Chapter 18 - The Media Smear Campaign And The Public Outrage
The crisp,
cool,
refreshing autumn morning air felt incredibly,
strangely,
unusually heavy,
stifling,
and completely oppressive as I walked slowly,
cautiously,
carefully out to my small,
metal mailbox at the end of the long,
paved driveway.
I pulled out the daily,
thick,
local newspaper,
unrolling it casually,
routinely,
normally,
only to feel my entire,
beating heart violently,
aggressively,
suddenly drop completely,
terrifyingly into the dark,
empty pit of my nervous stomach.
My own face,
captured in a highly unflattering,
harsh,
angry,
aggressive photograph taken during a highly stressful,
dangerous arrest years ago,
was plastered massively,
prominently,
inescapably across the entire,
front,
center page.
The massive,
bold,
black,
screaming headline read cruelly,
maliciously,
falsely:
"CORRUPT COP OR PROTECTIVE MOTHER?
THE SHOCKING,
TWISTED,
DARK TRUTH BEHIND THE STERLING FAMILY KIDNAPPING SCANDAL."
My hands shook violently,
uncontrollably,
furiously as I quickly,
desperately,
frantically scanned the incredibly long,
highly detailed,
completely fabricated,
malicious article printed beneath the horrible,
damaging photograph.
Arthur Sterling had apparently,
quietly,
secretly,
ruthlessly purchased a massive,
controlling,
powerful financial stake in the large,
influential,
local media conglomerate,
using his immense,
staggering,
unlimited wealth to completely,
totally control the public,
social narrative.
The terribly biased,
horribly twisted,
incredibly deceptive article painted Daniel,
my daughter's incredibly abusive,
greedy,
pathetic,
criminal ex-husband,
as a tragic,
misunderstood,
innocent victim of a highly orchestrated,
massive,
malicious police conspiracy.
It falsely,
boldly,
outrageously claimed that I had personally,
illegally,
intentionally fabricated all the undeniable,
concrete,
recorded evidence of the kidnapping in the shed,
abusing my powerful,
authoritative police position to maliciously,
cruelly ruin a wealthy,
prominent,
respected family merely out of deep,
petty,
financial jealousy.
"This is completely,
absolutely,
totally insane,"
I whispered angrily,
furiously,
horrified,
crushing the thick,
cheap,
disgusting newspaper tightly,
violently in my shaking,
furious fists.
The malicious,
expensive,
highly coordinated smear campaign did not simply,
only stop at the printed,
physical newspapers.
When I walked slowly,
nervously,
anxiously back into the quiet,
warm house,
I saw Emily sitting frozen,
terrified,
absolutely paralyzed in front of the glowing,
bright television screen in the cozy living room.
A highly polished,
incredibly slick,
massively funded,
fake documentary-style investigative report was playing loudly,
prominently,
aggressively on the major,
popular local news channel.
The biased,
paid,
corrupt news anchors were discussing highly fabricated,
invented,
fake rumors about Emily's new,
hard-earned,
prestigious hospital promotion,
heavily,
maliciously implying that she had illegally,
immorally slept with hospital executives to falsely,
unfairly secure the important,
critical Head Charge Nurse position.
Emily was sobbing quietly,
softly,
heartbreakingly,
her face buried deeply,
painfully,
desperately in her small,
trembling hands,
her entire,
fragile world completely,
utterly crashing down around her once again.
"They are completely,
ruthlessly,
systematically destroying everything we ever worked for,
Mom,"
Emily cried loudly,
despairingly,
hopelessly,
looking up at me with large,
swollen,
red,
tear-filled eyes.
"My dedicated,
hardworking nursing staff is suddenly,
noticeably,
painfully looking at me incredibly differently today,
whispering quietly,
secretly behind my back,
believing every single,
disgusting,
fake word this terrible,
evil man broadcasts on the television."
I rushed quickly,
urgently,
lovingly to her side,
pulling her tightly,
securely,
fiercely into a massive,
comforting,
protective embrace,
feeling an unprecedented,
dangerous,
lethal level of pure,
maternal rage entirely,
completely consume my reasoning,
logical mind.
Arthur Sterling was a complete,
absolute,
terrifying monster,
a man who truly,
arrogantly believed that his massive,
staggering,
endless supply of cold,
hard cash allowed him to freely,
easily,
effortlessly rewrite undeniable,
historical truth.
He wanted us to feel completely,
totally,
absolutely isolated,
hated,
despised,
and totally rejected by the beautiful,
supportive,
quiet community we had sworn to help,
protect,
and serve.
I grabbed the heavy,
plastic television remote,
clicking the loud,
annoying,
corrupt screen completely,
suddenly off,
plunging the cozy,
small room back into peaceful,
quiet,
calm silence.
"Listen to me incredibly carefully,
Emily,"
I stated firmly,
loudly,
powerfully,
my voice carrying absolute,
unwavering,
unbreakable,
iron conviction.
"Lies are incredibly fast,
extremely loud,
and massively expensive to maintain,
but the undeniable,
pure,
absolute truth is incredibly patient,
highly resilient,
and entirely,
completely free."
I wiped the wet,
salty,
sad tears from her beautiful,
pale,
soft cheeks,
my mind rapidly,
strategically,
brilliantly formulating the final,
ultimate,
devastating counter-attack against the evil,
untouchable billionaire.
"He has confidently,
arrogantly,
foolishly exposed himself completely,
entirely by stepping out from the dark,
invisible shadows to launch this highly public,
massive smear campaign,"
I explained fiercely,
darkly,
a cold,
calculated,
lethal determination settling heavily,
solidly into my tired bones.
"He thinks he is completely,
totally hunting us,
but he just accidentally,
arrogantly gave my powerful,
secret federal allies exactly,
precisely what they deeply,
desperately needed to finally,
legally track his massive,
May you like
dirty,
illegal money trail."
