Chapter 9
Chapter 9
On the screen was the grainy footage she had secretly recorded—the damning conversation between Sam and Michelle. Their voices played clearly, casually discussing how they had drugged Anna, how they paid someone to trap her in a hotel room, and how the plan had worked perfectly.
Even though Anna had already figured it out, hearing them say it made her chest twist with pain and anger.
Tears rolled down her cheeks but she wiped them. “I just don’t get it… Why? Why go this far? Why do this to me?”
Tanya didn’t answer right away.
Instead, she scrolled through her phone again, then handed it to Anna. “That’s not all. Look.”
It was a blog article. Then another. And another.
Every headline was the same shade of cruel.
"Heiress Anna Briggs Caught Having Sex With Mystery Man on Engagement Night."
"Disgraced Fiancée Spotted Leaving Hotel Alone—Where Was Her Groom?"
"The Cheating Angel in White."
And the comments were even worse. Tweets. Posts. Threads.
Some mocked her. Some called her shameless. Others made jokes too vulgar to read out loud.
Anna’s hands trembled as she scrolled through the tweets. One headline hit harder than the rest. Her vision blurred, but she forced the tears back. Not here. Not now. Not in front of Tanya who had done so much for her.
But Tanya reached over, gently squeezed her hand.
“Listen to me,” she said. “I’m going straight to Colby after this. He’ll make a call. We’ll clear it up, okay? These articles will vanish. You don’t have to face this alone.”
Anna nodded slowly, lips tight. “Thank you.”
But Tanya wasn’t finished. “There’s one more thing you need to see… and I’m sorry, but it’s going to hurt.”
She played a second video.
This time it was a live TV interview.....Sam sitting confidently in a studio chair, wearing a dark suit and his favorite innocent face.
The host’s voice was sympathetic. “Sam, how are you holding up after last night’s betrayal?”
Sam shook his head with a sigh. “It’s been hard. I’m shocked. Disappointed. She was caught… literally in the act. I’m still trying to understand how someone I loved could do this to me, but… I don’t want to punish the family for her mistake.”
He smiled faintly.
“So even though I can’t marry Anna anymore, her cousin—Michelle—offered to step in. Not because she has to, but because she cares about the family. So we’ve decided… we’ll go through with the wedding.”
The host clasped her hands dramatically. “Wow. That’s… honorable.”
Anna stared, jaw clenched.
A bitter smile crept onto her lips.
“I have to go home,” she murmured. “To my grandfather’s house. He’s been calling. And texting.”
Tanya frowned. “You sure? I mean… are you ready for that?”
Anna nodded. “He’s been kinder to me than anyone else. I know I don’t share blood with the Briggs family, but he’s the only family I’ve really had.”
“But you know they’re going to be hard on you, right?” Tanya asked gently. “Let me send you the first video. At least show it to your grandfather.”
“There’s no point,” Anna said softly. “Michelle’s their blood. They would still take her side. I know them enough to understand that they value benefits above all else.”
Tanya looked at her sadly. “So what are you going to do?”
“I’ll figure it out,” Anna said with a small smile. “But I have to face them.”
She asked Tanya to drop her off, and Tanya agreed without hesitation. When the car pulled up to the Briggs family estate, Tanya reached out and squeezed Anna’s hand once more.
“You don’t have to do this alone,” she whispered. "I can come with you right now."
Anna nodded and forced a smile. “Its okay, Tanya. Thank you for everything.”
As Anna walked into the compound, her eyes locked on the last people she wanted to see.
Michelle and Sam.
They were seated on the garden bench, laughing, their heads leaned close. Michelle flipped her hair over her shoulder in mock elegance. Sam whispered something, and they both laughed again.
But as soon as they noticed Anna, they stood up, pretending to look surprised.
Michelle smirked. “Wow. You even changed into a white dress like an angel. How poetic.”
Anna walked closer, her voice cold and steady. “I’m just going to ask one question. Why?”
They didn’t answer.
She turned to Sam. “If you wanted Michelle so badly, why didn’t you just propose to her in the first place? You didn’t need to lie. You didn’t need to drag me into this circus.”
Her eyes moved to Michelle. “And you… pretending to be my beloved cousin, hugging me, smiling in my face. All while plotting behind my back.”
Her voice dropped. “All you had to do was say something. I would’ve stepped aside. Why put on all this drama?”
“Because I hate you,” Michelle said bluntly, stepping closer, her tone sharp and cold.
“You don’t belong in this family, Anna. And yet, every time we were together, you somehow managed to outshine me. Grandfather gave you more attention, people liked you more… I couldn’t take it anymore.”
Her voice dropped to a hiss.
“This? This was to teach you your place. Now the world sees who you really are. The headlines will never forget you.”
Sam chuckled beside her, arms folded smugly. “She caught on faster than we expected, I’ll give her that,” he said, glancing sideways at Michelle. “We planned every detail. It was flawless.”
Anna didn’t flinch.
“I have evidence of everything,” she said quietly. "All of it. But don’t worry… I’m not going to expose you.”
They exchanged glances.
“I’m not doing it for you,” she added. “I’m not wasting another second on either of you. The only thing I regret is meeting you, Sam. Getting entangled with you was the worst mistake of my life.”
Without waiting for their response, she turned and walked away, head high.
Michelle sneered at her back. “Keep pretending you’re better than us. You’re still just the adopted daughter.”
But Anna didn’t turn around.
She didn’t need to.
When Tanya got home, Colby was already waiting in the living room, scrolling through news headlines on his tablet. One look at Tanya’s face and he sat up.
“What’s wrong?”
She dropped her purse onto the couch and sank beside him with a sigh.
“The posts about Anna,” she said quietly. “They’re everywhere. It’s horrible. People are tearing her apart online.”
Colby didn’t speak. He reached for his phone immediately.
Within minutes, calls were made. Direct threats issued.
“I want every article down,” he said. “Every photo. Every rumor. Scrubbed clean. If I see one more negative comment about Anna Briggs, someone’s getting sued.”
When he hung up, he turned to Tanya. “Done. Satisfied?”
Tanya shook her head. “No.”