Chapter 104 Rhea's Pov “A… Alaric?” Ginny repeated, “Alaric is on his way here. He said he was going to take some time on his way because he had a business meeting to attend before coming.” Woah! I knew this but Ginny is really a professional at telling lies. Alaric was in a business meeting? “Alaric? Alaric Vale? He's your date to the party?” “Is it the Alaric Vale I'm thinking about?!” People started murmuring again. Ginny nodded, “Yes. He'll be here in a few minutes. He already texted me that he's on his way. So… Ah!” She winced again, touching her head, “I'm sorry, but I have to rest for a while.” Ginny looked pale so her claim of pain was believable. I glanced at Marcus and he nodded, at one point, those three men had been taken away. I turned to the crowd with a radiant smile. “Let’s not let filth ruin the night, shall we? Go on, everyone. Eat. Drink. Dance. Celebrate. I’ll be back shortly, I need to change into something a little less… courtroom drama. At the end of my
Chapter 103 Rhea's Pov The doors at the back of the hall swung open with a heavy thud, drawing every eye in the room. Kenneth, Lennox and Doyle were escorted inside, flanked by two security guards each. Gasps filled the air. They looked terrible. Since it's only been a few hours after I had subconsciously beaten them up at the hotel, they weren't all healed yet. It didn't help that Alaric also added a bit of suffering and pain into the mix. Their clothes were torn at the edges, and blood was crusted over one of their temples. Doyle had a limp, Kenneth had both arms cuffed behind his back and Lennox could barely lift his head. The moment they stepped foot into the hall, the silence cracked, reporters surged forward, their cameras flashing, questions flying from all directions. “Are these the men in the video?!” “Who sent you?!” “Why did you try to assault the future CEO of Thorne Group?!” The men flinched beneath the noise. They stumbled, then dropped to their knees
Chapter 102 Rhea's Pov “You can continue your accusations against me, I would like to continue hearing them. Go on.” I raised my hands slightly as if to motion that I was giving them the go ahead. Ginny clenched her fists. I knew what she was thinking now. How come the video was different? How come Rhea was fighting back now? She was supposed to have been on the floor, crying and begging for people to believe her, trying to prove her innocence. “You… What did you do?! Why is the footage different?!” Kevin yelled, his voice bouncing off across the room. Ginny's head whipped towards him in shock. I could literally hear what she was thinking. “That moron! If he asked a question like that, what would people think? They'd ask themselves if we were the ones who planned it!”“Oh? What did I do? I'll like to throw that question back at you, Kevin. What were you expecting in that video? A footage of me sleeping with three different men? A threesome? That was what you thought, wasn't it?”
Chapter 101 Ginny's Pov Gasps echoed through the hall, followed by a sharp wave of murmurs and disbelieving whispers. The once-admiring crowd turned cold, eyes sharp, judging, ravenous. Like wolves catching scent of blood.I watched Rhea as the recording repeated itself, her scandalous voice swirling around the room like poison laced in silk.Her lips trembled. Her knees looked like they might buckle, “T… That’s not me.” She whispered, barely loud enough to reach the microphone, “That’s not me! I never said that! Someone… Someone’s framing me!”She turned toward the crowd, arms trembling at her sides, “I swear! That’s not my voice! It’s fake, someone is setting me up!”Her voice cracked. Her eyes glistened.And right on cue, the tide began to turn.“She looks devastated…”“But what if she’s telling the truth?”“That technology exists now, doesn’t it? Deep Fakes, AI?”“Poor girl…”I narrowed my eyes, the disgust curling in my chest as a few soft-hearted fools started to murmur pity f
Chapter 100 Ginny’s Pov My hands smoothed over the fabric of my emerald green dress, the same one I had custom-made. I’d imagined this day a hundred different ways, all with me standing on the podium, being at the center of attention while gazing down on Rhea and watching her shake in anger. However, by some freak incident, I had to stand at the side to watch instead. But it doesn't matter, things will fall into place at the end. I glanced at my reflection in the window and gave a small smile. I looked beautiful. Elegant. Powerful. Exactly how I wanted to look today.“You’ve been quiet.” Rachel, said from the passenger seat, turning slightly to look at me, “Are you nervous?”“Not in the slightest.” I replied, fixing a loose curl that had fallen over my shoulder.She hummed softly, “Is Rhea on her way?”I fought the urge to roll my eyes. Of course she’d ask. “Kevin messaged me about fifteen minutes ago that they are on their way.” I said smoothly, pretending to check my phone, even
Chapter 99Rhea's Pov I woke up with a scream.My eyes snapped open, lungs heaving for air as if I were drowning, and for a moment, I didn’t know where I was. The light above me was soft, golden, not blinding like the camera light. My hands shot up to my throat, expecting fingers wrapped around it, choking me.There was nothing, just air. Yet I couldn't stop the sob that tore out of my chest.“Rhea.”The voice shattered the panic like glass. I turned sharply and saw him sitting beside the bed. Alaric. His eyes were wide, horrified. He reached for me carefully, cautiously, like he was afraid I’d flinch.I didn’t.The moment his arms wrapped around me, I collapsed into them. He held me tightly, rocking me gently like I was something fragile and precious. His hand ran up and down my back in slow, soothing circles, whispering things I couldn’t even process at first. His warmth seeped into my bones, breaking through the numbness that threatened to swallow me whole.“I’m so sorry.” He whis