Chapter 113 I Am Not Dead Yet

Just roll with whatever's the craziest and most dramatic.

When Emily saw the news, she was totally blown away by the wild imaginations of the online community. Even their production team wouldn't dare to script something this nuts.

Then, Aurora and David's personal accounts got swamped with comments, everyone demanding answers. Luckily, James, being a businessman, didn't have an account, so he dodged that bullet.

Thinking about it, Emily frowned. She remembered she was an actress and had a personal account, but she had totally forgotten about it. What was the password again?

Unable to remember, Emily asked Toby. Toby, while responding to messages on Emily's account, said over the phone, "I've been managing your account all this time. Are you sure you want to handle it yourself?"

"No, you handle it. I'll leave it all to you," Emily quickly replied. Just knowing she had an account was enough; managing it herself would be a nightmare, especially now. She'd end up arguing with the netizens.

"Fix this negative issue fast, or it'll mess up my negotiations," Toby ordered before hanging up.

Emily rolled her eyes. Toby's attitude was really bad; she needed to find a chance to talk to him about it.

Meanwhile, the Smith siblings saw the trending topics about James and David. Especially about James. The Smith Group's board was already criticizing James for acting, calling it unprofessional, and suggesting he was too young to lead the company, implying a need for a replacement.

Last time, the board's meddling led to James and Emily's divorce. Now, they were pressuring James again, making him furious. But before he could act, Michael stepped in, saying just one thing, "I'm not dead yet."

Those few words shut most of the board members up. With no internal resistance, James noticed the online negativity decreasing, clearly showing the board had been stirring the pot.

Emily: [Negative comments are dropping. This is a good chance.]

Emily seized the moment, planning to have Toby help the studio regain some reputation. The story they released was about Aurora's cousin Zayne drugging and attempting to assault Ella, explaining Aurora's replacement. Though a bit far-fetched, it was somewhat believable, and most netizens bought it. Emily thought that was the end of it, but Zayne wasn't having it and spoke out.

Zayne: [I didn't do it. The production's claims are completely false. Criticize my acting if you want, but don't slander me!]

Seeing Zayne's defense, netizens immediately demanded answers from the production's account. Brian, with a wry smile, approached Emily, who simply called Aurora.Aurora had been laying low, hoping the storm would blow over, but she was caught off guard when Emily called.

"Aurora, Zayne's spouting nonsense online. If he keeps it up, I'll have to dig into the drugging incident for real. Should I call the cops or not?" Emily said bluntly, hinting she knew Aurora was behind it, suggesting Zayne better shut his mouth.

Aurora's hands shook. She couldn't be sure if Emily really knew she was responsible, but she couldn't take the chance. So, she called Zayne, telling him to retract his statements and apologize to the production.

"Why should I, Aurora? I was already pissed about getting kicked out, and now you want me to apologize? No way," Zayne snapped. He felt like the biggest victim here. He hadn't done anything wrong, and his only mistake was one any guy might make. Ella, drugged and looking all seductive, would tempt anyone. Why was he the one getting blamed?

"Just listen to me and apologize!" Aurora didn't want to get into the details. She couldn't tell Zayne he was covering for her.

But this time, Zayne, who had always been compliant, refused. He had finally broken into the entertainment industry and had a bunch of fans. He loved the attention. If he apologized, he'd be admitting to drugging and attempted assault, which would end his career. Acting wasn't the issue; losing his image and the adoring fans was.

"Do you want the rape incident to come out?" Aurora had no choice but to bring up the past. "Emily's using it to threaten me. What do you want me to do? Admitting your mistake might end your career, but if the rape comes out, you'll go to jail. Your choice, Zayne."

Aurora hung up, unable to explain how Emily knew about Zayne's past.

Zayne, hearing the click, frowned deeply. He knew the severity of the rape incident but couldn't bear to lose his newfound fame. He tried calling a devoted fan for comfort, but her phone was off. He tried again, same result. He cried, realizing his fans were distancing themselves until things cleared up. This harsh reality made him less anxious. Tearfully, he apologized in the comments.

When netizens saw Zayne's apology, they were thrilled. Though he didn't admit anything, the apology hinted at guilt. They concluded Zayne was the one who drugged and attempted to assault, directing all their anger at him.

Aurora, hoping to stay out of it, saw Zayne being heavily criticized and feared he couldn't handle the pressure. Reluctantly, she stepped in, posting a carefully worded statement with her assistant's help: [I apologize for my cousin's actions. My departure from the production was for personal reasons, unrelated to the team.] She added a note about her upcoming project, leveraging the attention for publicity.