In the Emerson family mansion.
Vicky leaned on the sofa, thumbing through her phone. Using money, she had pushed Summer’s interview to the top of the day’s hot topics and bought an army of cyber troopers to swarm the Internet with hatred toward Summer. Even websites that initially held opposing opinions began to turn their coats.
She had always suspected that Summer was connected to the paparazzo incident.
She was especially pleased to see how the netizens lashed out at Summer online.
It did not matter if the paparazzo had filmed their conversation now; it did not carry enough weight to prove anything compared with Summer’s admittance in front of the press, where she told them that she did everything to gain publicity. There was no way that ugly woman could compete with her, she thought.
After surfing the net for a while, Vicky went to bed. Halfway into her slumber, something happened. She received a call from a good friend of hers. “Vicky, someone just leaked videos and photos of you online. It’s become the most viral thing online. What’s going on? Did you offend anyone?”
Hearing the words “videos” and “photos”, she had a bad feeling. Clutching her hair in distress, she then picked up her phone and went online. It confirmed her suspicions; the entire world was talking about her lewd photos and videos.
As insignificant as the Emerson family was, they still ran a well-known company. Like many daughters of wealthy families, Vicky was a playgirl.
She was a lady on the outside but a man-eater and junkie on the inside. Vicky’s hands shivered as she muttered, “How could this have happened?”
Many netizens had sent her private messages and given her a tongue-lashing.
“Bitch! Shameless!”
“How on earth did you have the nerve to ask your young sister to take the blame?!”
Vicky went postal and hurled insults back at them. Shortly after, Jerome came to mind. It was midnight, so he must not have seen those videos and photos. If he had, it was game over for them. She put on her clothes and went to knock on her dad’s door. “Daddy, please, help me take down all of these hot searches…”
Meanwhile, Summer was lying in bed with her laptop, having a video chat with her bestie, Jessica. A former school bully, Jessica never changed in that respect even though she had become a public figure. She was just more careful with what she did and how she looked in public.
She excitedly read out the nasty comments to Summer.
“I’ve long suspected that Vicky wasn’t what she appeared to be. Yet, there are still so many people willing to cover her tracks for her!”
“Looks like a lady but deep inside, she’s a slut!”
“It’s all a conspiracy. The way I see it, the only reason the younger sister married into the Emerson family was that they had discovered Vicky’s promiscuous behavior. Her younger sister may not have been as pretty as her, but she was clean, unlike Vicky. She’s a whore! Who would want a whore?”
Jessica thought that comment had a point. “Summer, I think this guy nailed it. Tell me, has the Emerson family long known that Vicky’s a trollop?”
Summer’s brows were knitted together. That was also something she had never thought of before. She laughed and said, “It doesn’t matter whether it’s true or not. This fits in with her wishes; she can finally be with Jerome freely.”
In fact, Jessica and Jerome were distant relatives.
“Jerome may be retarded but not to the extent where he would fancy marrying a whore.” Jessica sneered.
…
Due to the late-night chat with Jessica, by the time Summer woke up the next day, it was already late in the morning. When she went online, she found that all of the hot searches for the videos and images of Vicky’s sexual scandal had been taken down. Even the titles and captions had been blanked out. Needless to say, it was Lynn’s magic hand again.
Lynn rarely had a conversation with Vicky ever since she was little, but he really loved her. However, the damage control could barely do anything to contain the spread of the sex scandal. Many people had already downloaded copies of the sexual materials and shared them far and wide.
Right after cleaning up and sorting herself out, Summer got a call from Jessica, who sounded angry. “The hot searches for the whore have been taken down. I’m going to push it up to the top again!” Jessica had now given Vicky another name: the whore.
“Calm down. Vicky’s name is already tainted. Don’t forget that you have a new movie release soon and you’ll be in the spotlight. If people find out that you’re buying over the hot searches, it’s going to affect your image.”
Jessica then backed off reluctantly and said, “Let’s have lunch together today. I got work tomorrow. I’ll come pick you up.”
“Alright.”
…
While walking past Leonardo’s study room, Summer could not help stopping for a moment. She did not get the chance to see Leonardo the day before and wondered if what “Douglas” said about him being angry with her was true.
All of a sudden, the door opened from the inside. Summer reflexively took half a step back and saw “Douglas”.
He looked as stony as ever. Startled, she asked, “Is… your cousin here?”
“Anything?” Leonardo closed the door behind him and leaned on the door frame, staring at her. His face was pale and feckless, but his eyes were still piercing.
“Nothing.” Summer shook her head, turning to go downstairs. Then, she heard a thud. Something had fallen to the ground. Looking back, she saw “Douglas” lying on the ground. Hurrying to his side, she held him up. “Douglas, what’s wrong?”
As much as Summer hated him, she could not bear to see him fall and be indifferent about it. Looking closer, she found that his face looked like a piece of white paper. His eyes were closed and his long eyelashes looked like a pair of hand fans casting shadows under his eyes. He looked more docile that way. She reached to feel his forehead; it was hot.
“Douglas” was nearly 1. 9 meters. There was no way Summer could move him. She ran to the landing and shouted out, “Anyone home? Please come upstairs! Douglas has collapsed!”
His bodyguards went upstairs at once, carrying Leonardo into his room. It did not take long for the doctor to arrive.
Summer stood by the side, watching as everyone hustled back and forth. Yet, Leonardo was absent. Thinking that there was nothing she could do there, she turned and wanted to leave.
Just then, Tim hurried in and saw Summer leaving. He stopped her. “Madam, could you please stay and look after the young master?”
Young master? It sounded weird to Summer, but she did not give it a second thought.
“But I have something on.” Summer checked the time and figured that Jessica was about to arrive.
“Mom! No, please, I beg you…” Lying in bed, Leonardo suddenly screamed in his dream.
Summer turned and looked at him. He was afraid and helpless. Looking fragile, his lower jaw was clenched.
She finally relented and agreed to stay. She figured that because there were no maids in the mansion, she could not count on those burly yet clumsy bodyguards to look after him.