Chapter 91 Bought With Hubby's Money
Author's POV
Back at the Williams estate.
Mildred stared at her laptop screen, fingers hovering over the keyboard. The cursor blinked mockingly at her, waiting.
Dandelion's face smiled back at her from every entertainment website she opened. The standing ovation from last film festival went viral. In fact everything about Dandelion went viral without even sweating it, meanwhile she struggled to get just a thousand views. And the worst thing about it is the long list of directors lining up with offers.
The film festival had been three days ago. Three days of watching her stepsister reclaim everything Mildred thought she had finally taken for herself.
Her phone buzzed with another notification. It was another article praising Dandelion's "raw talent, devastating performance."
"No," Mildred whispered, slamming the laptop shut. "No, no, no."
She grabbed her phone with gritted teeth and scrolled through her contacts frantically. She stopped at a name she had saved months ago. It was the number of a journalist who owed her a favor. A man who specialized in the kind of stories that destroyed careers.
Her thumb hovered over the call button.
Do it. Before she takes everything again. Her mind screamed at her.
She pressed dial. The man picked up on the first ring.
"Hello Evans? It's Mildred Williams. I have a story for you."
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Dandelion's Pov.
I woke up to seventeen missed calls from Lilian.
My heart dropped before I even unlocked my phone. It's either something good or bad came from that many calls. I sat up in bed, the silk sheets pooling around my waist as I dialed her back.
She answered on the first ring like she had been anticipating my call.
"Dandy, don't read it. Promise me you won't read it."She breathed through the speaker.
I squinted, still feeling a bit sleepy, "Read what?"
"Promise me first."
Sleep completely vanished from my eyes at her urgency, "Lilian, what happened?"
I was already opening my browser.
I typed in my name, The article loaded almost immediately.
"DANDELION WILLIAMS' COMEBACK BUILT ON MYSTERY HUSBAND'S MONEY—NO REAL TALENT"
The headline punched the air from my lungs. I scrolled down, each word cutting deeper than the last.
"According to "insider sources," the mysterious man who'd been photographed with Miss Williams had bought her role in the indie film. Paid the director. Bribed critics for positive reviews. And the standing ovation? It was fully Orchestrated."
That's not true. I bit my trembling lips hard, God I knew this would happen.
"Miss Williams has always relied on connections rather than talent. First with producer Chase Brussel, now with her wealthy protector. Sources confirm she's nothing more than a gold digger who uses men to climb the ladder she could never scale on her own merit. Her comeback was Bought With Hubby's Money"
My hands trembled after the second article. Not with tears this time. With rage.
So that's why this has happened.
"Dandy?" Lilian's voice cracked through the speaker. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but are you okay?"
"I'm going to kill her."
"What?"
"Mildred." I threw off the covers and stood, pacing in the bedroom. "This has her fingerprints all over it. The timing, every damn article."
"We don't know that for sure."
"Trust me, I know." My voice came out firmly, Five months ago, I would have been sobbing and blaming myself, But Now? Now I wanted blood. "I know my stepsister. This is exactly her style when she's desperate."
"S...so what are you going to do?"
I stopped pacing, staring at my reflection in the floor length mirror. The woman looking back wasn't the broken girl who had jumped into Glass Lake. She was stronger, sharper and Angrier.
"First I have to prove them wrong Lily."I mumbled.
"What about Alex, are you going to tell him." she asked worriedly.
"I don't need him to handle it."
"Are you sure,"
"Don't worry, I just need to prove them wrong myself. If Alex sues or makes threats, it'll look like he really did buy my success. It'll confirm everything they're saying." I paused with a sigh. "As for Mildred I want her to be destroyed by her own tactics, by allowing the media she so much weaponized to ruin her. So for now I'll ignore her, she hates being ignored."
I could feel the tension ease from Lilian's voice. "Smart girl, God I thought you would kill her for real." She laughed awkwardly.
I scoffed, "She's lucky I'm not vile like her."
........................
The dining room door burst open. Alex strode in, his face thunderous, phone pressed to his ear.
"I want the name of every source. I don't care if they're anonymous, find them. And get our lawyers ready to file." He spotted me and his expression shifted, from anger to Concern. "I'll call you back."
He ended the call and crossed to me in three long strides.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."I replied casually.
His eyes narrowed, "You're not fine Angel. That article is character assassination." He pulled out the chair next to mine and sat, his full attention on me. "I'm shutting down that publication. They'll regret ever printing your name."
"No."
He blinked. "No?"
"Don't sue them. Don't threaten them. Don't do anything."
"Dandelion, they're destroying your reputation."
"They're trying to." I turned to face him fully, keeping my voice calm despite the fire in my chest. "But if you swoop in and save me, you prove their point. The mysterious billionaire husband silencing critics with money and power? That's exactly the narrative they want, I feel it's a trap."
Alex's jaw tightened. "So what, you just let them trash you?"
"I'll prove them wrong." I reached over and placed my hand on his, stopping him before he could argue. "The only way that matters now. Is by being so good they can't ignore me, by working harder than anyone else. By showing everyone that my talent has nothing to do with who I'm married to."
His eyes searched mine. "You're serious about this."
"Completely." I withdrew my hand and continued slicing the steak. "And as for Mildred, if I know her at all, she despises being ignored. This story was meant to make me react, to fight back publicly and look desperate. Instead, I'm going to do nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing." A cold smile touched my lips. "I'll let her wonder why I'm not responding. Let her panic when the story dies down in a few days because I didn't give it oxygen. And then I'll come back stronger."
Alex didn't argue, He stood slowly, studying me with an intensity that made my pulse quicken.
"You've changed." It wasn't a question. I held his gaze.
"You saved me from drowning. Did you expect me to stay the same person who wanted to die?"
Something flickered in his eyes. Like Pride and Respect, probably because I no longer have the same poor mindset as before, and I finally learned to respond to their tactics in smart ways, he nodded once.
"Fine. We do it your way. But the second this crosses a line, I'm destroying everyone involved."
"Deal."
...........................
Days Later – Authors POV
Mildred threw her phone across her bedroom. It bounced off the wall and clattered to the floor, she alone knew how many phones she has destroyed within just a year out of rage.
"Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"
Margaret stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. "Calm down."
"Calm down? Mom, the story died! It barely lasted two days before everyone moved on to other gossip!" Mildred's hands shook as she gestured wildly. "She didn't even respond! Not a single statement, not a social media post, nothing! It's like she doesn't even care!"
"Oh, she cares." Margaret's voice was low, "She's just smarter than we thought."
"What do I do now? She's still getting offers, directors are still calling her team, and I'm stuck with supporting roles while she gets lead after lead!" Mildred sank onto her bed, close to tears. "I can't compete with her. I never could."
"Stop whining." Margaret's sharp tone cut through her daughter's spiral. "You sound pathetic."
Mildred flinched.
Margaret walked to the window, gazing out at their estate grounds. "Dandelion thinks she's won by ignoring us. She thinks silence makes her strong."
"Doesn't it?"
"No." Margaret turned, a dangerous smile playing at her lips. "Silence just means she's not watching her back carefully enough."
Mildred sat up straighter. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," Margaret said slowly, "that your stepsister made a mistake. She got confident. And confident people make errors."
Her brows creased, "What kind of errors?"
Margaret's smile widened. "I have an idea." She pulled out her phone. "Because if we can't destroy her career from the outside, we'll destroy her from the inside. And this time, she won't see it coming."