. Missed calls from Daryll. Texts from Monica.
"Who Is Noah Hart’s Mystery Woman? Corporate Raider or Gold Digger?"
"Arianne Summers’ Troubled Past: Fired from Her Own Company."
"Insiders Claim Summers Is Using Hart for Fame and Money."
He opened a gossip site. The comments section was worse. People who had never met Arianne were calling her names.
She’s using him.
Noah can do better.
She probably paid a PR firm.
Franz’s jaw tightened. His hand gripped the phone. The edge of the case pressed into his palm.
Arianne wasn’t even here. She was stuck somewhere. Dealing with work. Probably exhausted. And she couldn’t defend herself because she didn’t know this was happening.
He called Daryll.
Daryll answered on the second ring. His voice was tight. "You saw the news."
"I saw it."
"Miranda’s camp is pushing hard. I’ve been on the phone all morning."
"Then we push back harder."
A pause. Daryll’s breathing was loud in the receiver. "You said you wanted to wait. Let them look desperate."
Franz’s voice came out calm. Too calm. "I changed my mind. Arianne isn’t even here to defend herself. They’re calling her a gold digger."
"I know. I read the comments."
"Then you know why I’m done waiting."
"What do you want to do?"
"Two things. First, I remind everyone who Noah Hart is. Second, Rochefort Group issues a warning. Arianne is a private citizen. She has legal rights."
Daryll was quiet for a moment. "You want to use the company."
"She runs the company. The company protects its own."
"The board might not like that."
"I don’t care what the board likes. Get Monica. I’ll be at your office in an hour."
He hung up before Daryll could answer.
The drive to Daryll’s office took forty minutes. Traffic crawled. Franz sat in the car with both hands on the wheel. His mind was quiet. Not empty. Just focused.
He thought about the calls he was going to make. The favors he was going to cash in. He had been in this industry for over a decade. He had made a lot of people a lot of money. Now it was time for them to pay him back.
Monica was already in Daryll’s office. Her laptop was open. Her notebook on the table. Three pens lined up. She looked nervous.
Daryll closed the door behind Franz.
Franz didn’t sit. He stood at the head of the table. Hands in his pockets.
"No more waiting. No more letting them talk."
Daryll nodded. He was leaning against his desk, arms crossed. "What’s the play?"
"Two tracks. Track one: I handle the entertainment side. Kill the stories. Make Miranda’s team regret starting this. Track two: Rochefort Group issues a statement. Defamation has consequences. Legal action is on the table."
Monica’s pen was already moving.
"I can draft something from you," she said. "Short. No attacks. Just facts."
"Good." Franz looked at Daryll. "I need you to get the legal team at Rochefort Group on the phone. Tell them Franz Rochefort is asking. Not Noah Hart."
Daryll’s eyebrows went up. "You’re using the family name."
"I’m using every name I have."
Franz made the first call from Daryll’s office phone. He didn’t want to use his cell. He wanted this to feel official.
A woman answered. She ran one of the biggest entertainment news outlets in the city.
"It’s Noah Hart."
Her voice changed. Got softer. "Noah. I was wondering when you’d call."
"The stories about me and Miranda Kline. The ones attacking Arianne Summers. I want them gone."
A pause. "That’s a lot of stories. Different outlets."
"I don’t care. Kill them. All of them."
"And if I can’t?"
Franz’s voice didn’t change. "Then I call your competitor. And I tell them you had the chance to fix this and you didn’t. They get the exclusive on my next project. You get nothing."
Another pause. Longer.
"I’ll see what I can do."
"Don’t see. Do. And tell your competitors the same thing. If they run anything defamatory about Arianne Summers, they never get access to me again. No interviews. No premieres. Nothing. That bridge stays burned."
He hung up.
Monica was staring at him. Daryll was staring at the phone.
Franz didn’t wait. He made the second call.
Simon answered on the fourth ring. Annoyed. "Yeah."
"Simon."
The annoyance disappeared. "Noah. Been seeing your face everywhere."
"I have a project coming up. Big one. You want in?"
A pause. Franz could hear Simon breathing. "What’s the catch?"
"Miranda Kline is attached to three upcoming features. I want her dropped from two of them."
Simon laughed. Not happy. "You want me to drop an A-list actress because of some gossip?"
"I want you to drop her because I’m asking. And because I’m offering you first look at my next three projects."
Simon was quiet. Franz could imagine him doing the math.
"Which two?"
"The ones that aren’t already in production. The ones still casting."
"That’s still going to cost me."
"That’s the cost of doing business with me."
Another pause. Then Simon sighed. "Fine. I’ll make some calls."
"You do that."
Franz hung up.
He set the phone down on Daryll’s desk. His hand was steady. He looked at it for a second, surprised.
The third call was to his personal lawyer. Brent answered on the first ring.
