Leonel had chosen to live with Madison after their parents split, and his feelings for Petter had faded. He had lost respect for Petter and didn’t even address him as “Dad.”
Petter looked at Leonel, realizing that the young man now felt like a stranger to him.
His family was destroyed, and he couldn’t understand how things had gone so wrong.
Finally, Petter stood up, shaking his head in defeat. “Stacey has done terrible things. She doesn’t deserve to be my wife anymore. I’m going to divorce her.”
Peter realized that the only way to save his pride was to divorce Stacey as soon as possible.
As for the baby she was carrying, he decided he’d get a paternity test once it was born. If the child were his, he would raise it himself.
He still held onto a small hope that the baby was his. Leonel might have cut all ties with him, but if Stacey gave birth to a son, at least he’d have someone to look after him when he grew old.
After all, daughters usually married and moved away. It was sons who cared for their parents when they couldn’t take care of themselves anymore.
Just then, Peter’s phone rang, pulling him out of his thoughts. It was the police station, asking him to come in and give a statement.
The phone call was the last straw; Peter finally believed everything Bianca had told him.
After he hung up, Peter walked unsteadily out the door, his legs almost giving out. Bianca watched him leave; seeing his graying hair and frail body, she felt he had aged ten years in just a few minutes.
She felt sorry for him, but only briefly. Wasn’t this all his own fault? He had brought this upon himself!
“Bianc, Mom’s condition is stable now, and I’ve found a reliable caregiver for her. You’ve been on leave for a while, and I’m sure you have a lot of work waiting for you at the company,” Leonel said gently.
Bianca nodded. After giving Madison some water, Leonel walked her to the door.
As Bianca was about to leave, she noticed a swarm of reporters and cameramen rushing down the hall toward her.
A nurse tried her best to block the crowd, but there were too many people. They pushed past her and headed straight for Madison’s room.
One reporter saw Bianca and shoved a microphone in her face, asking, “Miss Scott, is it true that your mother, Madison, has been left in a coma because of the fire?”
Bianca felt a pang of frustration. She had worked hard to keep this private, but now the media had found out.
“You reporters have no respect! This is a hospital. You’re upsetting the patient!” Leonel shouted angrily from behind Bianca.
Bianca stopped Leonel from losing his temper and took a deep breath before facing the reporters. “Yes, it’s true,” she said calmly.
Realizing she couldn’t hide the truth anymore, she chose to admit it openly. She knew that trying to push the reporters away would only make things worse for her.
The reporters were taken aback by her honesty, and they looked at each other in surprise as if they couldn’t believe what they had just heard.
“Miss Scott, how did the fire start? What will happen to Cherish if Miss Lopez doesn’t wake up from her coma? Will the partnership between Emerald Artists Agency and Cherish be affected?” they asked.
“I’m sorry, I can’t answer that right now,” Bianca replied.
After saying that, Bianca turned and walked away. The reporters tried to follow, but the hospital security arrived and pushed them out.
Bianca headed straight to her office. As soon as she walked in, everyone turned to look at her.
Her colleagues had various expressions-some were sympathetic, others worried, and some showed a mix of both.
“Bianca, you’re back!” Reese was the first to stand up and greet her warmly. The others soon followed.
Bianca smiled and nodded at everyone, then looked closely at Reese. Reese had clearly changed; she was now wearing a Chanel dress that made her stand out from the rest.
“Reese, come here.”
Bianca called Reese into her office and pulled out a contract from her drawer, handing it to Reese. Seeing the shock on Reese’s face, Bianca smiled and said, “You wanted to become an actress, right? Well, here’s your chance. I’ve prepared a contract for you.”
Bianca had wanted to sign Reese for a while, but things had been too chaotic recently.
“Bianca…” Reese’s eyes filled with tears. She was too emotional to speak and just looked at Bianca with gratitude.
Bianca waved her hand and chuckled. “Let’s get this contract signed quickly so other companies don’t try to steal you away. From now on, focus on your acting studies. Don’t let me down, okay? And try not to cry too much, or people might tease you.”
Reese quickly wiped her tears and nodded with excitement. “Bianca, this company feels like home to me. I promise I won’t let you down!”
“Great. Now, I have work to do. Please head to the HR department to take care of the transfer paperwork as soon as you can.”
As soon as Reese left, happily skipping down the hall, Diana walked by her and entered Bianca’s office.
“Bianc, there you are. I need to tell you something important.”
“What’s the hurry? Relax, sit down, and take your time,” Bianca said, closing the office door. She poured Diana a glass of water and handed it to her.
Diana gulped down the water in one go and slammed the glass on the desk. With a serious look, she told Bianca, “Your mother had an accident, and Cherish is thinking about ending our partnership to join Orion Entertainment. Do you know what people are saying about you online?”
Bianca took a sip of water and asked, “What are they saying?”
Diana, clearly upset, struggled to speak and then threw her phone on the desk. “I can’t say it out loud. Just look for yourself.”
Bianca glanced at the phone and saw that the top trending search was “Madison & Fire.”
Frowning, Bianca read through the related tweets, growing more upset with each one.
“Karma’s a bitch. Madison used her influence to get her daughter a spot with Cherish and probably did other shady things. Now she’s getting what she deserves.”