Chapter 24
Pearl only took one week off from her medical team. As soon as she returned to her hotel after attending Nathaniel’s funeral, she immediately took out her laptop and began drafting a rebuttal article.
Her marriage and divorce certificates with Jonah, the timeline of Cecelia’s return to Ethria, her own pregnancy checkup records, and years‘ worth of chat logs with Nathaniel and Marlene—she laid out everything in meticulous detail.
Of course, there was also the key evidence that Sean had helped her obtain.
Fearing something might happen to her on the trip, Sean had also taken leave to return to Ethria with her.
Much to Pearl’s surprise, Sean even knew some hacking techniques. Upon arrival, he managed to track down the original source of those scandalous photos–Cecelia.
Pearl had always been a strong writer. She compiled all the evidence into a long, well–written article and published it early that morning from her personal account.
Within three hours, hashtags like #PearlWasWronged and #CecelialsTheRealHomewrecker shot up the trending list.
Even Logan from the nursing home posted a short video online to support her.
“Pearl is a good kid. She’s the only daughter–in–law Nathaniel Lawrence and his wife have ever acknowledged. Unfortunately, the online public was misled by bad actors. Not only did they hurt Pearl, but they also indirectly caused Nathaniel’s death…”
Once that video went live, the heat of the issue reached a new high.
Someone recognized Logan as a renowned agricultural expert who had long since retired. His influence carried serious weight.
Eventually, more and more people began sharing Pearl’s article.
Those who had once cursed her online instantly went quiet. People who had followed the hate campaign started sending her private messages to apologize.
Meanwhile, Cecelia’s comment section was flooded with curses.
“Now I know what a ‘two–faced bitch‘ looks like!”
“She pretends to be cool in public. Yet all the while, she’s scheming behind the scenes to steal someone’s husband and frame the real wife!” Even Jonah got dragged into the top trending hate list. People pieced together the timeline and started calling him out.
“What a scumbag! His own wife miscarried, and he was off caring for his pregnant mistress!”
“Absolutely disgusting. What kind of quality games could a company run by such an unethical person possibly make?”
“I’ve never thought I’d see someone give a family heirloom to the side chick and indirectly kill his own father. What a world–class bastard!” Jonah’s gaming company saw its market value plummet. The company immediately demanded that he make a public statement. However, faced with all the online backlash, Jonah didn’t even know where to begin. Everything they said was accurate, after all. He had, without a doubt, been an absolute scumbag.
In the end, Jonah addressed only two things during an interview.
“First, the child Cecelia was carrying wasn’t mine. It belonged to her ex–husband. You’re welcome to verify this on your own. “Second, I now know for certain–Ms. Pearl Hamilton is the love of my life. I just realized it far too late…”
Cecelia, watching the news from her hospital room, exploded in rage. She flung her phone onto the floor, smashing it into pieces. The nearby nurse, seeing she was throwing another tantrum, just plopped the food tray down and left without a word. “Hey! Come back! I paid for your services! Are you trying to get fired?” Cecelia shouted furiously, but the nurse merely ignored her. After all, Cecelia was no longer the glamorous influencer she used to be. Now, she was just a disabled woman, yelling into the void. The fall from the sixth floor almost took her life. Though she survived the rescue, she had lost the baby and both her legs. When she was told she would never walk again, Cecelia felt like death would have been a kinder fate.
She tried watching old videos of her former, radiant self. But every comment was now filled with insults and admonishment.
“Why? Why me?” she screamed as she pounded her numb, unresponsive legs in madness.
Just then, a deep male voice came from the door, “Cecelia… It’s been a while.”
She looked toward the source of the sound.
Standing at the door was a blond–haired man–her ex–husband, Johnson Smith. “You came to see me…”
Chapter 24
