Wed To The Forbidden Uncle

CH 20

Mercy found the embroidery pattern on the dress quite unique. Esther had mentioned that a friend bought it for her while filming in Su City, claiming it was a one-of-a-kind piece.

Now, it seemed that the friend she mentioned was likely Zachary. But why did Cathy have the same dress?

Pondering this, Mercy decided to screenshot the post and send it to Esther.

Esther: [Haha, serves her right for matching outfits with me!]

Mercy: ...What a fool.

She decided to call her directly.

"Hey, Mercy, what's up?" Esther asked, sounding a bit puzzled.

"Star, didn't you say that dress was bought for you by your boyfriend in Su City? So why does Cathy have the exact same one? And she posted such strange comments. I'm worried..." Mercy trailed off.

Even though it could be a coincidence, the day's events made her think otherwise.

"Hahaha, are you worried that Zachary is cheating with Cathy? Oh, come on, Zachary loves me a lot. Besides, Cathy isn't nearly as pretty as I am. Only a fool would choose her! Don't worry, Mercy~"

Esther, ever carefree, ended up comforting Mercy instead.

Mercy couldn't help but smile wryly, "Alright, I hope I'm just overthinking. Get some sleep."

"Okay, okay, goodnight."

...

The next day, with no classes scheduled, Mercy decided to slack off at her uncle's company. Suddenly, a news alert popped up on her phone: "Landon Family Heiress in Scandal with Popular Star."

Mercy's eyes widened as she clicked on the link and sure enough, it was about Esther Landon.

The story broke early in the morning when a paparazzo released a piece of news. The headline read, "Young Actor with Last Name Chu Spends Passionate Night with Unknown Woman."

The article included two somewhat blurry GIFs showing Zachary entering a hotel room, followed by a woman a little later. Unfortunately, the woman was wearing a hat, obscuring her face.

The comments section was buzzing with speculation. Some were shocked, while others saw it as an opportunity to stir the pot.

Then, a sharp-eyed netizen noticed that although the woman wore a long trench coat, the fabric peeking out from underneath looked suspiciously like the cheongsam Cathy had posted a picture of the night before.

Since both were currently filming in the same production, it wasn't impossible for romance to bloom on set. People then recalled the caption Cathy had used with her photo, which now seemed to carry a hidden meaning.

However, Cathy quickly denied the rumors, stating she had been with her friend all night. Her friend backed her up, even posting their movie ticket stubs from that evening.

Cathy warned that if anyone continued to spread false rumors, she would send a cease-and-desist letter.

The identity of the mystery woman in the photos became a hot topic, but Zachary's hotel rendezvous was undeniable. He had been gaining popularity thanks to a role in a famous director's project, but this scandal threatened to derail his career.

Just when it seemed like things couldn't get more complicated, a new twist emerged. A media outlet released a photo of Esther wearing that same cheongsam.

An account named "Entertainment Late Night" posted a lengthy article detailing how Miss Esther Landon had been trying to win over Zachary for the past two years, even hinting that she attempted to use her influence to manipulate him.

Once the article was published, Zachary, who had been silent like a turtle hiding in its shell, finally spoke up. Zachary V: Esther is indeed an obsessive fan of mine and has harassed me multiple times. Yesterday, she followed me into a hotel suite, but I managed to get her out. I've already talked to her about it, and I hope everyone can forgive her.

What a clever move to shift the blame.

Although their statements were full of holes, Mercy noticed that after these messages were released, there seemed to be hired online commentators influencing public opinion, which was now overwhelmingly sympathetic towards Zachary and condemning Esther as a crazed fan. Meanwhile, Cathy had already distanced herself from the situation.

Mercy quickly called Esther.

The phone rang for a long time before it was finally answered.

"Hello, Mercy..." Esther's voice was filled with helplessness, like a lost kitten abandoned by the world.

"Star, where are you?" Mercy's voice was gentle.

"Grandpa was so upset he ended up in the hospital... Everything's a mess at home... I-I’m too scared to go to the hospital..." Esther's words were jumbled and frantic.

Mercy sighed softly and continued to soothe her, "Sweetie, send me your location. I'll come find you. Don't hang up; I'll stay on the line with you."

"Uncle," she looked up at Dexter.

The man had just learned about the situation online. "Go ahead, I've already asked Gavin to wait for you in the car downstairs."

"Uncle, I'll be back soon."

Mercy comforted Esther as they made their way downstairs.

An hour later, Esther was wrapped in a blanket, sitting in Dexter's office with a cup of hot cocoa that Mercy had made for her. Just a day ago, Esther had been full of energy, but now she looked completely deflated. Mercy felt an urge to find the culprits and give them a good thrashing.

"Esther, didn't you go home last night? Otherwise, how could your parents not know the person in the picture wasn't you?" Mercy asked, puzzled.

"I..." Esther hesitated. "After dropping you off, I was too lazy to take the long way home, so I went to the apartment I bought near school. Zachary knows about it."

Mercy continued, "Did you see anyone when you got back? Or is there any surveillance in your neighborhood?"

Esther looked even more dejected. "There was a power outage in my neighborhood last night and even the security guard went to help fix it. I was lying in bed in the dark when I called you."

Mercy thought to herself, why do all the unlucky things have to happen at once? And why was the security guard fixing the power instead of watching the gate?

It seemed they couldn't rely on that for help. The key now was to prove Esther wasn't there last night or that someone else was in the picture. Simply trying to remove the trending topic, like the Landon family did before, would only make people more suspicious.

Mercy grabbed her laptop, opened a page and her fingers flew over the keyboard. Lines of code flashed across the screen, making it hard to follow.

Esther watched, feeling impressed even though she didn't understand what was happening.

Dexter silently observed Mercy's skilled operation. He had suspected that Mercy had some secrets, but he hadn't realized her computer skills were this impressive. She seemed like a treasure chest, inviting people to explore her depths.

In just a few minutes, Mercy finished her work. "All done," she announced.

The screen displayed all the surveillance footage from the hotel last night. Mercy went through each clip carefully until she finally spotted something suspicious.

Even though the woman kept her head down with a fisherman's hat, some of the cameras managed to capture most of her face. Just from that sharp chin alone, Mercy knew exactly who it was.