Chapter 3
677 Words
I recognized this commenter's ID—it belonged to Jessie's assistant.
The two of them played off each other, setting up the stage and acting out the show for the fans to watch.
And those fans all followed along blindly. In their eyes, I had already become a vicious capitalist who cornered the innocent.
It seemed no one even cared to find out what the actual truth was.
I didn't really care what they said, but my company could not be affected by this mob.
Luckily, our company acted fast.
Jessie and Jacob's livestream hadn't even ended yet. All the well-organized evidence and the lawyer's letter bearing the official seal of a top law firm had already been posted to our company's official account.
Scattered comments calling them out started popping up in their livestream chat.
The messages were scrolling by too fast.
I only caught one comment.
B: [No wonder they're actors, they really know how to put on a show!]
Shortly after, Jessie and Jacob abruptly ended their stream.
Right after their livestream ended, I got a call from Jacob.
But I didn't answer it.
I set my phone aside and stared blankly at the photograph on my desk.
The photo had faded somewhat over time, but the person in it was smiling brightly.
"Claire, what the hell are you doing?"
This was the man who swore he'd cut all ties with me. Now he had burst into my villa and made a beeline straight for my study.
When he stopped at the study door, he hadn't even taken off his face mask and hat yet.
He looked just like a burglar.
Though that was on me—I'd come home so distracted that I'd forgotten to delete his fingerprint from the lock.
"Nothing much. Just doing what you asked—cutting ties," I said.
I calmly put the photo away on my desk and lifted my eyes to look at him.
"Delete that statement right now, and post an apology both in writing and on video! Jessie and I are getting screwed over because of you. Do you have to pick now, of all times, to cause trouble? If you want something, just say it!"
Now he was acting all tough, wasn't he?
I pulled up the photo that had been dug up online—the one of him in a white shirt, dark red stains all over his chest.
Then I turned the laptop around so he could see it.
"You remember this photo, don't you? This man is notorious in this industry for being a scumbag. When he poured red wine down your chest, everyone there knew exactly what he meant. But you needed the resources back then, so you were willing to take that humiliation. If it weren't for me..."
Before I could finish my sentence, Jacob strode forward and slammed the laptop onto the floor.
"Claire!"
He gritted out my name through clenched teeth.
It was a world away from how he used to cling to me, calling my name in that sweet, cloying way.
"I can understand you wanting to leave that humiliating past behind you. And I never intended to air all our dirty laundry in the first place. It's just that you and Jessie are too impatient."
I didn't wait for Jacob to say anything more and called in the bodyguards to escort him out.
Before he left, Jacob threw all decorum to the wind and cursed loudly at me.
Public opinion online flipped completely overnight.
After all, the evidence—the money I'd poured into him, the resources I'd handed him—was rock-solid and undeniable.
Jacob's reputation collapsed even faster than the stocks I'd bought that had hit their limit.
However, he still stubbornly refused to admit he was wrong, playing the victim online and soothing the fans who believed in him without question.
That was why I never expected to see him in my company's meeting room.
"Ms. Roberts, they got in early this morning using the fingerprint we recorded for Jacob back then."
- Writer
