Chapter 149: Trending Again

Chapter 149: Trending Again

"Mom!" Claire twisted to shield Sarah, lifting her leg to kick at Ronin.

But she didn't connect.

Instead, she heard a gunshot.

Ronin screamed, and the knife clattered to the floor.

Claire spun around to find Vincent had somehow already burst into the room.

With him came the police chief and two officers.

Ronin still struggled, but the officers quickly subdued him and snapped on handcuffs.

"Aunt Sarah, are you hurt?" Vincent didn't ask Claire—he knew she could take care of herself.

"I'm fine."

After checking on Sarah, Vincent turned to Claire. He didn't speak, just reached out and took her hand, his thumb brushing twice across her palm in silent reassurance.

Claire pressed her lips together slightly, letting him hold her hand without a word.

"Officer, take him away." Vincent's voice carried the weight of authority as he glanced down at Ronin like he was looking at something worthless.

All the fight and defiance had drained from Ronin. He stared at Vincent with nothing but emptiness in his eyes.

If Vincent hadn't been trending on social media these past few days, Ronin wouldn't even recognize this cold, imperious man standing before him.

For most people, seeing Vincent in person would be something to brag about.

And now he'd finally met him—at the end of the road.

The police chief pulled out an arrest warrant. "Ronin, you're being formally charged with embezzlement of company funds, illegal online lending, and attempted murder."

Ronin said nothing.

The reckless courage he'd felt moments ago—ready to take everyone down with him—had fizzled out. Now he was painfully clearheaded.

He'd crossed Crystalbrook's two most powerful families.

Even without evidence, if they wanted, they could keep him locked up for life.

And he had plenty of crimes to his name.

Just as the police were leading him out of the office, the deadness in Ronin's eyes flickered. He stared hard at Claire, his gaze filled with bitter resentment.

Resentment at being betrayed by Zoe.

Resentment at losing to a girl not even twenty years old.

The office fell quiet, leaving only Vincent, Sarah, and Claire.

Sarah didn't look relieved by Ronin's arrest. If anything, she seemed more troubled.

Claire knew she was regretting her poor judgment.

"Mom, it's not your fault. Bad people are good at hiding. He used your kindness and loyalty against you."

Sarah's spirits remained low. "Sweetheart, I can't believe it. If you hadn't come to the company, who knows what else he would've done."

Claire teased her, "That's why I came back—I'm your daughter, here to beat up the bad guys for you."

Sarah seemed to brighten a little, her smile indulgent.

Vincent cleared his throat theatrically, as if offended at being ignored.

Claire laughed at him.

How did Vincent manage to switch so seamlessly between business titan and overgrown child?

Just then, Sarah's phone rang.

Sarah answered on speaker. "Daphne."

"Mom, something happened. Have you seen what's trending?"

Sarah looked confused. "What is it?"

"Someone posted a video of Claire online. It doesn't look good for her."

Claire's expression didn't change. She walked to the desk, moved the mouse, and clicked on the trending topics.

"'Beyond the Shadows' Leading Lady Rowan Bullied by Claire"

The attached video was the same one Daphne had told Selene to send Rowan that day.

Edited down, it showed only Claire shoving Rowan's head under a running faucet, Rowan looking helpless and humiliated with no way to fight back.

Sarah followed with her phone, looking at the screen.

Her chest heaved with anger. "This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

"Mom, don't get worked up. There's something else." Daphne's voice came through the phone.

"Selene overheard Rowan talking to her assistant. Rowan's the one who leaked the video online to gain sympathy."

"I'm guessing she's also the one who spread that rumor about Claire being a homewrecker—all to set up for this video."

"Alright, I understand. I won't let her get away with this." Sarah hung up.

Vincent had also moved behind Claire, his tone almost proud. "Baby, when did this happen? Nice moves—well done."

Claire didn't respond.

Sarah was still fuming, her tone fierce. "Vincent, get Rowan off that set immediately!"

"Okay."

He agreed, then turned to Claire with deliberate slowness. "Baby, what do you think?"

Claire didn't answer right away.

Online was chaos right now.

Rowan didn't have Daphne's level of fame, but she still had over a hundred thousand followers. When they saw such a shocking video, emotions ran high.

They rallied together—their idol had been victimized.

And by the ungrateful Claire, no less.

People online weren't just calling her a homewrecker anymore—now they were calling her vicious.

Rowan's follower count was climbing rapidly.

Claire had already formed her own judgment about what was happening.

But she still hacked into both Daphne's and Rowan's phones to confirm.

No surprises there.

Rowan was behind both incidents.

And Daphne was working behind the scenes to fan the flames.

Not only that, but right after things blew up, Daphne had rushed to Sarah to expose Rowan, completely washing her hands of the whole thing.

Daphne's behavior reminded Claire of a story.

A and B were both actors and friends. They agreed to visit a prostitute together. After B and the woman went into the hotel room, A paid off the prostitute and secretly called the police.

The result? B was arrested on the spot.

His acting career ended that day.

This little performance Daphne and Rowan had put on—on the surface, they'd both achieved their goals.

Claire's reputation was trashed.

Rowan had gained massive attention.

And Daphne held all the cards.

Under these circumstances, if the Montague family revealed her identity or Vincent stepped forward, the online hate would only get worse.

They'd tear her apart even more viciously.

It would turn into a wealthy family scandal.

If she didn't have leverage, Daphne would have truly won.

When people called her a homewrecker, Claire hadn't immediately fought back. She'd been waiting for their next move.

Now, the time had come.

On set.

Whenever Rowan had a free moment, she grabbed her phone—first to check how much her follower count had grown.

She also scrolled through the comments. The more viciously people cursed Claire, the happier she felt.

Claire was supposed to be the rich daughter, yet she'd spent over a decade living in poverty with her adoptive parents.

Rowan was supposed to suffer, yet she'd lived comfortably in Claire's place.

And now Claire had landed a man like Vincent.

The injustice ate at her.

She hated it.

"Rowan, is what's online true? Did Claire really bully you?" A female crew member, curious and with nothing better to do, came over to ask.

At the question, Rowan's eyes dimmed, as if the topic itself had dragged down her mood.

"I wouldn't say 'bully,' exactly. It's just..." Rowan paused before continuing. "I was lost for over ten years before coming home. Of course Mom and Dad want to make it up to me, so they've been a little... distant with her."

"I get it." The crew member cut her off excitedly, as if she'd figured out the rest of the story. "She's insecure, right? Afraid of losing everything she has now, so she's been targeting you?"

Rowan frowned slightly. "Actually, I can understand where she's coming from."

The crew member looked exasperated. "She's trying to steal your parents and you still understand her?"

"She's absolutely vicious. I need to go online and leave a few comments myself."

Rowan pretended to object. "Maybe you shouldn't. She's already suffering enough."

The crew member shot back, "She deserves it!"

After the woman left, she immediately huddled with a few other crew members, talking animatedly. Rowan glanced their way, a pleased smile curving her lips.

"Rowan, the producer wants to see you." The assistant director suddenly appeared.

Rowan agreed and headed to see producer Seraphina Wells.

On the way, she couldn't help thinking that Seraphina must want to talk about the trending topic.

Not only had Rowan gained attention—'Beyond the Shadows' had gotten free publicity too.

She'd brought value to the production. As producer, Seraphina calling her now must be good news.

At the thought, her steps grew lighter.