Chapter 85
"So the evidence I'm talking about is something illegal he did." William spoke very slowly, giving Emily plenty of time to think. "Your father has been in the business world for so many years - has he done anything illegal? Is his wealth tied to any shady dealings?"
"If there is, that would be the most powerful weapon to bring your father down."
This really stumped Emily. She frowned, clearly thinking hard.
But after thinking for quite a while, she shook her head gently.
"I really don't have anything like that." Emily looked somewhat guilty as she said this. "To be honest, my father and I haven't had much contact. The way he treated my mother - I resent him for that."
"All these years I haven't been part of the Johnson family, and I don't have dealings with him. I don't know what my father has actually done, but I think he definitely has skeletons in his closet."
Emily let out a long breath. "I understand what you're getting at. You're telling me that if I want to take down my father, just using public opinion isn't enough - I need to get solid evidence on him, right?"
William nodded seriously. "If you can't deliver a fatal blow, I'd advise you not to make any moves. Otherwise you'll definitely tip him off, and then dealing with this will become much harder."
"Okay, I get it." Emily nodded, though her voice was full of regret and disappointment.
When would she finally be able to avenge her mother?
She had already moved her mother to a nursing home, somewhere Brian didn't know about, but this wasn't a long-term solution.
Brian just didn't have time to deal with her mother right now, but if one day he shifted his hatred toward her onto her mother, her mother would be in for a rough time.
"Thank you, William." Emily gave him a grateful smile.
"You always tell me important things at just the right time, and you help me see clearly. For you, it's just a matter of saying a few words, but for me, everything you say is really helpful."
"I'll remember everything you told me today. I won't act rashly. But I still want to make my father pay."
Emily clenched her fists tight, her teeth gradually grinding together.
She really couldn't accept it - why should that heartless man get to live carefree, remarry, even have a daughter, and enjoy a happy family life?
While her mother, who did nothing wrong, was tormented until she became like a madwoman, mentally confused every day, unable to live normally.
When she was lucid, she would always recall what happened when she was young, living in agony day and night. It was so unfair.
Every time Emily thought about this, her heart felt like it was being cut by knives.
William thought for a moment. "Didn't you just say you wanted to use public opinion? Now is the time."
He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, his tone calm but carrying an inexplicable power. "What Sophia did to Nina - although there's no concrete evidence, the police are watching and looking for the next piece of evidence."
"No one can say how long this process will take - maybe three to five days, maybe longer."
"While the online buzz hasn't died down yet, you can add fuel to the fire, expanding from Sophia to the entire Johnson family."
"But you need to cover your tracks well, don't let anyone know you're behind it."
"Okay, I understand." Emily agreed.
William was right - the most important thing now was to lie low and absolutely not do anything reckless.
No matter how deep her hatred for Brian was, she had to stay calm.
Before she could bring Brian down, she'd make him pay a small price first.
After dinner, Emily sat in front of her computer for a long time.
She had her own social media accounts, but Emily wouldn't say anything online under her real name now. What she needed to do was use others' strength.
Right now internet users were filled with righteous anger, not only publicly condemning Sophia online but also investigating the Johnson family.
It was pretty easy for internet users to dig up information on someone, though this touched on legal boundaries, so it wasn't encouraged. Emily certainly wouldn't encourage users to do such things, but she could still fan the flames.
That afternoon, public opinion online fermented once again.
Someone successfully found information about the Johnson family from years ago, and learned about how Brian once had a wife, then abandoned her and their child to remarry.
This was it - after so many quiet days online, things exploded again.
Internet users' words were always the sharpest, and now in this information explosion era, with just a little disturbance, as long as someone deliberately fanned the flames behind the scenes, it could instantly blow up across the entire internet.
Emily was the one pushing from behind, but what she didn't know was that William was also quietly giving it a push from the shadows.
He did this not only to help Emily, but also to hide her tracks.
Brian wasn't stupid. His reputation had always been good because he was skilled at covering up his misdeeds. In front of others, he appeared very upright - a typical two-faced person. Who would attack him for no reason?
And the only person who truly had a grudge against him was Emily.
But now William had secretly erased all of Emily's tracks and gotten involved himself, even hiring quite a few paid commenters.
This way, even if Brian really wanted to investigate, he wouldn't find anything.
Emily didn't know any of this, and William didn't plan to let her know.
Given Emily's personality, if she knew, she'd probably feel burdened. The process didn't matter - the result was what mattered most.
In just one afternoon, public opinion online became uncontrollable.
Some internet users said that out of ten videos they scrolled through, eight were related to the Johnson family.
And the Johnson family's affairs were too explosive - from Brian to Harper to Sophia, everyone in the family was bad, each one worse than the last.
Not only did they bully Emily, but they also kidnapped Nina. Even if Emily did something wrong, what did Nina do wrong?
She was just a child who didn't understand anything. Even if Sophia didn't get along with Emily, she shouldn't have targeted the child.
Now it was settled - new and old grievances were settled together, and public opinion was completely out of control.
At the same time, Brian noticed it too.
To be precise, he had already been trying to control online public opinion before this. He understood better than anyone the principle that when the lips are gone, the teeth get cold.
When Sophia was being attacked, he said he didn't care on the surface, but privately, he was afraid of being investigated himself, so he had to hire paid commenters and PR companies to remove negative posts online.
But now, everything he'd done not only had no effect, but suddenly, many posts condemning him appeared.
Brian stared at his computer for a long time, almost smashing it.
"What the hell is going on?" He flew into a rage in his office, scaring his assistant so much they didn't dare breathe.