Chapter 360 Overwhelmed by Trouble
Even with William’s assurance, Emelie couldn’t find complete peace of mind. Since Jeremiah and Lindsey were willing to offer 50 million dollars to sway William, Emelie couldn’t imagine what else they might offer to achieve their goals.
She even felt anxious about receiving calls, fearing it might be the police asking her to cooperate with an investigation. The entire morning passed with her feeling distracted and uneasy.
During lunch break, several colleagues invited Emelie to join them at the cafeteria. Although she wasn’t very familiar with her colleagues from Swanson Corporation and rarely dined with them, she decided to go along since they had called her.
It turned out they were eager for gossip.
“Ms. Hoven, there’s a rumor online about Ms. Allen attempting suicide last night. Is it true?”
“Why didn’t you come to work yesterday, Ms. Hoven? Someone saw you at the police station. Were you called in by the police?”
“Ms. Hoven, is the incident with Ms. Allen related to you?”
“Oh, come on, don’t be so secretive. We’re colleagues; there’s nothing we can’t talk about,” they pressed on.
“Yeah, we’re just curious. It’s nothing serious,” another added.
“You’re back at worknow, so this shouldn’t concern you, right?”
Frustrated, Emelie controlled her emotions and replied, “If you must know, iny answer is “I don’t know.” If you’re not satisfied with that, feel free to ask the police yourself.”
Hercolleagues scoffed, “You’re really aloof. It’s just casual talk. You don’t need to be so cold.”
Emelie felt a surge of frustration but held back from retorting. Just as she was about to respond, her phone rang on the table. It was Bryan calling.
She felt herself on edge again, as if she might break down any moment. She had barely eaten and hadn’t slept well the previous night without sleeping pills. Feeling increasingly strained, she sensed a lingering PTSD–like reaction to the call.
She couldn’t eat anymore. Pushing her plate aside, she got up abruptly and left.
As Emelle took a few steps away, she overheard her colleagues muttering, “Who does she think she’s fooling? It’s probably her fault!”
Emelie felt unjust as they were falsely accusing her of something she didn’t do
For a brief moment, she felt the urge to storm back and confront them. She couldn’t understand what she had done wrong to be unfairly targeted by Elena and singled out by her colleagues.
But after a while, she managed to quell her emotions. There was no point in arguing; it would only add fuel to the gossip.
Emelie took a deep breath and headed upstairs.
Bryan reached out to her for work. He needed a document completed urgently.
In the past, Emelie could immerse herself in work without distractions, but today she found it impossible to concentrate. Her mind kept drifting back to her colleagues‘ questions during lunch.
She sent the finished document to Bryan and then picked up her phone to search for news about Elena’s attempted suicide. As expected, it was all over the internet. The comments were flooded with Elena’s supporters, blaming Emelie for pushing her to the brink
When photos of Emelle and william horseback riding were posted back then, the worst comments were just about her cozying up to a wealthy man, which she had shrugged off.
Yet, the comments this time were vicious, filled with insults and even threats to her family.
The comments were shocking and filled with slander. As she read on, she saw that her personal information had been exposed, including her parents‘ address in Alderbrook,
The furious comments made her feel as if she had committed some unforgivable crime.
When she saw that they had manipulated her photo into a funeral portrait, she felt as if she couldn’t breathe. Her mind went blank, and she slammed her phone face down on the desk
No matter how strong she was, the overwhelming cyberbullying got to her. She couldn’t concentrate on her work anymore.
Burying her face in her arms, she tried to shut it all out. A colleague walling by noticed that something was wrong but decided not to ask.
After a while, Emelie suddenly remembered something. She grabbed her phone and ran to the restroom to call home. After a while, Adeline answered the call. Fanelle urgently asked, “Is everything okay at home?”