Chapter 26 Play the Victim
“No way!” Eliezer instinctively denied it, his gaze avoiding Zackary as he looked toward the chaotic dance floor.
“If I liked her, why would I divorce her? As for why I’m delaying it…”
He spun his glass before setting it down on the table. “Just look at what happened the moment divorce rumors spread. All sorts of shady characters start appearing around her. We grew up together. I can’t just let her go astray.”
Zackary wasn’t happy with that. He bit down on an unlit cigarette, frowning. “You can insult whoever you want, but why drag me into it? Are we bros or not?”
Eliezer shot him a sidelong glance and scoffed, “I included you specifically because I know exactly your nature.”
There were plenty of playboys in their circle who hadn’t married yet, but none of them were virgins. And Zackary had slept with more women than he could count.
Letting Lindsey marry him would be throwing her straight into hell.
Zackary snorted dismissively, “A reformed rake makes the best husband. Gabrielle is the one who’ll make me change my ways. Just you wait.”
Eliezer couldn’t be bothered to argue. His phone rang, cutting off the conversation.
It was from Jaelyn’s number, but her assistant’s voice came through instead. After a brief exchange, his expression darkened. “Where is she hurt? I’m on my way.”
pter 26 Flay the Victim
He hung up, no longer in the mood for drinks or small talk. “I need to go to the hospital. Don’t forget to look into what I asked you.”
Zackary had no interest in Jaelyn. “Give me Gabrielle’s contact info, and I’ll get right on it.”
Eliezer ignored him, grabbing his suit jacket as he headed for the
entrance.
Zackary shouted after him in frustration, “Don’t tell me you don’t even
have it!”
He didn’t get a response.
***
Jaelyn’s injury dominated trending topics all night.
As a national goddess, even a paper cut that healed by the time she reached the hospital could make headlines and stir fan sympathy. A car accident was bound to cause an uproar.
Golden Willow Restaurant got dragged into the controversy too.
Camila had posted a lengthy account that appeared to simply explain the accident’s circumstances, but most of the narrative focused on how they’d been kicked out of Golden Willow Restaurant. The implication was clear: if they hadn’t been so upset after the ejection, the late–night crash on that remote road might not have happened.
The post framed the accident as an understandable consequence, not just bad luck.
Paired with photos from the crash scene, it successfully rallied Jaelyn’s fans, flooding social media with messages of outrage and concern.
Jaelyn’s official studio liked Camila’s post.
Chapter 26 Play the Victim
Subsequently, an edited video of Jaelyn’s altercation in the restaurant was released.
The clipped footage made it look like she’d been bullied, with staff delivering rude lines like “Take it or leave it.”
The phrase “big business bullies customers” became a rallying cry. Fans became convinced Jaelyn’s accident was directly caused by Golden Willow Restaurant’s poor treatment, demanding the restaurant take responsibility and that the employees involved publicly apologize.
Lindsey found out about all this the next morning when she woke up.
Lindsey had returned from Ennead Mansion after 2 AM the previous night. Since Golden Willow Restaurant didn’t open for morning service, she allowed herself to sleep in.
She certainly hadn’t expected to wake up to a message announcing the restaurant’s temporary closure, telling staff not to come to work.
Instead of idling, Lindsey registered an account on the social media platform where these topics were trending and made herself a coffee.
By coincidence, as soon as she logged in, she saw Jaelyn’s post at the top of the trending topics list, marked with a “viral” tag.
The rich aroma of coffee filled the room as Lindsey stirred her silver spoon.
cup
with a
She remained seated at the dining table, phone in hand, never taking a sip.
Jaelyn’s post didn’t directly criticize Golden Willow Restaurant. It began by expressing respect for the famous chef’s descendants and mentioning how she’d visited after hearing Osvaldo would be there. She admitted being asked to leave due to misunderstanding the rules. The post included
Chapter 25 Play the Victim
sincere apologies and clarified her car accident resulted solely from her own careless driving, urging fans not to blame others.
Accompanying the text was a hospital photo showing her smiling brightly. with bandages, her pale face evoking sympathy.
The effect was immediate. Comments overflowed with concern for Jaclyn. and anger toward Golden Willow Restaurant. The overwhelming. backlash explained why the restaurant chose to temporarily close.
Lindsey exited the app expressionlessly and called Osvaldo.
