radicalducati Chapter 454: Do You Doubt Me?
Chapter 454: Do You Doubt Me?
The real problem was Rupert Evans. Yosef couldn’t just hand over shares without consequences.
Yet, as Natalie pulled him closer and sweetened her words, he immediately lowered his guard down.
Before he knew it, he had revealed everything. His secret plan is to take down Rupert using the Lawson Group’s help. And once he succeeded, he promised to give Natalie shares and turned her from a rising star into a shareholder.
Natalie wasn’t about to waste the leverage she had against the Evans Group. This was her moment.
"Are you sure we won’t get caught?" Yosef asked in a worried tone. His eyes stayed fixed on her.
Natalie pouted, tilting her head. "Do you doubt me?"
Yosef swallowed hard. "Of course not. I just… have a bad feeling about this."
Natalie glanced at her perfectly manicured nails and smiled seductively. "Isn’t Brady Lawson your backup? The Lawson Group holds a lot of power in the city now."
Yosef hesitated, weighing the risks. With Brady’s support, he wouldn’t have to face the fallout alone.
Wanting to keep Natalie happy, he gave in. "Okay, go for it. You have my full support."
Natalie beamed, throwing her arms around him. "You’re the best!"
Yosef chuckled, trying to hide his unease. "Then how about a victory kiss?"
Natalie flashed a coy smile, masking her disgust. Slowly, she leaned in to kiss him.
The anonymous account promising a major exposé was clearly fake, but that didn’t matter. It had already aroused the online crowd into a frenzy.
In minutes, their follower count skyrocketed by the hundreds of thousands. Everyone was waiting for the so-called truth.
Then, the live stream suddenly cut back to Reese. The camera zoomed in on her pale face.
Sensing the tension, the host turned to her with a sharp question.
"Reese, your aunt, and uncle-in-law are outside the livestream hall. You just saw the footage. What is your opinion about it?"
"I…" Reese’s eyes turned red and her fists clenched. She trembled, struggling to speak.
The host pushed harder. "Reese, is it true? Did you abandon your family after becoming famous, just like they said? Why?"
Blake saw her distress. A protective instinct kicked in, and he almost stepped in.
Then, without warning, the studio went dark.
In the control room, the live stream feed flickered and cut off. Silence filled the air.
Online, chaos erupted.
"What just happened? A power outage?"
"Is it a short circuit? Someone get a generator!"
In the shadows of the switch room, Bianca stood there, looking fierce. She had flipped the main breaker, cutting off the livestream.
It was a drastic move, but the director had refused to stop the broadcast. She had no other choice.
Everything had been planned in advance. There was no way to fight back while the cameras were rolling.
As long as the live stream continued, Reese would remain defenseless, trapped in a storm of accusations.
Stepping outside the studio, Bianca saw a middle-aged couple surrounded by reporters.
It was Reese’s aunt and uncle-in-law.
As soon as they saw Bianca, they pointed at her, shouting, "There she is! Reese's agent!"
"Explain yourself! We won’t leave until we get answers!" The crowd of troublemakers joined in, demanding answers.
A group of reporters quickly surrounded Bianca, their microphones aimed at her.
"Miss Scott, are you aware of your talent, Reese’s, alleged misconduct?"
"Was Reese's weight loss a publicity stunt your company planned?"
"Is Reese's relationship with Blake fake?"
Despite the flood of questions, Bianca remained calm. She walked past the reporters and stopped in front of Reese’s aunt and uncle-in-law.
Her intent stare made them restless. They tried to shift the blame, telling the reporters, "She won’t answer! She’s obviously working with Reese!"
All eyes turned to Bianca.
A calm smile appeared on Bianca’s lips as she spoke. "Are you aware of the legal consequences for defamation, slander, and spreading false information?"
Reese's uncle-in-law with his fragile act falling apart, straightened up and stammered, "What do you mean? How dare you threaten us on a live broadcast?"
Bianca’s smile remained calm. "And by the way, your little stunt of public disruption is considered picking quarrels and provoking trouble. My lawyer will be happy to press charges against you."
Fear flashed in the eyes of Reese’s aunt and uncle-in-law. They sputtered, "Y-you can't do this..."
A reporter quickly took advantage of the moment and asked, "Miss Scott, are you saying these accusations are false?"
"Lies!" Reese’s aunt shrieked. Her sudden outburst was faced with a doubtful and disdainful glance from the reporter.
Bianca smiled calmly and turned to the reporter. "Everything they said is a complete fabrication."
The reporter, confused, raised his camera, snapping a rapid series of photos.
"Why are you so sure? Do you have any proof?"
"Proof? What proof could she have? She's lying!" Reese's aunt scoffed, launching into a rant. Her words only made Bianca’s calm reaction stand out more.
Her so-called relatives joined in with more accusations.
"This is a family matter! You have no right to interfere!"
"You're her agent, of course, you’d defend her! You’re all the same!"
The reporter, growing frustrated, pushed his microphone closer to Bianca.
Bianca’s lips curled into a sneer. "If you really are Reese’s family, where were you when she was fighting a serious illness? Where was your support when she needed help with medical bills?"
"We..." Reese’s aunt and uncle-in-law exchanged looks. Suddenly, her uncle-in-law grabbed his chest, looking troubled.
"Are you okay?" Reese’s aunt asked, rushing to his side. She turned to Bianca, snapping, "It’s not that we refuse to pay the medical bills, we just don’t have the means! As you can see, we’re still struggling to cover my husband’s treatment..."
Her voice shook, and she pretended to wipe away tears.
Bianca scoffed. "So, if you're saying you're short on money, does that mean you're also short on time? When Reese was fighting for her life, where were you? You ignored her when she needed her family most."
"Well..." Reese’s aunt panicked, rolling her eyes. "Who said we never visited? We came often, you just never saw us!"
Bianca pressed her lips together and fired back, "The hospital is under surveillance. It’s easy to check if you’ve visited or not. Are you still going to deny it?"
Reese’s aunt stiffened, glancing at her husband and subtly nudging him to speak.
"Even though we haven’t visited, we raised her for many years! Now that she’s famous and rich, she wants to cut ties with us. She’s ungrateful!"
Reese’s uncle-in-law shouted, completely unreasonable.