C09
Online trolls were hired to attack the Gail Corporation’s reputation, flooding the comment sections with criticism. and insults. The company’s credibility was in shambles, facing an unprecedented crisis.
Business partners began stepping forward to terminate contracts, even
It meant paying hefty penalties.
Suppliers also stopped delivering raw materials, demanding an explanation from Corey before resuming operations.
It wasn’t a big city in this regard. Some companies hesitated to offend the Gail family, but no one dared to cross
the Sterlings. It was obvious that Sebastian was behind all of this.
I stared at the news on the screen, utterly baffled by Corey’s behavior. He transferred tens of millions to Jennie secretly for three years. Why was he acting so guarded now that he owned only half of a hotel’s stock?
stayed out of the nation for three years to play
imprisoned. Now, she’s finally cleared her
I had left; shouldn’t he be celebrating wildly with Jennie? Jenni her part in their little ruse, fearful that I would find she had never been name and regained her freedom, yet Corey isn’t throwing her a party.
What’s he hesitating for? Before I could figure it out, a phone call from back home broke my train of thought. I habitually pressed the answer button, but the second I heard that familiar voice on the other end, I panicked and hung up.
I blocked all domestic numbers, but Corey wasn’t ready to give up. Apology texts poured in, one after another, across international borders. At first, I would click on them to delete them, but I soon realized he was texting faster than I could clear them. So, I selected them all and deleted everything in one go.
When texting failed, he turned to email. In just an hour, my inbox was flooded with 99+ unread messages. The endless red notifications on the app gave me a splitting headache. Left with no choice, I uninstalled the app entirely, hoping to sever all ties with Corey.
Back in the country, Corey stared at his phone, his messages disappearing into the void without a trace. He was falling apart, almost on the verge of a breakdown.
His secretary stood in the office, drenched in cold sweat, holding a contract in hand. “Mr. Gail, maybe you should take a look at the contracts? The online backlash is getting out of hand. Several partners are threatening to terminate their deals. The company won’t survive like this-”
“Where is she?” Corey cut him off sharply.
The secretary froze. “Who?”
“The person I asked you to find!”
“Mr. Gail, I’ve tried my best. I’ve searched everywhere–hotels, train stations, every possible place she might’ve gone–but I couldn’t find any trace of her. With the company in this state, I couldn’t leave to search further!”
Corey didn’t look at him again. He snatched the keys from the desk and turned to go downstairs to the police station, but when he reported the case, the police searched the system for a long time but still found no leads.
“Mr. Gail, are you sure you have the correct information? Our records show that Mrs. Zettel’s identity has already
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4:11 PM
Loving a Liar
been deactivated. Without valid information, we can’t assist you in locating her.”
D
Deactivated? A thought struck him–that call she answered that morning. The next second, he pulled the police officer out the door.
When they arrived at the place where identity documents were canceled, the staff didn’t dare to be negligent when they saw the police. They hurriedly checked the new identity information Winona had obtained after canceling my previous one.
During this time, Jennie sent Corey several messages, but he didn’t even glance at them. He hit delete. The police noticed his unstable demeanor and advised him to stay calm, but Corey was pacing back and forth, visibly on
edge.
Once the new information was retrieved, he took a photo and sent it to his secretary. Within ten minutes, he had the details of Winona’s flight.
