Chapter 157:
“I think Miss Owen’s talent speaks for itself. Maybe there’s more to this story than people realize.”
When Paola caught wind of this, her annoyance was impossible to hide. Didn’t that practically scream she’d set Rylie up? She’d even toyed with the idea of keeping Johnny as a backup fiancé—but clearly, the guy was hopeless if he couldn’t see the truth at his age.
Over at the Morgan estate, Brad was just wrapping up a brutal stretch of work. A robbery and explosion involving an unidentified cargo ship had taken place right at the country’s maritime border, leaving behind pieces of a custom-made firearm scattered in the water.
Now, the navy had no choice but to team up with the security department to dig into what had really happened.
Brad hadn’t caught a wink of sleep in two nights. Even after two strong cups of coffee, he still looked as pale as paper.
Brock watched him, concern written all over his face. “You’ve only just gotten better under Dr. Owen’s care. You really shouldn’t be pushing yourself like this.”
“It’s just two days. I’ll manage,” Brad said, leaning back on the couch and closing his eyes. After a pause, he asked out of nowhere, “Any idea what Rylie’s up to these days?”
Brock answered, “I’ll look into it.”
It didn’t take long before he came back with the latest gossip from the upper circles. The good news? Rylie still drew plenty of attention — clear proof she hadn’t lost her worth. The bad news stung. People were calling her a disgrace to the Owen family, saying she wasn’t cut out for high society.
A heavy silence from Brock finally made Brad open his eyes. The hesitation written across the man’s face didn’t slip past him. His gaze sharpened, and for once, a flicker of something broke through his usual indifference. “Trouble found her again, didn’t it?”
Rather than answering right away, Brock passed him the tablet. “People are saying Dr. Owen stole her cousin’s music to get ahead — and then framed her to keep things quiet. It’s already turned into a mess.”
ⱠⒶⵜẸŞ₸ ₡Ḥ₳₱₸ɆⱤŞ ⱻ g𝒶lnovєl𝑠.𝑐ᴏm
After watching the entire video, Brad spoke with indifference. “Are all these people blind?”
Brock gave a small nod. “Just the usual crowd of rich kids gossiping. Should I start dealing with it?”
Brad gave a slight nod without thinking, and Brock turned to leave right away.
“I’ll have the tech team recover the original video and help clear Dr. Owen’s name.”
“Hold up,” Brad called after him.
“Don’t release it just yet — not right away.”
Brock paused, confused. “What?”
“Just bide your time.”
His mind wandered to Rylie’s usual air of confidence, the way she always seemed to have the upper hand no matter what was thrown at her.
She was the type who always said he didn’t need to step in — that she could handle things on her own. But this time? Would it be the same?
No amateur could have pulled off a video like that — most people wouldn’t even catch that it had been tampered with. Whoever was behind it clearly knew what they were doing.
.
.
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