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Henry knew Winnie all too well. She was a total troublemaker. He worried that if Winnie got wind of what he was thinking, it would just stir up a whole lot of unnecessary drama. So he smiled and said, “I was just asking out of curiosity. Does that mean I have a thing for her?”
Winnie let out a mocking laugh, her eyes glinting with mischief. ‘Seriously? He thinks I’d buy that?”
“Oh, really? Then how come you’ve never come to me asking about any other girls before?”
She added, “If you like Marina, I can totally help you. We were classmates from elementary to middle school. I know her better than anyone.”
Henry smiled and said, “Winnie, I really don’t like her that way. It’s just that my factory’s been working with the Finley Group lately, so I wanted to learn a bit more about her. Plus, it’s been a while since you two caught up, so I guess you’re not really up to date on her. I’ve got other things to take care of, so I’ve got to go now.”
With that, Henry was about to end the call. But Winnie’s voice came through the phone, drawled and full of arrogance. “Your parents‘ factory is on the verge of collapse, and now you’re just scraping by on rental income. Seriously, what could you possibly be so busy with?”
She added, “Henry, just because the Finley Group’s fortunes have picked up a bit doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. Everything you have now comes from the Gill family. Don’t go betting on the wrong horse.” With that, Winnie hung up, not giving Henry a chance to say another word.
Henry gripped his phone so tight his knuckles turned white, fuming inwardly at Winnie’s words. But the worst part was, she was right. Every project he had going was thanks to the Gill family’s backing. If Winnie ended up inheriting everything, he’d never get out from under her shadow.
Winnie got a kick out of humiliating anyone beneath her. If she ever came out on top, Henry knew his life would be a living nightmare.
A lot of folks in the Gill family were already getting pushed around by Winnie, and everyone was hoping Winnie would screw up big time, so the elders would finally drop the whole idea of letting her inherit the family business.
Henry’s assistant sat in the front seat, listening to the whole exchange between Henry and Winnie, barely daring to breathe. Winnie was just as arrogant as ever. She never had any respect for Henry, just because he was a branch family member. After Henry hung up, his face was stiff. The assistant kept quiet the whole time, not daring to say a word.
Later that night, news about Lavern’s case suddenly started popping up all over the internet. Pretty soon, the narrative online started to shift. People began saying that Lavern had been set up by his girlfriend and ended up behind bars because of her.
Even more, a bunch of folks started coming forward, claiming to be Lavern’s friends or classmates, vouching for the story.
Ross Group was making waves in Sicester, but that year, they suddenly went quiet. Naturally, people started sensing something fishy was going on.
People online would eat up conspiracy theories. So as soon as this topic dropped, the whole internet blew up with
discussions.
Marina’s name never surfaced in any of the leaks. But soon, people online got curious and started snooping, trying to uncover the identity of Lavern’s ex–girlfriend.
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Chapter 469
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Shockingly, even Marina and Lavern’s wedding photos somehow got leaked and started circulating all over the internet. As soon as those wedding photos hit the internet, Daron’s team went into full–on damage control mode.
Still, a handful of people managed to catch a glimpse of Marina and Lavern’s wedding pics before they got scrubbed. The way the comments were being steered made netizens think Marina really traded up, ditched Lavern, and even framed him to get him thrown in jail.
Carrie, who’d been off the radar for ages, suddenly went live and started sobbing online about how Lavern got screwed over. All the hate was piling onto Marina,
When Marina saw all the drama blowing up online, she didn’t even bat an eye. Her face was totally calm, like none of it could touch her. Back when she was still in Sicester, the whole thing with Lavern had already blown up online for a while, even if it was on a small scale.
Meanwhile, Daron didn’t waste a second. He called Marina as soon as he saw the rumors. “Marina, I’ve got this. Don’t worry,” his voice was reassuring.
Hearing his voice, Marina couldn’t help but feel at ease. “Mm,” she replied softly, “I know.”
She wasn’t fazed at all by the online gossip. She had enough proof to silence all those voices if she wanted to. But the way all the hate exploded, so concentrated and all at once, felt like a coordinated takedown.
Whoever was behind this wanted to stomp her out for good, or maybe they were trying to use the wave of public opinion to get Lavern’s sentence reduced.
Yara definitely didn’t have the clout to blow this up on her own, and Winnie had been too busy with the family business, getting groomed by her family elders. She wouldn’t risk stirring up trouble at a time like this.
Marina’s mind flashed to a name. ‘Could it be Joyce?‘
She remembered the look Joyce had given her that day at the entrance of Zamora Group, and the only person she’d pissed off lately was probably her.
The Milner Family definitely had the clout to pull something like this off. But this time, things were blowing up way too much. Perhaps it wasn’t just the Milner Family pulling the strings. Whoever was running the show at Zamora Group was probably mixed up in this, too.
Marina never wanted to drag Daron into all the drama with Lavern. She rubbed her temples, trying to mask how tired she felt, then fished out her phone and dialed a number.
“You still haven’t forgiven Lavern for screwing you over, have you? Well, now’s your shot at payback. If you do this right, you could blow up online. Maybe even kick off your own streaming career.”
Shawna sounded super hyped when she heard Marina calling. Her voice was trembling with excitement. “Ms. Finley, what do you want me to do?” she asked, barely able to contain herself.
Marina’s lips curled into a cold smile, an eerie glint flashing in her eyes. “It’s time to put those photos you kept to use. Drop a teaser first, then go live on Live4U at midnight,” she ordered.
Shawna paused for a few seconds, sounding confused. “Why do you want me to stream on Live4U?” she asked, “Wouldn’t it get way more attention if I went live on one of the big platforms instead?”
Marina sat on the couch, her right hand cradling a glass of water. She took a slow sip, her voice calm as she spoke, “Because Zamora Group has a stake there. If you stream on Live4U, it’ll be safer, and no one will ban your account.”
Live4U was a live video platform Elnora had launched about six months ago. After some steady promotion, it was finally starting to make a name for itself.
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Chapter 469
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If Shawna tried to speak out on the big platforms, her posts would probably get buried and never reach the public. At that moment, everyone online was hungry for drama, and those gossip junkies would definitely follow the trail.
This was the perfect chance to give Live4U a free boost and rack up some downloads. Plus, those would be actual, living, breathing users.
Shawna’s eyes sparkled with delight, and she said cagerly, “Thank you, Ms. Finley. Don’t worry, I’ll drop a bombshell, expose them so hard they’ll never dare crawl back into your life again!”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
