Chapter 38
That night, Ballard discovered that all his tasks on the dark web had been taken away by someone.
Top-notch hackers could take on tasks on the dark web. As long as the offer was high enough, they would job done. This was also the main source of Ballard’s income.
get the
He was Nexus, the second-ranked hacker. Few people had the courage and skills to sna tc h his tasks, and it was clear who was able to take away his tasks,
“Dam n Jetstream!” he said, gening so angry that he gritted his teeth. He sent a message on the dark web to that newly registered account, trying to give that person a piece of his mind.
Alick stayed up late due to the cyber battle with Nexus. Early the next morning, he was awakened by a call from Joan.
“Alick, why did you take so long to answer my call?” she said. “Quick. Help me.” A s o b could be heard coming from the other end of the line. “Summer is trying to ruin me!”
Alick’s sleepiness vanished instantly. He sat up straight and asked in an icy tone, “What happened?
“She’s accusing me of sabotaging Jonathan’s birthday party,” Joan said. “Alick, you have to believe me. I was framed…
Hearing this, Alick hung up the phone and visited a certain blog that was flooded with negative hashtags about Joan, such as “Joan bribes the Hill family’s serva n t”, “Joan sabotages Jonathan’s birthday party” and “Joan gives a fake.
Alick was dumbstruck.
Joan’s name appeared in more than a dozen trending searches in a row. The astonishing traffic and volume of discussion surpassed those in her peak period by a hundredfold.
Alick clicked on the hottest entry, and at the top was the audio clip Summer played for him yesterday. However, there was an additional video clip, which showed Joan instructing a servan t to sabotage a gift at the Hill family’s old residence yesterday. Alick thought, Typically, surveillance footage shouldn’t be this clear. She has clearly carried out special processing to enhance the clarity of the footage.
Joan’s face in the video was clear, which left her with no room to turn the tide.
Apart from that, several hashtags unrelated to yesterday’s birthday party also placed Joan at the center of controversy, like Joan involved in illegal competition” and “Joan used the brand owner’s influence to suppress the UnitedIslands Group”.
Joan’s previous endorsement of a certain brand was suddenly brought up. Netizens instantly found and brought to light the fact that this brand had a previous collaboration with the UnitedIslands Group. They abruptly terminated the contract, almost leading to a legal dispute.
Someone commented, “I knew there had to be a reason why Joan made a poor judgment to endorse that small- time brand. It turns out that someone has offended her.”
“I’ve never thought that Joan whill do something like that. I used to consider her my idol!”
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Chapter 38
I’ve long said that she’s someone who looks innocent on the surface but is in fact c u n n in g. Losing face now because you’re proven wrong, huh?”
The online sentiment shifted completely. Joan instantly went from being a celebrity to someone who was despised by the public. Several brands that collaborated with her issued notices to terminate contracts one after another.
Of course, some brands were in a wait-and-see mode. After all, Joan had the backing of Alick. Even if Joan was entangled in scandals, she would never fall as long as she had the support of the mighty Hill Group.
Alick frowned. A hint of coldness flickered in his eyes. He tried calling Summer, but he received a message saying that her phone had been switched off.
He thought. Is this her trick?’
“Mommy, why didn’t you answer Alick’s call?” Sanford said as he blinked in confusion. “Doesn’t this make us seem guilty, like we’re up to something sneaky?”
Summer corrected Sanford, “We’re just stating the facts. How can that be called sneaky? He’s surely being driven
the wall by that woman right now, so I won’t add to his troubles by bothering him.”
up
Sanford nodded vigorously in agreement. He was mad yesterday when he learned that the wicked woman ruined. Summer’s gifts. He thought, ‘Mommy’s counterattack is very well played. But Alick has always been very petty. He’s definitely going to cause trouble for Mommy.”
“Mommy, just go to the company later,” Sanford said. “You may just get the maid to take me to the kindergarten.”
Summer just found Sanford was sensible, so she nodded and complied.
But as soon as she left. Sanford had the driver take him to the Hill family’s old residence, thinking, I can’t handle him, but Great Grandpa can definitely do that.”
In the talent agency, about eight or nine people surrounded Joan.
Joan, quickly give Mr. Hill another call,” the agent said, feeling extremely anxious. She had been trying to find people to remove the trending searches and issue press releases claiming it was defamation. However, that person was obviously well-prepared. For every clarification she made, they countered with ten more posts.
In her years in the industry, it was the first time she had seen such a money-fueled approach to addressing at
situation.
The head of the agency said, “Right now, the public opinion is not in our favor. You will only be fine if Mr. Hill steps in. Have a good talk with him. Considering the relationship between you two, he can’t just stand by and watch you be in trouble, right?”
Joan was so anxious that she cried. She did not expect this to happen.
