Chapter 219
The Smith Group.
Nolan wanted to temporarily cancel the afternoon press conference, but the Clark family disagreed.
If the Smith family canceled the press conference, it would be an even bigger blow to the Clark family.
"Nolan, we agreed to this in advance. Public opinion online has nothing to do with us. What are you trying to pull here? Kicking us to the curb after we've served our purpose?" Haven brought Aria to the Smith Group, aggressively pushing her forward.
For the Clark family, the waves of negative public opinion were a disaster, but not enough to leave them with no chance of recovery.
"Internet users have short memories. After some time passes, they'll naturally forget. It's just a bunch of poor people making noise. It won't affect the Clark family's actual standing." Haven scoffed and sat down in front of Nolan, "To restore the Clark family's reputation, I've already sent my younger daughter abroad. The Clark family has made enough sacrifices. You've promised this marriage alliance multiple times with absolute certainty. Don't let the Clark family down."
Nolan was also in a difficult position. The Clark family did have significant leverage over him.
But the Smith Group's reputation was equally important.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Nolan couldn't decide for a moment.
"Michael isn't James. This boy has his own opinions." Nolan shifted the responsibility onto Michael.
"Can Michael cut ties with you? You as a father, really have no authority at all." Haven was angry and slapped the armrest of her chair, "Aria has devoted herself to him. Whether it was the Shadow City project or this desert project, the Clark family has given it our all. Aria has also mediated throughout, all to make things easier for Michael. How many women as excellent as Aria are there in the entire Emerald City business circle?"
"I don't believe the Smith family can find a better match." Haven huffed.
Looking across the entire business circle, aside from the Fields family, the Williams family, and the Adams family, there really weren't many that could compare to the Clark family.
Unfortunately, the real daughter of the Fields family had disappeared, and the adopted daughter they had was registered under the butler's name—she wasn't the Fields family's real daughter.
The Williams family's only daughter, Clea, was single, but she was a widow. People in their circle said she brought bad luck to her husband.
If Nolan wouldn't choose someone who had never been married, he naturally wouldn't choose Clea, who was on her second marriage.
The Adams family's Evelyn was already in a marriage alliance with James. Among the remaining options, the best one was his eldest daughter, Aria.
"Aria is great." Nolan nodded.
Aria's eyes reddened, her voice choking, "I'm sorry, it's all my fault. The Clark family's negative publicity has affected the Smith Group."
Aria looked fragile, helpless, yet kind and sensible—the kind elders liked.
Even someone like Nolan, who put interests above all else, felt Aria was the most suitable daughter-in-law candidate, "Let's have the PR department work harder on this. It's only noon now. We still have time until three in the afternoon. As long as the public opinion shows signs of dying down, the press conference will go ahead as planned."
That was all Nolan could do.
Aria wiped her tears, "Mr. Smith, if we really aren't meant to be, I'll always respect you."
Nolan sighed.
What a good girl.
Michael was clearly just being stubborn with him.
With Nolan backing down, Aria felt confident. She glanced at Haven, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
She was willing to cut off even Pearl, her own sister, to save herself—let alone Emma, who was just a cousin.
She would make Emma draw all the fire of public opinion, at any cost.
Michael's house.
Nora had dozed off in the car for a while, but her sleep was restless.
"Don't hit me."
She was dreaming of those years in prison.
It was a world of inner darkness, despair, loneliness, and day after day of mental torture.
She had gone crazy countless times, screamed silently countless times. Apart from hurting herself more desperately each time, she couldn't find an outlet.
The day she was released, Nora told herself it was over, everything behind her, and one day, the sunlight would shine on her again.
But those early years had been too hard. Even when sunlight really did shine on her, she still lacked confidence.
Was it real sunlight?
And how long would the sunlight stay?
It wasn't that Nora didn't trust Michael—she didn't trust herself.
"Mr. Smith, this is the response from the school. They've reported Nora's situation up the chain. If the wrongful imprisonment is confirmed, and if there's new evidence proving the facts in the original verdict were wrong, she can file an appeal." The lawyer showed Michael the response from Celestial University.
"What are the chances of success?" Michael stood at the door, watching Nora sleep, his expression darkening.
"If the facts are confirmed and the evidence is solid, then Luna, who reported Nora for extortion back then, would be guilty of false accusation and framing. She fabricated facts and has caused serious consequences for the victim. Especially since Nora attempted suicide multiple times in prison, suffered from severe depression and anxiety, and underwent multiple MECT treatments—these are serious consequences of the false accusation. We can push for three to ten years."
The lawyer organized the documents, "But there's something tricky. You need to prepare Ms. Nora Adams mentally. Because back then in court, Nora voluntarily pleaded guilty. If she was threatened, she must say so herself. Only if Ms. Nora Adams cooperates can I find evidence that's favorable to us."
Michael took a deep breath and turned to go downstairs.
He'd been doing all this privately precisely because he was afraid of triggering Nora again.
Without question, tearing open the wounds from five years ago would be cruel to Nora.
"As for James and Aiden, who testified as witnesses in court, whether their actions constitute false accusation is hard to determine. Unless there's absolute evidence, it's most likely a mistaken accusation at best, and they might just have to issue a public apology."
"I'll deal with James and Aiden myself. As for Luna, she must go to prison." She had escaped justice too many times. This time. This time, he would make sure she was finally locked up.
And it would be for multiple offenses combined, so she'd never have a chance to turn things around.
"As long as you can convince Ms. Adams to cooperate, I'll gather the evidence in the shortest time possible. Marcus has also been looking for evidence favorable to our side. Regarding your mother's cause of death and Vance's true cause of death, because both parties involved are no longer here, it may take longer. You need to be patient and not let the other side catch on, otherwise..." The lawyer tried to calm Michael.
Now wasn't the time to alert the enemy.
What Luna was guilty of wasn't just framing Nora and sending her to prison—there were also lives involved.
"I can wait. Nora can't." Michael frowned.
He didn't want Nora to keep waiting. He wanted her to go back to school.
"Mr. Smith, we can't rush this." The lawyer was afraid Michael would disrupt the original plan.
Both Vance's and Fallon's deaths were suspicious.
Originally, they were investigating these two cases. Now that Nora's imprisonment had been added to the mix, if they broke things off prematurely, it would alert the enemy.
If that happened, Michael's years of patience and tolerance toward Nolan and Luna would all be for nothing.
Nolan wasn't stupid, and neither was Luna.
If these people were pushed into a corner, they'd panic and do desperate things to save themselves.