جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 830

There wasn’t a trace of light in Carly’s eyes. They were empty, like a barren wasteland stripped of life.Layla’s heart clenched. Her hatred for Shane grew even stronger.Quietly, she balled her fists. She wanted to say something, but no words would come.The two of them sat in heavy silence.It was Carly who finally broke it. “Did you come here to pity me?”Her voice was hoarse, like it hadn’t been used in days, muffled and raw.Layla quickly shook her head. “No, no... that’s not why I’m here.”“I left the studio without a second thought. I said such awful things to you. I won’t lie—I really was hoping the studio would fail.“But… in the end, it was me who was proven wrong.“Layla, I’ll admit it—you really are incredible. You deserved my admiration. You never let me down. I’m the one who let you down.”Carly spoke as if to herself, the words having sat buried in her heart long before any of this happened.Carter had tried to persuade her many times. He told her to let go of

At those words, everyone’s gaze immediately shifted back to Layla.Scarlett, holding the softly weeping Camila in her arms, looked at Layla with a hint of admiration.“How could such a small, delicate-looking woman command such presence?” she wondered.Facing the entire Lucas family alone, and yet Layla remained so calm and composed.Scarlett had only ever seen this kind of composure in William. But Layla was different. As a woman, she had even more guts.Just then, the sound of movement came from downstairs.Layla stepped forward. “Come on. They’re here.”As Layla started toward the stairs, Zion was the first to follow.Lucien clenched his fists, his expression darkening. “That damn man always caused me trouble. Why hadn’t anyone told me Carly had seen Shane’s face? How am I supposed to protect him now?” he wondered.If he had known, he never would have agreed to this.But there was no turning back now. He would have to take it one step at a time.Resolving himself, Lucie

William met Layla’s gaze. “Did you forget this was done by a group?”Layla snapped back to attention. “You’re right. Shane wasn’t the only one! He even said it himself—Carly was sent to him as a gift!”And the person who arranged that gift was the vilest of them all.“Mm.”William glanced back toward the Lucas estate, his expression unreadable. “Whoever’s behind this isn’t finished.”Following his gaze, a chill crept over Layla. Her gut told her the person pulling the strings hadn’t been trying to please Shane at all.“This time, don’t take matters into your own hands again.”William’s low voice cut through her thoughts, pulling her back to the present.She instantly felt guilty and gave him a sheepish smile. “I just wanted to investigate first and report back to you later. I didn’t expect everything to go so smoothly…”“Was it Chris who told you?” William asked suddenly.Layla blinked. “How did you know?”“When we went to grab Shane from the Xander estate, Chris didn’t ask

Scarlett was on the verge of panic. “If Carly sees this news, she’ll lose it! That poor girl… what is she supposed to do now?“Why is this happening to her? Who did she offend to deserve this kind of torment?” Her voice broke as she wiped away tears. “They’re not even giving her a chance to live.”“I already had Xavier shut down the source of the rumor,” William said, pausing with a furrowed brow. “But... the damage is done. It spread like a virus the moment it hit the internet. There’s no way to erase it completely.”Layla’s expression darkened. “The one who started the rumors—it’s the same person who sent Carly as a ‘gift’ to Shane, isn’t it?” She muttered under her breath, “What the hell does that person actually want?”“Whatever it is, dragging a girl’s reputation through the mud like this... that’s just despicable,” Scarlett said furiously. “You have to find whoever’s behind this and drag them into the light. I swear, even I want to punch them!”William didn’t respond. He sim

“You keep calling yourself her uncle, but all you're doing is pushing her straight into the fire!“Oh, right.” Scarlett snapped her fingers like she had just remembered something and gave a cold laugh. “I almost forgot—didn’t you used to be pretty close with the Xanders a few years back? Don’t tell me they asked you to pull some strings, and now you’re here trying to cover for Shane?“Lucien, are you really that shameless? Trying to cozy up to people by using someone else’s daughter as a bargaining chip? Have you no conscience?”At that, Zion’s expression changed. It was like he had just been shaken awake. He shoved Lucien’s hand off his shoulder and stared at him in disbelief.This was the brother he had trusted most in the world. Yet right now, he couldn’t even recognize him.Flustered, Lucien tried to defend himself. “No, Scarlett, how could you say that about me? I haven’t had any contact with the Xanders in years. Everything I said was for Carly’s sake, I swear!“In fact,