"Brent. Cease and desist. Miranda Kline’s management team. Anyone spreading false information about Arianne Summers. Aggressive language. I don’t care if it holds up in court. I want them to see it. End of day."
"Done by four."
Franz hung up.
Daryll handed him a secure line. "Rochefort Group legal is on hold. Chief legal counsel."
Franz took the phone. "Lucas."
"Franz. What do I need to know?"
"I need a formal statement released today. Under Rochefort Group letterhead."
"What kind of statement?"
Franz dictated. His voice flat. No emotion. Just words.
"Arianne Summers is a private citizen and an executive of this corporation. She has the right to pursue legal action against any individual or organization making defamatory statements about her character or professional history. Rochefort Group fully supports her in protecting her reputation. Further false statements will be met with appropriate legal recourse."
Lucas was quiet. "You want us to threaten legal action on behalf of an executive?"
"I want you to remind people that defamation has consequences. Arianne isn’t a public figure. She didn’t ask for any of this. The company has a duty to protect its executives."
"I’ll need approval from the Chairman."
"Father will approve it. Call him if you need to. But get it done."
He hung up.
Monica spoke for the first time since the calls started. Her voice was steady, but her hands were shaking a little.
"I tracked the sources. The leaks are coming from three specific accounts. All connected to Miranda’s PR firm. Same IP range. Same posting patterns. I have screenshots and timestamps."
Franz looked at her. "How did you get that?"
"I have contacts. People who owe me favors." She shrugged. "I had time."
"Good work. Save everything. If they keep pushing, we release it."
She pushed her laptop toward him. "I also drafted a statement for you. As Noah Hart."
Franz read: "I am aware of the rumors circulating about my personal life. The woman in question is someone I respect. The attacks on her character are false and unacceptable. I will not comment further, but I will not tolerate defamation."
He nodded. "Send it to Daryll. Release it tomorrow morning. Not tonight. Let the cease and desist land first. Let them sweat."
Franz got home late afternoon. The light was already fading. Gray sky. Bare trees.
He stood in the hallway for a moment before going to find them. The house was quiet. The anger had burned off somewhere on the drive home and left something quieter behind. He wasn’t sure what to call it. He let it settle.
He found the twins in the playroom.
Lily was at the table, but she wasn’t drawing. Just sitting there, staring at her crayons. The lion was half-finished. The orange crayon was on the floor. The purple one was in her hand, but she wasn’t using it.
Leo was on the floor. The puzzle pieces were scattered. Some upside down. The whale was in his lap. His hands were still.
Franz sat on the floor next to Leo. "Hey."
Lily looked up. Her voice was small. "Is Aunt Aria really not coming?"
"Not today. A few more days."
"How many?"
"Three to five."
Lily picked up a crayon. Looked at it. Put it back down. "That’s too many."
"I know."
Leo picked up his tablet. Typed slowly. Hesitated. Deleted. Typed again. Turned the screen toward Franz.
DID SHE FORGET US?
Franz’s chest hurt. He breathed anyway. It didn’t help.
He had spent the whole day burning things down for her. Making calls. Spending favors. Using every name he had. And still Leo was sitting on this floor, holding the whale, asking the same question
He reached over and put his hand on Leo’s shoulder. The boy was small under his palm.
"No. She didn’t forget you. There’s weather where she is. Planes can’t fly. Roads are bad. She’s stuck. That’s all."
Leo stared at the screen for a long moment. His eyes were wet.
Then he typed again.
OKAY.
He put the tablet down. Picked up the whale. Held it tighter.
Franz ruffled Leo’s hair. Leo didn’t pull away.
Lily got up from the table. Walked to Franz and climbed into his lap. Heavy. Warm. She didn’t say anything. Just sat there with her head against his chest.
After a moment, she spoke. "Uncle Franz."
"Mm."
"Can we call her?"
"She’s probably sleeping. Different time zone."
"Then can we leave her a message?"
Franz pulled out his phone. Opened Arianne’s contact. Handed it to Lily.
Lily held it like something breakable. Thought for a moment. Her thumb hovered.
Then she pressed record.
"Aunt Aria. We miss you. Leo has the whale. I drew you a lion but it’s not finished because you were supposed to come home today. Come back soon. Okay? Bye."
She handed the phone back.
Leo reached for it. Franz gave it to him. Leo typed with one hand, the whale still pressed against his chest with the other. His thumb moved slowly.
Then he handed it back.
Franz looked at the screen. Leo had typed: THE WHALE MISSES YOU TOO.
He sent the message.
Then he called Arianne. Not to talk. Just to let her know they were thinking about her. It went to voicemail. He didn’t leave a message. Just let the call connect and end.
He sat there on the floor, Lily in his lap, Leo beside him with the whale. The house was quiet. The light was almost gone.
Three to five more days.