Chapter 97

Chapter 97:
“Do you mean it wasn’t Madilyn who did it? So someone else is behind this?”
Bettina stood up and paced back and forth in the living room. “They deliberately posted that at four o’clock in the morning. My brother works in the media, so he was one of the first to know about it. He tried calling me, but my phone was on vibrate. I didn’t realize he was trying to reach me. Then, he drove to my place. I only found out then. The news spread so fast that it’s now the top trending topic. My brother couldn’t take it down. He suspects whoever did this isn’t ordinary. Now both local and national networks are reporting on this mess. We’re screwed. What do we do?”
“It’s already half past six. I just checked the comments online, and they’re all hostile toward you,” Bettina kept fussing.
When she saw Candice take out her phone, she quickly stopped her and said, “Don’t look. You’ll only get upset.”
“I’ve read some of the comments already, Bettina,” Candice replied calmly.
“How about we expose your divorce?” Bettina suggested.
“I can’t even if I wanted to. Greyson used his connections with the court to delete all information about our divorce. No one can prove now that we’re divorced because only two divorce decrees remain, and they’re both in Greyson’s possession.”
Candice shook her head. “Besides, I haven’t gotten the patent yet. I won’t give up.”
“What? Do you mean…” Bettina raised her voice. “Greyson did that? What a jerk! Why would he do such a thing? Does he regret divorcing you or something? Why won’t he just let you go?”
“I don’t know.” Candice covered her face with her hands and moaned, “Bettina, my mind’s a mess right now, okay? I just want to be left alone.”
She ran her fingers through her hair in exasperation. She had been in a daze the whole weekend. She hadn’t fully processed what happened between her and Milton.
Milton hadn’t contacted her.
The yacht couldn’t sail because of the sudden typhoon, so it was reasonable that he hadn’t tried to talk to her.
Unexpectedly, Monday morning started on a sour note.
Somebody exposed her life story all over the Internet. It stirred up the whole city on the very first day of the new workweek.
As of this moment, the news had already reached many major media outlets.
Bettina grabbed Candice’s shoulders and said sharply, “Let’s go. We can’t just sit here and do nothing. I’ll take you to the Royal Garden Corporation before rush hour. We need to find Mr. Lopez and ask him to handle this. He must have a solution.”
After a pause, she added, “He’s involved in this somehow, so I’m sure he won’t stay out of it. Go change. Hurry up!”
Before Candice could react, Bettina was shoving her into the car.
Bettina drove like a madwoman all the way to the Royal Garden Corporation.
It wasn’t far, so they arrived quickly—just past seven o’clock. It was still early for work.
Although the typhoon had passed, it was still drizzling. Dark clouds filled the sky, blocking what little sunlight remained.
In contrast, the Royal Garden Corporation was brightly lit. Even at this early hour, a few employees were already entering the building.
Bettina dragged Candice, who was wearing a mask, into the lobby and cursed, “Shit! They must have called in the PR team early. I bet they’re already trying to do some damage control.”
Along the way, Candice had calmed down and said, “I really don’t want to see him, Bettina.”
“Well, who else can help? We have no choice. We have to deal with this now. It’s beyond me. We need Mr. Lopez,” Bettina snapped, practically tossing Candice into the elevator.
Soon, they reached the top floor.
When the elevator doors opened with a whirr, Bettina urged, “We’re done for if we don’t get rid of that hashtag by eight o’clock.”
At that moment, Bettina’s phone rang.
“It’s my brother. Hang on,” she muttered, pushing Candice toward the door of the meeting room next to Milton’s office.
Then she stepped into the corridor and answered the call.
The door to the meeting room was slightly ajar. Taking a step forward, Candice peeked through the crack and saw many people inside.
It was the public relations team of the Royal Garden Corporation.
From where she stood, she could overhear their discussion.
“You are all good for nothing. Why couldn’t you solve—”
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