Chapter 892
Victoria’s sudden withdrawal from the competition caught many by surprise.
People had speculated she might buckle under the pressure and quit, but no one expected her to walk away this early. After all, the competition had only just begun-they’d barely finished the first round. Couldn’t she hold out a little longer?
Yet with the internet flooded by hired trolls steering the narrative, no matter what Victoria chose, she was bound to be vilified.
When Cole saw the one-sided barrage of online abuse, he personally jumped into the fray to defend her. He didn’t even bother switching to an alternate account-he used his main profile and fired back.
He retorted to one netizen: [You losers are just jealous of Victoria-her beauty, her talent, her privileged background, isn’t that right? Let me tell you, no matter how much you slander her, you’ll never measure up to her!]
His words instantly ignited public fury.
Although plenty of trolls were fanning the flames, the ordinary netizens outnumbered them- and they weren’t buying it.
[Jealous of Victoria? Jealous that she’s an illegitimate child? Don’t make me laugh. We’re all children of respectable families. Who would envy someone like her?]
[Her mom is practically the textbook example of a homewrecker. With her own life, she’s proven the pinnacle of being a mistress is raising a bastard daughter as though she were a wealthy heiress-while the true daughter of the household is cast aside, left to wander and suffer.]
[According to insiders, when Richard lost his memory and doted on Victoria, it was Shayla who stayed behind to hold the family business together alone. In the end, not only were Shayla and her daughter driven out of their home, but even Kalen Group’s shares were split with the mistress’s child? If you have any backbone, don’t profit off what the rightful wife built!]
[Richard, can you face Shayla? You gave the company she fought to protect to a mistress’s daughter! You’re an ungrateful, heartless asshole!]
Before long, the internet’s wrath shifted-Richard was now the main target of abuse.
Cole’s outburst had completely backfired.
Overseas, in Marcentine, at the Kalen family estate, Silas was sipping tea in the living room when he noticed Scott return from outside, brows furrowed tight.
1/2
Sensing something was wrong, Silas asked, “Scott, what’s with that expression? Did something happen?”
“Do you still remember the Thursley family’s heir?” Scott replied.
“Which one?” Silas frowned.
“Eric Thursley, the guy who once pursued Victoria, and when rejected, tried to force himself on her.”
Silas’s face instantly darkened. “If not for his father kneeling to beg for mercy, Rick would never have let him off so easily… What did he do this time? Don’t tell me he’s still dreaming of marrying Victoria?”
Scott’s expression mirrored his disgust. “He actually dared to bring up marrying Victoria again. Said that with her reputation ruined, she should be grateful anyone’s even willing to marry her.”
Silas froze. “Ruined reputation? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I had a friend dig around,” Scott explained, still baffled himself. “Word’s already spread through the entire upper-class circle that Victoria is an illegitimate child. The families who once wanted to propose are all avoiding her now. Some of the lesser families even have the gall to say that unless the Kalen family prepares an enormous bride price, they won’t consider letting her through their doors.”
Silas was stunned. “How did this get out? Who leaked it?”
“I’ve already sent my assistant to investigate,” Scott answered grimly.
Though both Scott and Silas resided in Marcentine, where Victoria’s scandal had been deliberately suppressed, it was only suppressed on the surface. Beneath the veneer, whispers were spreading fast.
The next day, Silas and Scott arrived to sign the contract between the Kalen Group and the Westin Group,
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