Chapter 195

The incident stirred up quite a storm online.

The moment Molly stepped into her office, Layla hurried over with a grave expression, tablet clutched in her hands.

"Molly, you need to see this."

Molly took the device. On the screen were the latest trending topics on X.

Three of the top spots blazed with glaring headlines—nearly all of them about her.

She clicked on one. Inside, malicious comments and so-called "exposés" flooded the thread.

Molly's face remained impassive as she scrolled, though her gaze grew colder with each passing second.

"Looks like someone deliberately hired trolls and bought the trending spots. It's spreading incredibly fast," Layla said urgently.

"When did this start?"

"Early this morning. We didn't have time to react."

"Have we traced the source?"

Layla shook her head. "Most of these troll accounts are newly registered. Nearly impossible to track down the origin."

Molly nodded, handing back the tablet.

"Handle it as quickly as you can."

She'd expected this mess to drag on for days, but to her astonishment, within half an hour every negative comment, every manufactured scandal, vanished from the internet—as if it had never existed at all.

Molly had been monitoring the situation closely. Naturally, she noticed the shift. She was surprised at how smoothly things had resolved.

Someone had helped her. But who?

She ran through a mental list of possibilities, names flashing through her mind one by one.

Edward.

The instant his name surfaced, her heart clenched sharply.

She quickly dismissed the thought. She called Layla back in to discuss next steps.

But before she could gather her thoughts, a furious commotion erupted from the lobby below—shrill screaming and heated arguing.

Molly stepped out of her office just as the elevator doors burst open.

A disheveled but strikingly beautiful woman stormed out, her belly visibly swollen with pregnancy. Behind her, security guards scrambled to intervene without resorting to force.

"Molly! Get out here! You shameless bitch!" Clara's voice was shrill and piercing, her eyes red-rimmed, hair in wild disarray.

The spectacle drew immediate attention. Employees poked their heads up from cubicles, whispering amongst themselves.

Molly's eyes narrowed as she turned toward the disruption. Her gaze immediately landed on the slight curve of Clara's belly.

So she was pregnant.

Clara had come here for one reason only: she'd finally managed to conceive. She'd thought the Smith family fortune was within reach—until news broke of the company's acquisition.

Her plans had crumbled overnight.

She'd bought the online smear campaign to pressure Molly, never expecting someone powerful to be protecting her from the shadows.

Molly's voice was cold and detached as she looked down at Clara from where she stood. "This isn't the place for your tantrum. Get out."

"You conniving, two-faced snake!" Seeing Molly so composed and superior sent Clara over the edge. She jabbed a trembling finger at her. "You destroyed Oliver! You not only sued him, now you're swallowing up his company! Molly, how can you be so vicious!"

Tears streamed down her face.

"Oliver brought this on himself," Molly said, enunciating each word carefully. "He deserves to face the law. As for acquiring his company, I did so through completely legal channels."

"Shameless!" Clara spat. "You're kicking someone when they're down! You knew Oliver was in trouble and you pounced—this is robbery! Give me back the company!"

Clara was beyond rational thought now, her rage spiraling into hysteria.

She grabbed files from a nearby desk and hurled them to the floor, screaming threats. "If you don't return it, I'll wreck this entire place!"

Security moved to restrain her, but Molly raised a hand to stop them.

"Let her," she commanded coolly. The guards froze in confusion.

Clara paused too, eyeing her with wary suspicion.

"Go ahead. Smash whatever you want," Molly said, strolling over to a nearby couch and settling into it with perfect composure. "Everything here has a price tag. Break as much as you like—when the police arrive, they can escort you straight to Oliver. You two can have a nice reunion behind bars."

Clara's face drained of color. She clearly hadn't expected this response.

Clutching her belly, she looked around frantically. Her wild gaze landed on an open window across the room.

The window had been cracked for ventilation, leaving a gap wide enough to fit through. Beyond it: a twenty-six-story drop.

A reckless, vicious idea flickered in her eyes.

"You… you're forcing my hand!" Clara suddenly bolted toward the window, moving so fast the guards couldn't react in time. She yanked it open wider. Icy wind rushed in, whipping her hair into a frenzy.

She climbed onto the ledge, one foot already dangling in open air, then twisted around to face Molly.

"Molly! Give me back the company, or I'll jump!" she shrieked, white-knuckled hands gripping the window frame as her body swayed precariously in the wind. "Let everyone see how you drove your own pregnant sister to suicide! I'll make sure you're branded a murderer for the rest of your miserable life!"

The security guards turned ghostly pale, wanting to approach but too terrified of provoking her.

Molly, however, remained utterly composed. She didn't even shift position.

In fact, she slowly reached for her phone, opened the camera app, and aimed it directly at Clara on the ledge.

"By all means, continue," Molly said, her voice unsettlingly calm. "You're putting on quite the performance."

Clara's expression froze. "Molly, are you trying to kill me?"

"If you want to die, there's nothing I can do about it," Molly replied evenly, her phone steady in her hand. "But I've recorded this entire incident. You barged into my company, destroyed my property—that's vandalism and disturbing the peace. Now you're threatening to jump unless I comply with your demands. This evidence is more than enough for my lawyers to prosecute you."

"I'm pregnant," Clara hissed, her voice beginning to tremble—whether from cold or fear, it was hard to tell.

"You can explain that to the judge," Molly said, lowering her phone slightly. "I've already called the police. You can tell them your sob story and see if they show you any leniency."

"You actually called the police?" Clara's composure shattered completely. She'd only meant to scare Molly into submission.

She never thought Molly would actually go through with it.

"Of course," Molly said with a casual shrug. "It's a matter of public safety. So—what's it going to be?"