Chapter 2

Early the next morning, the stock price of the Fraser Group continued to plummet.

The board of directors was in absolute chaos.

Several veteran shareholders called in, complaining frantically.

"Chairman Fraser, perhaps it would be best to consider changing the successor."

My father received over twenty phone calls in a single morning, leaving his voice completely hoarse.

I placed a cup of hot tea in front of him and said, "Dad, I'll handle the public relations crisis. You just focus on taking care of your health."

He looked up at me, his eyes filled with guilt. "Lyra, I've wronged you."

I immediately arranged for the group to issue an official statement.

A statement to confirm that I was the legitimate daughter of my father and his late wife, Mrs. Janet Fraser.

The statement sternly demanded that all accounts spreading false information should delete their posts immediately and issue a public apology.

However, the comment section below the official statement became a new playground for the internet mob.

The top up voted comments at the very front were uniformly sarcastic and cynical.

"Is this the best a wealthy family's PR can do? They can't even dare to post a paternity test."

"The more they try to explain, the guiltier they look. Let's wrap it up, folks."

To make matters worse, Daniel's post captioned "I will stay strong" went viral just after our statement was released.

Public opinion shifted toward Daniel with almost no suspense.

The trending topics changed to new tags.

#FraserGroupSuccessionControversy

#HeartbreakForDanielFraser

#LyraFraserIllegitimateDaughter

While the internet was flooded with curses, termination notices from our business partners kept flowing into the legal department like snowflakes.

I sat in my office with the legal department's summary sheet of terminated contracts spread out before me.

After flipping through two pages, I closed it and asked, "Did those two idiots do something again?"

My assistant, Susan, hesitated for a moment before handing over the tablet.

Maria had taken advantage of the chaos to post a video, crying directly to the camera.

"There are some things we truly don't want to say, but we just don't dare to," she choked up and wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand.

Her voice sounded both aggrieved and restrained. "Since he was a child, my husband watched his father give all his love to his younger sister.

“We aren't jealous. Truly, we aren't. But, not giving him a fair chance makes me feel deeply hurt for him."

She sniffled and forced a smile. "Thank you all for your concern. We won't be defeated."

Daniel sat right beside her.

He reached out and pulled Maria into his shoulder while offering a bitter smile to the camera.

The comment section went completely wild.

"This moved me to tears. Daniel has had it way too hard. Who could ever understand over twenty years of grievances?"

"Lyra Fraser, are you even human? You stole someone else's inheritance and now you want to drive them to ruin?"

"Boycott the Fraser Group, starting with me! If the illegitimate daughter doesn't get lost, we won't buy anything!"

Utterly oblivious to the severity of the situation, Daniel happily hosted a live-stream sales event with Maria.

He rushed over to the company afterward, eager to claim credit.

"Dad, take a look at our achievements."

Daniel's voice carried an irrepressible smugness as he shot a sidelong glance at me.

"Weren't you complaining before that I screwed up those projects? Fine, I admit to those.

“But this time, you have to credit me, right?" He leaned back against his chair, interlacing his hands behind his head as he waited for praise.

My father’s face turned dark with rage.

I pulled up last month's sales data and placed it on the desk. "Last month's sales for a single month were 800 million dollars.

“Do you think your daily livestream revenue of 5,000 dollars is impressive?"

Daniel let out a disdainful sneer.

My father picked up the tablet and slammed it onto the desk, roaring, "That video of yours wiped out one billion in market value for the company!"

Unconvinced, Daniel argued back, "Stock prices go up and down all the time, that's normal.

“Dad, stop looking at the bad side always, you need to look at the benefits…"

"That is your sister!"

My father slammed the table violently.

The teacup rattled and jumped, spilling hot tea all over the desk.

"You spread rumors that your sister is an illegitimate child!

“You traded your own mother's reputation for a tiny bit of your bullshit internet traffic!

“Do you have any idea what your mother…" His lips trembled violently and his eyes instantly turned red.

Daniel was stunned for a moment by the roar but his face quickly darkened.

"Here we go again. It's always like this. Everything I do is wrong and everything she does is right.

“Even when I succeed this time, you still scold me." He stepped closer, "Or do you think she is your only real child, Dad?"