Chapter 108 Thunderstorm Night, Miscarriage!
James always thought that with over ten years of feelings between them, Gloria couldn't possibly leave him.
That's why he did all those things without any restraint. Even today, he still has that confidence.
She didn't want to waste any more words on him. After all, once she got the divorce decree, she would leave.
By the time he realized it, she would be completely far away from him, and he wouldn't be able to find her.
"Please don't interfere with my work. Stay away from me."
Gloria pushed him away and left.
Perhaps her warning worked, because James didn't appear in front of her again after that, and of course, he didn't give Maria any chance to show off their relationship either.
As night was approaching, it got dark quite early.
Gloria didn't want to stay at the Williams family home, but if she left and got photographed, tomorrow people would write about her acting like a diva.
After thinking it over, it was only one more day. Once she got through tomorrow, it would all be over.
Two people per group - Gloria and Sophie were assigned to the same room.
At this point, the microphones were already off and the live stream had stopped.
Sophie came out of the bathroom with her phone. She had just looked at the online discussion.
She looked up at the person at the center of the controversy. Under the lights, Gloria was carefully studying a dictionary, occasionally writing something on paper.
Sophie was shocked. Wasn't she worried? Things were so chaotic online!
"Ms. Mitchell, don't you have a PR team right now?"
Gloria hadn't been using her phone much since getting pregnant. She caught the implication in Sophie's words. "What? Are people cursing me online?"
Sophie nodded. "I feel like something's fishy about this. Everyone's talking about you and Mr. Williams, but basically everyone's cursing you."
Gloria couldn't be bothered to look at her name linked with James's. She could imagine what it said. "Let them curse."
"Ms. Mitchell, you can't be so indifferent. If you want to make a comeback, this variety show is really important for you. I don't know which company you signed with, but how come the online discussion has been going on for hours and no one's doing PR?"
Sophie kindly handed her the phone. This show already had high viewership, but even more popular was the topic "Former Best Actress Seduces a Married Man."
Below was an animated gif of her falling into James's arms. The angle was cleverly chosen - it wasn't James holding her, but looked like she was deliberately pressing against James.
There were also many edited clips. She was clearly looking at someone else, but they edited it to make it look like she was gazing lovingly at James.
Besides this, people were deliberately spreading rumors that she was a mistress kept by a producer for eighty million.
And many "insiders" were exposing online that Gloria only got Best Actress by sleeping with directors. Three years ago, when she said she was getting married, she was actually pregnant with some big shot's child. Now she's old and has been abandoned by the big shot.
The footage of her with the lawyer at the airport last time had also been dug up as "evidence" - Dwayne was the lawyer she hired to sue the big shot for money.
Although it was ridiculous, people online were better than each other at spreading rumors, as if they had witnessed everything from under Gloria's bed.
Everyone was guessing who the big shot who got her pregnant was. Basically, all the wealthy and powerful people in Silverlake Springs had been discussed by netizens.
This led to a show producer clarifying overnight that he and his wife had a loving relationship.
The rumors were rampant, even overshadowing the show's own popularity.
Although Gloria's fanatics were still fighting online, the other side had organized paid trolls. In just one minute, they could generate thousands of posts smearing Gloria.
As a result, many uninformed bystanders were misled and started smearing Gloria too.
It was fine until she looked, but once Gloria saw the online rumors, she couldn't hold back.
She quickly figured out who was spreading the rumors online!
"Thank you for telling me."
"Ms. Mitchell, you need to do PR quickly, otherwise..."
"Okay, I'll do PR right now."
Gloria smiled at her slightly, then pulled open the partition door and took out a golf club from inside.
Sophie was stunned. "Ms. Mitchell, are you..."
Before she could finish, Gloria had already rushed out.
There weren't enough rooms. After the guests were housed, all the staff were crammed in the basement.
Some people were still editing clips, preparing highlight content.
Alphonse was supervising. This episode had already blown up online. His phone had been buzzing constantly, with messages from the social media team about trending hashtags and skyrocketing viewer engagement.
The basement work team was very busy, making the villa seem quiet.
After all, this was James's home, so the male artists didn't dare move around freely.
Only Hannah was bold enough to sneak into Henry's room.
Gloria dragged the golf club and knocked on Maria's door. No one opened it.
Maria was probably afraid James would drag her to get an abortion at this time.