As soon as the call connected, his furious yet aggrieved voice came through, “Lindy, you were there yesterday! That woman started the trouble, and now she’s playing the victim! What a shameless woman!”
Her initial solemn mood gave way to exasperated amusement. “Calm down now,” she said. “What’s the situation at your end?”
Osvaldo immediately stopped complaining. “I’m not at the restaurant,” he reported seriously. “Charles says crowds have been gathering outside since morning. I told the staff to stay inside and ignore them. We’ve got enough supplies for now.”
Lindsey frowned with concern. “Was anyone hurt? Did they vandalize anything?”
Having witnessed similar incidents abroad, she knew property damage could be replaced, but injuries were another matter.
Osvaldo scoffed, “Nah, just some kids holding protest signs. They weren’t about to start throwing punches!”
“That’s a relief.”
Lindsey exhaled as she opened her laptop. “Send me last night’s security footage from the restaurant.”
Chapter 26 Play the Victim
Silence filled the line.
Lindsey glanced at her screen; the call hadn’t disconnected. “Osvaldo?”
After a moment, Osvaldo’s delayed response came through, “Lindy, when this hit the news, I immediately had Charles pull the surveillance footage to clear things up. But damn it, last night’s recordings were all gone! Not just our restaurant’s footage, even the videos Charles and the others took on their phones vanished. It’s like some freaking ghost erased everything!”
Lindsey only paused for a second, as if she had expected this outcome. Her tone remained calm. “Last night, I told you to back up all the surveillance videos and audio separately. Did you send them to me?”
Osvaldo sounded both frustrated and defeated. “I did, and we even saved a local copy. But even the videos stored on our computers disappeared. Lindy, yours is probably… Ugh, forget it. That celebrity must have serious connections. Fine, Golden Willow Restaurant will take this loss. I might as well shut the place down!”
“You can’t shut it down. Otherwise, where else would I go for free meals?”
Lindsey’s fingers tapped across the keyboard, her tone lightly teasing.
“Let me handle this. Take the team on a nice break. Once I’m back at work, you’ll all be swamped. Gotta go.
Before Osvaldo could ask anything else, she hung up, leaving only the sound of keyboard clicks in the room.
Before long, a data recovery progress bar slowly filled the computer
screen.
Chapter 27 Demand Apology
Chapter 27 Demand Apology
When the progress bar reached 100%, the video file reappeared in Lindsey’s inbox.
At the same time, a chat window popped up on her screen.
Fernando: “Brielle, did the video recover successfully?”
Gabrielle: “Yes, it’s fully restored. Thanks for your help!”
Fernando: “No need to thank us. You could’ve done it yourself even without me. By the way, I just obtained the surveillance footage of that woman’s car accident and her hospital records. You might want to take a look. Let me know if you need anything else.”
Another file arrived in her inbox.
Lindsey downloaded it and opened the medical records first.
Her pupils dilated slightly as she read, her expression growing increasingly complicated.
Well… this was explosive.
Fernando: “There’s more. I’m processing it and will send it to you shortly.”
Moments later, Lindsey received a series of heavily censored photos.
Even with the thick mosaics obscuring everything but Jaelyn’s face, the nature of the content wasn’t hard to guess.
Lindsey closed the folder after viewing just two images.
That was disgusting.
Dumand Apology
She wondered if Eliezer had contracted that disease too.
It was filthy.
She sat silently before her computer, her mind blank.
She only snapped out of it when Brayden returned with groceries.
“Why did you make coffee but not drink it?”
Brayden set his bags on the table and touched the rim of her coffee mug, still fragrant and warm.
The plate beside it held the toast he’d made before leaving, with two slices gone.
Lindsey stood up and poured Brayden a glass of water.
Her lowered eyelids concealed all emotion as she said, “I just woke up and was reading the news. The hypocrisy was practically oozing from my phone screen. Coffee was the last thing on my mind.”
Brayden choked on his water after taking a sip, coughing violently.
Lindsey handed him a napkin with both apology and concern in her eyes.
Brayden waved at her, recovering after a moment. “Do you need my help with anything?”
He’d seen the online storm. It would’ve been impossible to miss, especially since monitoring public sentiment was part of his job.
“No, thank you. Fernando has already handled most of it for me,” Lindsey said, shaking her head.
Brayden, with a poker face, slammed his water glass down on the table.
