Helen’s situation had clearly worsened. After realizing the domestic situation had changed, and that it seemed impossible to turn around her public image, she had turned her attention abroad.
Major advertisers and investors were now demanding compensation from her.
She had never lacked money over the years. But those compensation amounts were astronomical, and after paying them, she would have nothing left.
Peter had already prepared to return to the country with Sophia and proceed with the divorce.
Her posters had been splattered with red paint, and there were groups protesting outside her agency’s building.
Her trending topics calling for her to be blacklisted were all over the place.
Even the official account posted a reprimand, accusing Helen of moral decay, and many fans unfollowed her.
Overnight, she became a pariah, with her social media accounts being banned.
She couldn’t play the victim, nor could she rally her fans for help.
Feeling desperate, she just wanted to return to her home country and leave everything behind.
The domestic news wouldn’t matter to anyone abroad.
However, when she arrived at the airport, she was told she couldn’t leave the country.
Helen repeatedly confirmed but only received a cold reply from the staff, “Sorry, the documents you provided can’t be used to purchase a ticket for now.”
“When will I be able to buy one?”
“I don’t know.”
“What kind of service attitude is this? I’m going to file a complaint against you.”
“Do whatever you want.”
No matter how much Helen protested, it seemed there was no way to change the situation.
Then, she was recognized at the airport.
“It’s Helen! It’s Helen!”
“You even harmed your own mother! You shameless thing, still trying to go abroad!”
In no time, the airport was packed with people surrounding Helen. Her bag and phone were shoved around and trampled on, lost in the chaos.
She was also injured-someone yanked her hair, another pulled at her clothes, and someone even threw the remains of their coffee in her face.
The embarrassing scene of Helen was posted on trending topics, and while people reveled in it, others called it another form of social bullying. But these voices felt insignificant compared to the evil actions of Helen, who had caused her mother’s death.
Helen’s popularity remained high, but it was clear that she could no longer survive in the public eye, and John wasn’t doing any better.
Lillian knew that after John’s villa had been burned down, his family had barely managed to move in with one of his friends.
Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was her grandmother’s face, crying.
If John and Helen didn’t get their comeuppance, Lillian would feel like every minute of her life was pure torment.
Without hesitation, Lillian contacted Melissa and found someone named Arno.
Arno was a low-level thug who frequented underground casinos.
As long as money was involved, he’d do anything. He had already lost everything to gambling-his family, his house, and his life.
He was hired to find someone to take John to invest. John, eager to make money and pay off his debts, wouldn’t care about discerning whether things were real or fake in the face of such huge profits. After all, he had never been good at business.
It was Alvin who had once helped him, and later he got money from Lillian, or sometimes even from Helen.
For years, John had lived off of others’ generosity.
Lillian watched as Arno left with the money, his face full of excitement. She took a sip of her bitter coffee at the cafe, grabbed her bag, and got ready to head back to school.
******
Conrad had taken some time off to rest at home. Once the doctor confirmed there were no major issues, he finally returned to the Brown Family Group.
That night, he wondered if Lillian would come to call him for dinner.
But she didn’t even bother to call. She had just returned home from school and didn’t give him a single call.
Conrad couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.
When he received a call from Hogan inviting him to a club, he decided to go out of spite.
He even told Andrew, “If anyone calls from Hillside Villa, tell them I won’t be coming back.”
Andrew raised an eyebrow, confused.
Conrad slipped his hands into his pockets and entered the elevator, but the next moment, he muttered a curse-whether at her or himself, it wasn’t clear.
“Forget it, if they call, just say I’ll be back soon.”
Andrew nodded understandingly.
But as they reached the downstairs, Conrad changed his mind again. “I’ll just go for a bit, then leave.”
After all, he had to show face for Hogan’s sake.
Although Conrad wasn’t in the best mood, Hogan’s group of guys was ecstatic that he had agreed to show up.
Conrad had been completely out of sight lately. He had been keeping to himself at home, with rumors circulating that he had been seriously injured. Nobody had seen him.
So, when he made his first public appearance, it reflected well on the organizer.
“Conrad, we’ve got your favorite drinks, and we’ve even brought a few girls. Take a look, see if you like any of them.”
As soon as Conrad sat down, a row of girls lined up.
But the next moment, Conrad’s face darkened.
The reason was simple-every one of those girls looked somewhat like Lillian.
However, their outfits were revealing, and Conrad didn’t even move his hand that was holding the cigar.
Hogan, who had just gone to the bathroom, came back to find the mess his friend had made. He kicked him and yelled, “Get them all out of here! Why do you have to be so dumb? You pick your own birthday as the day to screw things up?!”
After cursing at him, Hogan sat down next to Conrad and tried to calm him down. “Little idiot doesn’t know better, don’t mind him.”
Conrad scoffed. “You guys think you know my preferences? Huh?”
Even though Lillian had stirred up trouble for Helen, and the internet had been silenced, everyone in the industry knew how much Conrad loved Lillian.
He had given her the Black Wolf ring. She wore it proudly around her neck.
So they had arranged for girls who resembled Lillian.
It had taken quite a bit of effort just to gather these girls.
But Conrad was furious. Who would dare approach him now?
Hogan asked, “I heard Booth’s back. Did you allow that?”
“He came back because his great-uncle turned 80. My grandmother asked him to come. After he attends the birthday party, I’ll have him go back.”
Conrad wouldn’t forgive Booth for teaming up with Hunter to kidnap Lillian. Letting him return for a few days was only out of respect for Old Mrs. Brown.
“Fine, that guy’s head isn’t exactly clear, but he’s been behaving himself since he got back. He probably knows he’s in trouble, so let’s just turn a blind eye this time.” After Hogan said that, he moved on to discussing business matters with Conrad.
After several drinks, Conrad kept checking his phone.
Although his movements were subtle, the phone was placed on the coffee table, and every time a new message came in, he would look at it with a touch of expectation.
But it was always messages from other women, and Conrad’s expression turned as dark as it could get.
Hogan understood right away, surprised that Conrad had fallen deeper and deeper.
“I think Lillian must be home by now, right? Aren’t you going back soon? The poor girl doesn’t have her grandmother anymore, and you’re leaving her alone at home?”
Hogan offered a way out, and Conrad immediately took it. “I’m going.”
However, as they reached the door to their private room, they heard a sharp scream coming from the next room.