Chapter 100
Wasn't everyone saying that internet users nowadays are really aggressive? Wasn't it supposed to be easy to get cyberbullied online? How come the situation was completely different from what she'd imagined?
She'd already prepared herself to be attacked by a mob of internet users, but now, almost everyone was firmly on her side. Many people didn't even finish watching her clarification video before flooding the comments section.
Some users, finding it too much trouble, simply copied other people's comments and posted them across all related threads.
As Emily watched, she suddenly started crying.
She never thought internet users would support her this much. Even though she'd already admitted everything in the video, they still stood firmly by her side, not even glancing at the so-called clarification online.
All of this was way beyond Emily's expectations.
She sat in front of her phone, crying and laughing at the same time, occasionally wiping away tears.
Tears flowed freely, soaking the front of her shirt and running down her neck to her collarbone.
In less than half an hour, the comments had already broken ten thousand, with more still coming in, but they were all uniformly disbelieving, everyone saying the same thing.
For a moment, Emily even wondered if she'd hired internet trolls herself.
But at the same time, she felt relieved.
Although this scene was unexpected, at least the situation wasn't as bad as she'd imagined.
She didn't understand why internet users supported her so much, but she'd done what Brian told her to do, which meant her mother could come back tomorrow morning.
But Emily still felt uneasy.
She could see the messages online, and Brian certainly could too. He must be furious right now, probably thinking of ways to deal with her.
What if he got so angry that he didn't send her mother back?
What if he took her somewhere else? Then she'd never find her mother again, would she?
Things were exactly as Emily had guessed.
After Emily posted the clarification video, Brian waited happily for his reputation to turn around.
He even called several of his assistants, telling them to monitor online public opinion in real-time and have trolls ready to steer the narrative.
Everything was ready, but the result shocked him.
Those internet users seemed possessed, rallying together with uniform slogans. It was hard to believe Emily hadn't paid them.
What the hell was going on?
When Brian realized what was happening, he flew into a rage in his study.
This was unbelievable. He'd never seen so many internet users refuse to turn around and criticize the real villain, instead continuing to go after him relentlessly.
Had they all gone crazy?
Harper stood to the side, equally surprised by this outcome.
But she didn't dare say much, afraid that one wrong word would make Brian take his anger out on her.
After a while, Brian quickly had people take action.
This was a rare opportunity. He'd gone through so much trouble to bring Emily's mother here, and she'd even had an episode.
Without a second thought, Brian had someone give Amelia a strong sedative injection, which barely calmed her down. She was still unconscious even now.
If he missed this opportunity, he'd have even less leverage against Emily in the future.
However, the power of public opinion exceeded Brian's imagination. After working at it for nearly an hour, not only was the situation not under control, it was getting worse.
"Bitch! How did I end up with such a little bitch for a daughter!" Brian almost smashed his computer in anger. He glanced upstairs, then pushed open the study door and headed up.
In a small room at the far east end of the second floor of the Johnson Villa, Amelia had been dumped there.
To be specific, this was a storage room, very messy, with a thin layer of dust on the floor.
With Amelia's arrival, the dust had been disturbed, and fine particles filled the air.
Bang! The door was kicked open violently, but Amelia lay there with her eyes closed, motionless.
The strong sedative was too powerful, causing Amelia to sleep through the afternoon with no signs of waking. Even such a loud noise didn't get any reaction from her.
"You stinking bitch, get up!" Brian kicked Amelia hard in the leg, grabbed her by the hair and yanked her up. Not caring whether she was awake or not, he slapped her face twice.
"What kind of spell did you cast on Emily? You're really something, raising such a wonderful daughter!"
"I'm her real father, and she dares to treat me like this!"
"Amelia, I must have been out of my mind back then to marry a woman like you. You ruined my life!"
Brian didn't care if his hand hurt, landing several more slaps as he spoke.
Through the intense pain, Amelia finally opened her eyes.
The moment she saw Brian, her body shook violently. She screamed in fright and nearly passed out again.
But her extreme fear kept her from losing consciousness.
"Didn't expect to see me here, did you?" Brian smiled viciously, slowly crouching down close to Amelia. "I know what you want to say—that I'm the one responsible for all your misfortune, that you probably never want to see me again for the rest of your life."
"But you're in my hands now. You can't escape, and that useless waste of a daughter of yours can't save you either!"
Before he finished speaking, Brian lifted Amelia up like a chick and grabbed her thin neck tightly.
"Bitch! You better figure out a way to make Emily fix my reputation! If she can't do it, you can both go die together!"
"Let go of me! Let go, let go of me!" Amelia struggled to breathe, her face slowly turning from white to purple. She was being strangled to death.
But Brian acted as if he didn't see it, his grip getting tighter and tighter.
Fortunately, Harper arrived just in time and quickly intervened. "Honey, you absolutely can't strangle her to death!"
"Emily might have already called the police. What if the cops show up? We won't even have a chance to dispose of the body!"
Brian released his grip, and Amelia fell to the ground, coughing violently.
A moment of clarity flashed in Brian's eyes. That made sense.
This bitch deserved to die, and Emily deserved it even more, but he absolutely couldn't let it drag him down.
Amelia trembled all over in fear. Before she could catch her breath, seeing Brian approaching her, she quickly backed away until she was cornered against the wall with nowhere left to go.
She suddenly screamed and passed out.
"You stinking woman, playing dead again! You really think I won't strangle you, don't you?" Brian slapped Amelia several more times, but this time, she didn't move at all.
After venting his anger, Brian's rationality returned.
He was afraid he might actually beat Amelia to death. With a cold snort, he turned and left.
Beating Amelia wasn't the goal—he needed to quickly deal with the situation online first.
Otherwise, before long, these internet users would dig up all his dirty secrets, and that would be what really gave him a headache.