So she wouldn't open the door?
Gloria went straight around to the backyard, which led directly to the guest room's courtyard.
Maria happened to be standing behind the door on the phone, telling them to make the online discussion more intense.
Then she saw Gloria suddenly appear in her courtyard.
Gloria smiled and made a gesture for her to open the door. Maria didn't dare!
Gloria came prepared. She directly smashed the glass door with the golf club.
The artists upstairs heard a loud crash from downstairs, but no one dared come out.
Sophie boldly looked out the window and saw Gloria smashing the door with the club. She almost fainted.
It was raining outside, and Gloria was in the rain.
She was soaked, each strike harder than the last.
Outside, lightning flashed and thunder roared, illuminating Gloria's pale face.
With a loud crash, the glass door shattered. Maria gripped her phone, her heart racing nervously.
"Gloria, I'm warning you, I have cameras everywhere inside and out. Do you believe I'll expose what you look like right now online?"
"Go ahead, expose it! I also want the whole world to see what you, Maria, really are."
Water droplets dripped down Gloria's pointed chin. Gloria approached Maria and grabbed her by the neck like picking up a chicken, dragging her outside.
"Maria, didn't I warn you not to provoke me? Why can't you ever remember?"
Gloria dragged Maria into the courtyard. Maria trembled with fear. "I, I don't know what you're talking about."
Gloria slapped her. "Do you know now?"
"I..." Maria wouldn't dare admit she planned the smear campaign against Gloria even if it killed her.
Gloria kicked her to the ground, grabbed her neck, and pushed her head toward the swimming pool.
To accommodate filming, the water had just been filled today, but the heating wasn't on. The water was ice cold. Maria screamed from the cold.
Gloria smiled slightly. "Still don't remember?"
Above the clouds, a business jet was approaching Silverlake Springs.
Caspian had already seen the overwhelming smear campaign against Gloria online. Not knowing Gloria's thoughts, he hadn't dealt with it yet.
The flight attendant knew he was anxious to return to Silverlake Springs and walked to his side. "Mr. Rivers, there are thunderclouds ahead that we can't pass through. We can only fly around them. We might arrive a bit later."
Caspian's heart was pounding. He stood up. "I'll do it."
The attendant was confused. "You mean?"
"I have experience flying through thunderclouds like this. Tell the crew not to go around - I'll fly!"
To the entire crew's alarm, Caspian personally took control of the cockpit and flew the expensive business jet straight into the thunderclouds!
He didn't know why he was in such a hurry.
He only knew that after that snowy night bathtub incident, he didn't want Gloria to be in any danger again.
Gloria was now pressing Maria down, dunking her head into the cold water again and again.
"Scream! Go ahead and call everyone over. Let them see what you look like as a homewrecker."
"Don't you want to be famous? Then I'll make you famous! You..."
Before she could finish, Mabel suddenly approached and without warning pushed Gloria from behind into the icy water.
Gloria instinctively dragged Maria into the pool with her.
"Help! I can't swim!"
Gloria's first instinct was to climb out. She could swim, but at that moment, her leg cramped up.
"What's happening!"
Just then, everyone heard the noise and came over. James saw the mess everywhere, and the next second saw Gloria and Maria in the water.
"James, quick, save Maria!"
"Mom, why would I save her? I wish she would..."
Before he could say the word "die," a cameraman appeared.
Mabel pushed him. "It's still live streaming. Quick, save Maria. Maria is carrying your child. Besides, Gloria can swim..."
Gloria wanted to get out, but her leg was cramping, and she felt a dull pain in her lower abdomen.
A bad feeling rose in her heart.
She saw James jump into the pool. She thought James was coming to save her.
"James..."
Her voice caught in her throat. James picked up Maria.
Gloria felt frozen from head to toe as if plunged into an ice cellar. The physical pain couldn't compare to the pain in her heart.
The staff didn't go to save Gloria and Maria, but wanted to capture precious footage.
James wanted to quickly get Maria to shore. Perhaps Gloria had already gotten out.
Even if she hadn't, he could immediately pull her up.
But just as he got to shore and was about to put Maria down, he heard Sophie's terrified voice from upstairs: "Blood, there's blood in the water!"
Mabel, who was still smugly standing by the shore, also saw a bright red stain spreading around Gloria in the pool.