On the other side, Raphael saw the latest public opinion about the Mercer family and breathed a sigh of relief.
These days, the scandals exposed by Emily had dealt unprecedented blows to both him and the company.
Howard Group had inexplicably lost billions in the stock market because of this matter.
At this moment, Raphael deeply regretted not listening to his parents and divorcing Emily earlier.
He had both risen and fallen because of this woman.
No matter how much Raphael regretted, life had to go on.
He arranged for someone to question Emily while stabilizing the company.
...
The next morning, at Hilltop Manor.
Deanna was helping the two little ones get up and said, "Today, your great-grandpa is coming down from the mountain. Mommy has asked for leave from your school teachers. How about you stay home and keep great-grandpa and great-grandma company?"
"Okay, I love playing with great-grandpa," Chloe responded cheerfully.
Gregory, however, looked thoughtfully at his mommy. His intuition told him that she might be hiding something from them.
After all, they had previously wanted to take leave to go abroad with their daddy and mommy, but she hadn't allowed it. Now she was asking for leave just because grandpa was coming down the mountain. Something didn't feel right.
Deanna noticed his suspicion and gently patted his head, forcing a smile. "Don't overthink it. I asked for leave today because tomorrow is the weekend, so missing one day won't make a difference."
Hearing this, the little guy still felt something was off but nodded obediently.
Later, after both families had breakfast together, Lance went to the company.
As soon as he entered the office, Xavier reported to him, "I've placed the Cain family's information on your desk. Also, regarding the online media reports, I contacted the media leaders last night. It turns out that this incident is similar to what happened with Mrs. Mercer before; someone hacked their systems from abroad to publish those reports. So I believe the same person is behind both incidents."
Lance's face darkened instantly upon hearing this.
He didn't immediately give Xavier any orders but walked to his desk and picked up the Cain family information.
This included Devin's medical examination report from the hospital.
The report showed that Devin's condition was not serious; he had only scraped his skin.
Seeing this, Lance sneered and threw the documents onto the desk. "Have you collected all the evidence videos I asked for?"
"I've already retrieved them from the school."
Talking about this matter, Xavier couldn't help but click his tongue.
He couldn't understand what the Cain family was thinking. Master Gregory and Miss Chloe had a conflict with their child, which was a minor issue between kids. Yet they tried to escalate it to affect both families' interests.
Did they really think their president was a pushover?
Lance couldn't hear Xavier's inner complaints and coldly said, "Release these online in the company's name. Also, file a police report for slander and extortion against the Cain family."
"Yes."
Xavier nodded and turned to leave.
Just then, Lance suddenly spoke again, "Check if anyone from the Cain family met any strangers yesterday."
Logically, the Cain family was just a third-rate small family. He could understand their motive for extortion, but he was sure they wouldn't dare offend him unless...
Someone was backing them.
Xavier paused briefly but quickly understood Mr. Mercer's meaning and nodded before leaving.
Shortly after he left, Lance's phone rang. It was Deanna calling.
"Have you figured out what happened? What's going on?" Deanna asked with concern over the phone.
Lance didn't hide anything and truthfully shared his findings.
Finally, he said in a deep voice, "I've already asked Xavier to investigate who the Cain family contacted yesterday. If things go smoothly, we can find out who is behind them from the Cain family and solve your public opinion issues simultaneously."
Hearing this, Deanna felt a surge of anger.
"These people are truly despicable, targeting children."
"It is indeed excessive," Lance replied coldly.
Then he asked, "Gregory and Chloe didn't notice anything, did they?"
"Gregory has some suspicions, but I managed to brush him off. Now my mother-in-law and grandmother are playing with them in the garden," Deanna explained about the situation at home.
She didn't want the kids to know about the online news, so she asked for another day off from her master. Once things were resolved, she would return to her research; otherwise, she couldn't focus on her work.
Meanwhile, at Mercer Group's PR department, they had already edited and posted a statement on their official website.
Many people were already following this matter online. Seeing Mercer Group's new announcement, they immediately flocked to it.
"Wow, what a shocking twist!"
"The Cain family is shameless! Their kid caused trouble but they accused others of school bullying and even tried to extort land from Mercer Group."