She thought, It’s all the fault of Summer the b i tc h! Previously, several brands terminated contracts with me because of her. I couldn’t even attend major events. Now, with this situation… If Alick ignores it, I’m really going to be done for in the entertainment industry. Nope. Alick won’t just leave me be.
Holding back her tears, Joan repeatedly called Alick, but there was no answer. Helpless, she called Bill instead.
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“Mr. Wilson, why is Alick not answering my calls?” she said as she choked up. “Please ask him to help me. I really didn’t do those things. Tell me where Alick is. I’ll go to him in person and explain…”
Her sobbing voice came through clearly on the speakerphone. A trace of hostility appeared in Alick’s eyes.
“Ms. Taylor, don’t be anxious,” Bill said in a business-like tone. “Mr. Hill is handling this matter. I’ll inform you right away if there’s any outcome.”
With that said, he immediately hung up the phone and switched his mobile phone to silent mode, ignoring Joan’s
cails.
Not only was Joan’s agency bombarded with calls this morning, but even the Hill Group was in trouble.
Her relationship with Alick had always been a source of pride for her. Right after this incident occurred, many media outlets started focusing on Alick. Some even labeled the incident at yesterday’s birthday party as scheming within a wealthy family.
If he really ignored it, both he and the reputation of the group would be affected, but the moment he thought about the things Joan had done, he felt extremely disgusted.
In the CEO’s office, Bill wore an uneasy expression. Logically speaking, he should not be here at a time like this, but given the current situation, if Alick said nothing, he felt really helpless.
This controversy not only caused Joan’s contracts to be terminated by major brands but also affected the reputation of the Hill Group. The best public relations approach would be to sever the connection between her and the Hill Group, but….
“Mr. Hill, how about I have the PR department issue a statement first, and then we inform the brands?” Bill said.
There’s no need to do that.” Alick said. “She has to handle the mess she created on her own.”
Alick was expressionless. He did not expect Joan to do something like this. Yesterday, he was still questioning Summer, and today, he was given a harsh reality check by her.
“Get someone to take down the online news and find a few other bombshells to replace them,” Alick said.
Diverting attention was a common trick in the entertainment industry. Once the heated discussion died down, people would not pay much attention to this matter. Even though this approach did not eliminate the negative. impact on Joan, it prevented the situation from worsening, minimizing the negative impact on the Hill Group.
Bill said, “As for Ms. Taylor…”
He frowned, thinking. That greedy woman who is never satisfied with what she has won’t be pleased with this way. of handling the situation. She’ll definitely come looking for Mr. Hill later.
*If she calls you, don’t answer,” Alick said.
Bill understood that Alick was truly angry this time, so he no longer said anything. He left the office and immediately began handling the matter.
Soon afterward, several pieces of news appeared online. In less than half an hour, they dominated the trending topics. There were hashtags like “Retired A-list actress’s affair with a young heartthrob exposed online”, “Rising starlet gave birth secretly” and “The most popular member of a boy band officially announces boyfriend”.
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Any one of these individuals was a top-tier figure in the entertainment industry. The dropping of such impactful bombshells at the same time instantly caused a sensation across the internet. Some blog servers even crashed immediately due to the overwhelming load.
These showbiz bombshells sparked countless attention, and all of Joan’s negative news instantly vanished into thin
air.
Even though some netizens were still enthusiastic about discussing this matter, compared to the massive discussion on the other side, it could not really stir up much of a wave.
“He really fell head over heels for that woman. He actually turned the entire entertainment industry upside down just for her!”
When Summer saw these pieces of news at the UnitedIslands Group, she immediately guessed it was Alick’s doing. She could not think of anyone else with such capabilities.
Summer thought Putting that video on the internet would make Alick see Joan’s true colors. However, she didn’t expect that he’d still be defending that woman.
Even though Summer was angry, she felt somewhat restless. She crumpled the discarded draft in her hand, aimed at the trash can, and tossed it into the trash can, thinking, “I won’t care about that d a m n couple’s affair.
She gathered her thoughts, ready to continue her sketches. Suddenly, the phone on her desk started shaking violently. As she tapped the screen, she was surprised to see that it was a call from Aria, and she wondered if the call was related to the delay in Ballard and Abby’s enrollment at the kindergarten.
Frowning, she quickly picked up the phone and said, “Hello, Ms. Fryer?”
Aria said, “Ms. Wright, Mr. Sanford didn’t come to school today…”
Summer abruptly stood up from her chair and said, “What? Really?”
“Yep.” Aria replied.
She was uneasy, unsure why Summer suddenly got worked up. “We can’t reach Mr. Hill on our end,” she said. “You mentioned working with him the other day, so we thought you could help us find out what’s happening”
“Got it,” Summer said.
She then hung up and dialed Sanford’s number as she walked toward the
garage.
