Chapter 58

Chapter 58

People were leaving comments under my posts, even sharing them, asking what was really going on.

Someone even brought all this to Killian's attention.

For a while, the company was caught up in wave after wave of public opinion.

Sebastian reached out to me, asking how I was doing.

I said, "I'm fine, but after posting that update, there's no turning back."

Sebastian laughed on the other end of the phone and told me, "I didn't expect you to post it at this time, but I think you did the right thing."

"They haven't discovered we're still in contact privately. I'll help you investigate things at the company and provide you with any information you need."

I had to say, Sebastian really knew how to win me over.

Especially at such a critical moment, his continued support really surprised me.

As my confidant, his alertness and responsiveness had exceeded my expectations.

I sincerely thanked him. "If you hadn't been helping me investigate all this time, I wouldn't have known about so many of Killian's moves."

Like when Killian tried to cancel two of my projects and weaken my control in the company.

But Sebastian noticed in time and used some tactics to save those two projects.

Because of this, I could continue to secretly control various aspects of the company through Sebastian.

With those two projects still running, my position in the company remained valid.

This was legally recognized.

Even though Killian and I were already battling it out in public opinion and no longer going to the company, I was still the one calling the shots.

But I knew this situation wouldn't last long.

Sure enough, a new round of public opinion began.

After I released that evidence, everyone was discussing the situation of the whole Lacey family.

Killian definitely wouldn't let this go.

Even though there were many voices online supporting me, I couldn't blindly return to the company now and claim I was taking power.

If I did that, Killian and I would inevitably clash head-on.

But right now, I wasn't strong enough.

What's more, as Virio's fiancée, I also had to help handle the Soren family's affairs. I couldn't be in two places at once...

So I temporarily handed over the social media situation to Charles to monitor, asking him to tell me immediately if there were any unusual shifts in opinion.

Fortunately, after my clarification and all the statements were posted, everyone was speculating about where the Lacey family would go from here, but not many people were targeting me.

Killian already knew I had the will, and he knew that after my father's incident, I was indeed the family's rightful leader.

On the other hand, none of my other family elders had come out to speak up for me so far.

I guessed that after our last conflict, Killian had started seeking them out, offering each of them benefits one by one.

Even if I really went back to the company to compete with them, they would definitely stand on Killian's side.

I had almost given up hope on these elders.

But that didn't stop me from continuing to use this situation to amplify my voice.

At the company, I had Sebastian continue helping me organize all the financial information.

Soon, Killian tightened his transfer of power to me.

He hastily wrapped up all the projects in my hands, even the collaboration I'd privately discussed with Virio was sloppily ended.

I didn't know if Killian was planning to tighten control further or had other plans.

Fortunately, I still had Sebastian.

Our deal wasn't over yet, and he still told me every day what was happening at the company.

But soon, I faced another challenge.

When public opinion was at its peak, the media exposed evidence of my correspondence with rival families.

These rival families included not only Virio's Soren family, but also two other smaller families.

In recent years, these two smaller families had been caught in the struggle between the Lacey family and the Soren family, with many people speculating which side they would ultimately join.

What the media exposed this time was a special piece of correspondence evidence.

It was communication between Virio and me from before, discussing when to reveal the will, when to go after Killian, and when to turn against the Lacey family.

This correspondence laid out my movements during this period clearly, and everything was premeditated.

I looked at this trending topic, printed out all the materials, and posted them in my study, staring at these scenes with a cold smile on my face.

All of this was fabricated, I could tell.

But I didn't know who was targeting me now.

The most likely suspect was of course Killian, but based on my understanding of him, he wouldn't bother with something this childish.

He never planned to fight a public opinion battle with me before, so soon, I locked onto Freya as my target.

In comparison, I wouldn't be surprised if Freya did something like this.

But after this stuff was exposed, even though I quickly posted a clarification statement, hardly anyone believed it anymore.

Now the internet was mostly filled with gossip-hungry people who desperately wanted to see our two families fight and stir up even bigger waves of public opinion.

As for the truth of the matter, no one seemed to care.

Therefore, my comment section was no longer as harmonious as before. While there were still voices supporting me, there were also many gossip-seekers, some questioning me, asking if I was just seeking attention.

And now that my identity as Virio's fiancée had been made public, most people knew I was now exercising his authority on his behalf.

So many people also believed what Killian's side was saying was right.

Everything I did was just bait thrown out to fight with the Lacey family.

Charles watched my expression from the side and said to me, "Do you need me to talk to those media outlets for you?"

"If the focus is going to be on the public opinion battle next, then you'll need the media we've bought off on our side."

I shook my head. "I don't want to get caught up in this meaningless dispute. Even if I win the public opinion battle, so what? That won't directly get me back into the company to reclaim everything my father left behind."

I didn't plan to waste my energy on these meaningless things.

So I decided to hold a press conference directly, instead of posting more long-winded updates.

They were using these tactics to accuse me, and now many reporters were eager to interview me.

In this situation, if I didn't stand up, it would be completely different from the directness I showed when I posted those updates before.

So soon, with Luca and Charles's help, I held another press conference.