Chapter 177 The Taste of Betrayal by Friends and Family, She Also Experiences
"Is that guy wearing a hospital gown? Could he be a psycho?"
"With that kind of attitude, who knows if he's a psycho or a murderer!"
People passing by whispered to each other.
Bianca barely managed to regain some semblance of composure.
"You can't even protect yourself, and you're threatening us? Do you really think we're that easily scared? We're in this line of work, so it's inevitable we'll make enemies. If we didn't have some means of self-preservation, we wouldn't last in this business! You paid us peanuts, we nearly lost our lives over it, and now you're here demanding more?"
"If you don't want us to spill more of your dirty secrets, you better send the money over right now!"
Another reporter chimed in.
Bianca's chest heaved, feeling a tightness and dizziness.
She assumed it was just her anger, took a few deep breaths, and hung up the phone. There was no point in arguing with unreasonable people. She would find a way to deal with them properly later.
From a young age, anyone who spoke ill of her or looked down on her faced dire consequences.
She never let a grudge go!
Bianca took a cab back to the Johnson Villa.
Everyone was home: Eli, Cleo, Aiden, and Chase. But none of them looked particularly happy.
Eli scowled as he saw Bianca enter, "Look at the mess you've made lately. And to think, I didn't even know those paintings were stolen from Emily. We trusted you so much and even hurt Emily for you!"
Bianca had braced herself for a scolding, but to be immediately berated by Eli, especially when they seemed to be regretting and starting to believe Emily, was unbearable.
"Dad, weren't you the ones who said Emily only had the chance to be born because of me? That she lives for me, so everything of hers should be mine? Her paintings belong to me. What's wrong with me using my things in an exhibition? If there's any fault, it's Emily's. She shouldn't have her own thoughts; she should be my slave forever!"
"Bianca!"
Aiden, shocked at seeing his sweet and kind Bianca turn so vicious, intervened sternly.
"Bianca, Emily is a person with her own thoughts. It's true she lived because of you, but you also lived because of her. So, if you look at it that way, you owe her a life. We made mistakes in how we raised you, but we're correcting that now. From now on, you mustn't think like this anymore. You and Emily are both our sisters, and we'll treat you equally!"
"Equally? Even fingers have different lengths. Do you really think you can do that? Or is it because you see me as useless now and want to favor her? If that's the case, since my health is poor anyway, I might as well just die!"
"Are you threatening..."
"Enough, Aiden. Say no more. Bianca is just upset. She used to be so well-behaved, and it's only because Emily bullied her so much that she's like this now."
Cleo, seeing Bianca looking like she was on the brink of a breakdown, quickly held her and defended her.
Bianca leaned into Cleo's arms, "Mom, you always care about me the most. I feel so awful!"
Cleo immediately patted her back to comfort her.
Eli, slightly mollified by Cleo's words, still couldn't let it go without saying anything.
"Regardless, your reputation is in tatters now. You need to apologize publicly, and also apologize for Chase's plagiarism incident."
Bianca felt this was a blow to her dignity. She wasn't in the entertainment industry, so her followers on Twitter were few, making the spread of this news minimal. But Chase had a big name, and once she admitted fault and tagged him, his fans would go wild, and online abuse would surely follow.
"Dad, are you really trying to drive me to my death?" Bianca looked at Eli with teary eyes.
"How is this driving you to your death? It's just admitting your mistakes, which is the truth. If you'd apologized sooner, it wouldn't have escalated to this point, causing more backlash from the public," Eli shot back, turning the blame on Bianca.
Seeing no reasoning with Eli, Bianca tearfully turned to Chase, trying to appeal to his sympathy, "Chase, you care about me the most, right? Do you really want me to apologize and face online abuse? I can't handle it!"
Chase lowered his head in silence. After a moment, he spoke, "Bianca, mistakes have consequences. You're a private person, so any online abuse will pass quickly, and you'll be able to return to a normal life. As a celebrity, the abuse I'm facing is truly overwhelming. I've done so much for you before; can't you sacrifice a little for me this time?"
Bianca stared at Chase in disbelief, not expecting such cold words from him.
"Mom..." she cried, burying herself in Cleo's arms, but Cleo only silently comforted her, saying nothing more in her defense.
Bianca realized she was all alone now. As she leaned into Cleo's arms, her mind raced. The only things that could change Eli's mind were her engagement to the Smith family and the baby she was carrying.
Just as she was about to bring up the baby, Eli's phone rang. Seeing it was Hayden calling, Eli's expression softened as he answered.
"Hayden, how did the negotiations go?"
"Dad, help me! I've been kidnapped! They want a hundred million dollars in ransom, or they'll cut off my limbs and harvest my organs. Please save me!" Hayden's voice was frantic.
Eli's body shook, thinking it might be one of Hayden's pranks. After all, Hayden was the least reliable of his children.
"If you're asking for money, do it properly. Hello, Mr. Johnson? Your son is with us. If you want him back, prepare a hundred million dollars in ransom. You have three days. If you don't pay up, you'll receive a piece of your son every day!" Laughter followed from the other end before the call was abruptly ended.
"Hello? Hello…" Eli tried calling back, but the line was dead.
"Dad, what happened? Wasn't that Hayden?" Aiden, noticing Eli's pale face, asked seriously.
Eli explained about Hayden's kidnapping and the ransom demand.
"Dad, could Hayden be playing some sort of extreme game? He was supposed to be making big money, so how could he get kidnapped?" Bianca, hoping Hayden would return and support her, was shocked by the sudden turn of events.
Eli glared at Bianca, "I tried calling back, but the phone is off. Even Hayden wouldn't joke about something like this."
Aiden's face darkened, "I should have known something was wrong. How could Hayden, with his mindset, land such a big project, especially in a place like Zephyria! Dad, what do we do now? Are we really going to pay a hundred million dollars in ransom? The Johnson Group doesn't have that kind of money on hand, and even if we did, there's no guarantee we'd get Hayden back!"