Chapter 104
“What story?” he demanded.
Owen paused, realizing Lionel had been in meetings all morning and was completely unaware. He quickly handed his phone over, carefully scrolling to the comment section.
“Sir, I’ve had the team trying to suppress it, but someone is pouring money into keeping it trending. Every time we get it taken down, it pops right back up. They’re even recirculating the old stories, and there are accounts deliberately steering the conversation in the comments p>
Lionel’s gaze swept over the vitriol. Aside from the insults and threats to find Hannah, a vocal group was insisting that Sandra was his real wife. Both of their social media accounts had been dug up. Hannah’s was flooded with hate, while Sandra’s was filled with messages of support for the “wronged wife p>
“Double our efforts. Get it taken down,” he ordered, rubbing his temples as a dull ache began to throb. After a moment, he said, “Give me your burner phone. I need to call Hannah p>
Owen handed it over and left to carry out his orders.
Hannah had just finished a meeting when her phone rang. Seeing an unknown number, she ignored it.
“Whoa, Hannah, you’re trending!” Anna exclaimed as she walked over. “Everyone online is saying you’re the other woman. The comments are horrible p>
Hannah glanced at the phone Anna held out, scrolled through a few posts, and then sat down at her desk, completely unfazed. She gave a brief, clinical summary of what had happened, omitting the fact that she and Lionel were married.
“So, let me get this straight,” Anna said, arms crossed as she stared at her phone. “Sandra stole your case, couldn’t handle it, made her assistant take the fall and the set you up again by taking a fall Her brow furrowed. “Why is she so obsessed with you? She’s already married into a wealthy family. Wait… what if her husband is secretly in love with you, and that’s why she’s trying to destroy you p>
The comment hung in the air. Everyone in the office froze, their heads swiveling toward Hannah. They all remembered her mentioning a scumbag ex. Could it be Lionel Rosenberg?
Hannah calmly organized her files. “Or maybe it’s because I’m better at my job than she is. I outshined her at the firm, and then I refused to clean up her mess. The client came after her, and now she’s taking her anger out on me p>
She looked up at her colleagues, a small, wry smile on her face. “True or not, if weren’t good at my job, this scandal would have gotten me fired by now and ruined my career. Love has nothing to do with it. This is about her trying to destroy my professional life p>
The realization dawned on them. They all knew people who had been fired over online scandals before the truth ever came out. Even when they were eventually exonerated, the online mob rarely offered an apology.
“That reminds me of that story from a few years ago,” Anna mused, pulling up an old news article on her phone. A parent faked her daughter being abused by a teacher, smearing red ink on her clothes and claiming it
being abused ages and inst
was blood. The teacher was fired, and a doctor who pointed out it was just ink got harassed online into silence.” She shared the link in their group chat.
“My God,” someone gasped. “So you didn’t do anything wrong, but because she
felt humiliated, she deliberately set you up to ruin your entire life p>