They thought he was just a rising name. He was hunting for a gun.

” Soon after, an anonymous email hit a dozen finance reporters, copied to Darren and Vera, claiming that his Everpoint short had relied on “potentially material nonpublic information” and implying he had built his name through gray channels. There was no evidence. Just shadow. Shadow was enough to make some people step back. Matt slapped a printout of the email onto the table. “They’re trying to shove you into a black box.” “Not trying,” Darren said, checking the header data. “Already started.” Lucy looked up from her screen. “The sender bounced through a relay and landed at a PR contractor. Either this is amateurish smear work or somebody hired a half-finished operation.”