Chapter 14 Online Buzz
I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. My relationship with Cyril wasn’t really that close.
But whatever. Maybe he was just looking for the right opportunity to fall out with the Hartman family, and I happened to be that perfect excuse.
That was the only explanation I could think of.
Anyway, it didn’t matter. Cyril did help me, and I’d make sure to repay him when the time was right. That way, we’d be even.
When I finally got home, I felt my whole body relax.
Edmund sent me a message.
Edmund: Are you okay? Did you make it out? Need me to come back and get you?
Seeing his caring messages, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Aurora: I’m good. I’m home now. Thanks for everything.
my own plan.
When we made the plan, Edmund had suggested we leave together, but that would’ve messed up my
After Edmund left, I just needed to keep arguing with Cadell to buy some time.
My real goal was never to make him mad,
I had people in place to get what I really wanted.
I shut off my phone and pulled a USB drive out of my pocket.
It had a dirty secret about the Hartman family.
After Cyril saved me, one of my hired men slipped it into my pocket in the chaos.
This was what I’d been after all along.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have stayed in his wedding suite for so long.
Since Cadell insulted me like that, no way was I going to let him off the hook that easily.
I plugged the USB drive into my computer. A grainy video then popped up on the screen.
The video was blurry and hard to make out, but I could see several women locked in a basement.
They flashed by in the shadows. I couldn’t see their faces clearly, but the environment spoke volumes of their situation.
They were lost and inferior like animals kept in cages.
I hadn’t been wrong after all. The Hartman family was involved in some shady dealings.
I took a deep breath, my mind racing. I wondered if this had anything to do with my missing sister.
But I knew I should take my time. I needed to gather everything carefully.
I made a few copies of the video, each saved on a separate USB drive, and then locked them in my safe. That gave me a little
peace of mind.
Once everything was secure, I checked my phone to see what the online buzz was like.
Edmund worked fast. Within an hour, the blurred video was out there.
Though it was blurred, it was so poorly done that anyone who knew Cadell would recognize him instantly.
I couldn’t help but show a smirk upon seeing that video.
Edmund had thoughtfully blurred out my face too. He probably didn’t want to get me spotted and risk messing with my day–to–day life.
Gotta admit, Edmund was pretty considerate.
It was honestly kind of stupid of Lorna to betray him.
This was, after all, a juicy piece of high–society gossip. And with Edmund pushing it, it didn’t take long before the video hit the trending list, being watched by millions of people.
To make sure the video stayed up. Edmund even had the decency to blur the more explicit parts, making sure everyone saw Lorna’s Infidelity in all its glory.
And, of course, it worked like a charm.
Lorna’s name was plastered all over everyone’s minds. People couldn’t stop talking about it. I watched the comment section fill up with the most vicious insults.
Nobody had any mercy for a homewrecker, especially when it happened on the groom’s wedding night.
No one could see the groom’s face. They didn’t know who he really was, so all their fury was directed straight at Lorna.
Some of the comments were so brutal, and I could barely stomach them. I figured Lorna must be having a tough time
If this thing kept spreading like the wildfire it was, her friends and family had probably caught wind of her little stunt by now.
At that thought, I couldn’t help but smile.
Actions would always have consequences. No one could get away with doing wrong without paying the price.
I was about to turn off my phone when one comment caught my eye.
It was so ridiculous that I couldn’t stop laughing.
“Can’t believe a man can’t control his own damn urges. Getting tangled up with another woman on his wedding night? If it weren’t for the fact that Cadell Hartman had been in love with his wife for seven years and even designed True Love Ring for her, I’d start thinking that true love was a myth.”
That comment quickly gained traction, with a bunch of people praising Cadell as some sort of knight in shining armor.
They put him on a pedestal like he was the last decent man left on Earth.
It was hilarious.
I chuckled for a good while reading that. I couldn’t wait to see how these people would feel when they found out Cadell was the one cheating on his wedding night.
The more people praised him, the harder he would fall.
And given Cadell’s ego, the crash was going to be spectacular!)
I was so looking forward to it!
I turned off my phone, content to sit back and let the comments keep piling up,
There was no such thing as a perfect cover–up online. Cadell and Lorna’s dirty dealings at my wedding would be exposed sooner
or later.
Even though Albert had warned everyone to keep quiet, it wouldn’t matter.
The people at the wedding weren’t just random guests. They were well–known figures in high–society circles, and not everyone
was scared of the Hartman family.
In fact, there were probably a few people in direct competition with them. And if Cadell’s screw–up could bring the Hartman family down, then their enemies wouldn’t show them any mercy.
I was just waiting for the storm to hit.
Planning the wedding and carrying out the plan to scheme Cadell had completely drained me. Before long, I was deep in sleep.
When I finally woke up, it was already past noon the next day.
As soon as I picked up my phone, I saw a flood of messages.
Some of them were from Edmund, and some from Cyril.
But the gist of the messages was the same–the affair was all over the place. People had started to piece together that Lorna’s secret lover was none other than the famous “good man–Cadell Hartman
Normally, this would have been a great news. But there was a catch. The Hartman family had issued a clarification.
I clicked on the link and couldn’t help but sneer.
The Hartman family wasn’t clarifying anything. They were just trying to smear me.
