Mr. Billionaire, I'm Back!

Chapter 37: Sarah Goes Viral

When Joanna heard her father's threat, she wanted to laugh out loud. Instead, though, she said, "You can do what you want, but if you do anything that affects my employment, you will have to return my initial one percent of the company."

When Robin heard this, he was speechless.

Joanna smirked and said, "You think about that before you do anything stupid," and then she left her father's home.

Once Joanna was gone, Susan looked at her husband. "Did she buy her promotion with company shares?" she asked.

Robin looked away, and in a firm tone of voice, he said, "I don't want to talk about it."

***

Once Joanna was in the car, she called Ben and told him to release the video of Sarah acting like a bully. He was confused and asked her why, and she told him about what Susan had done to Olivia.

"That's awful!" Ben exclaimed. "I'll go visit her in the hospital right away."

Joanna sighed and said, "I'm sorry, Ben, but I can't allow you to see her now. If Susan or Sarah saw you at the hospital, your life would be in danger. The best thing you can do now is to release that video. Can you do that?"

"I'll get right on it," Ben replied. "We will make those bastards pay!"

***

Sarah had been in a bad mood ever since Joanna beat her at the mall. Even after the hit on Olivia, her anger was not sated. She needed to hurt more people. It would be the only thing that would make her feel better, which was why she brought Marcion to the bar that night.

Marcion was young, naïve, and obedient. They had a few drinks, and then Sarah brought him to a nearby hotel. Little did she know, at the very moment that she was tightening the ball gag around Marcion's head, there was a video featuring her cruelty going viral on the internet.

Ben had also posted the pictures of Julie's face being hit and Austin being beaten to the ground along with the video. Below these, the comment sections were blowing up, as the images were being Liked and Shared.

Sarah was a famous person, as an actress, and as the daughter of Devine's president, which was why the video blew up as quickly as it did. After all, the only thing more exciting than a rising star is a falling star. And Julie and Austen's fans were coming after her like sharks to chum.

Within a matter of minutes, Sarah was trending on all of the social media. This had always been her dream, so there was some irony to the situation – though she would never see it that way. Even her die-hard fans began to turn against her. There were a few who defended her, those who said the video was a fake, and others who thought she was in the right, but they were in the minority.

***

In the hospital – Joanna knocked on the door to Julie's room and entered without waiting for a welcome. She looked at the bruises on Julie's face and the bandages all over her body, and said, "Miss Grey, how are you feeling?"

Julie frowned at the stranger. "Do I know you?" she asked.

Joanna laughed and said, "Not yet, but we have a lot in common and much to discuss, I think. My name is Joanna." She intentionally left out her surname. "It was Sarah Devine that did this to you, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about?" Julie replied. As of yet, she had no idea that there was a video online of what had happened, and she was wary of Joanna's motives.

Joanna smiled and pulled out her phone. "Let me show you something," she said, "and then we'll talk."

Julie's face turned white as Jonna pressed play. "Where did this video come from?" she asked. "And how many people have seen it?"

"I have my connections." Joanna chuckled as she checked her phone, and after a quick glance at the screen, she said, "So far, it's been seen by almost a million people. What Sarah did to you wasn't right, and the whole world is on your side. If you are interested in getting revenge, though, you will need some assistance, and I would like to be the one to give it to you - if you would allow me to. What do you think?"

"I could use the help," Julie admitted. "But what do you get out of it?"

Joanna laughed and said, "Trust me, I have my own hatchet to bury. Anyway, what other options do you have? Once Sarah sees this video, she will go crazy, and she'll want to come after you. You can count on that! I can't absolutely guarantee your safety, but if we work together, I will do my best to protect you, and I have the resources to help you get back at Sarah."

"What about Austin?" Julie asked.

Joanna: "He is already on board."

Julie thought for two seconds, and then she said, "Okay, I'm in!"

Joanna: "Good. Now that that's settled, my bodyguards will take you and Austen to another, safer hospital. Don't contact anyone until you have my say so."

Julie nodded and said, "Thank you."

***

At the Devine villa - Robin was having a rest in the parlor when he received a text message from his assistant. It said: "Mr. Devine, you need to go online and Google your daughter's name."

"What now?" Robin sighed as he launched the internet browser on his phone. He typed in his daughter's name, and the top result was a video titled "Sarah Devine Show's The World Who She Really Is."

Oh, crap! – thought Robin as he pressed play – This can't be good…

After watching this video, Robin was stunned. What he had seen was too much to process. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and took a few deep breaths to keep himself from having a panic attack. Once he was able to, he called Susan into the room and showed her the video. When it was done, she rubbed her worried husband's back and said, "Honey, this must be one of those Deep Fakes, like the pornos you're always watching. Our Sarah would definitely not do this kind of thing. Sarah is a kind girl. Besides that, why would she do this?"

Robin frowned and said, "That has to be the truth. It's a Deep Fake. It looks so real, though... But who would do such a thing?"

"I don't know," Susan replied. "Why don't you call her and see if you can get to the bottom of this?"

Robin nodded, picked up his phone, and dialed his daughter's number from memory. When she didn't pick up, he began to feel afraid. He turned to Susan and said, "She's not answering…"