Chapter 99
She turned on her phone's video recording function and started filming.
But she stayed silent in front of the camera for a long time, unable to say a single word of what she had prepared.
If she clarified things about Brian online now, wouldn't that be contradicting herself? Would people even believe her?
Even if they did believe her, what would they think of her?
Before all this, her online reputation had been great. Every video she posted, no matter how boring or pointless, would get tons of likes from people.
But now Emily could already imagine what would happen once she posted her clarification video - people would definitely turn against her and harshly criticize her.
People would definitely say that Emily had been putting on an act online just to get attention, even going so far as to let people attack her father to boost her popularity.
Now that she had gained enough attention, she was pretending to come forward and clarify things.
So Emily was very hesitant, unsure whether she should do what Brian told her to do.
But when she thought of her mother, the scales in Emily's heart quickly tipped.
Finally, she took a deep breath, steadied herself, and made up her mind.
No matter what, her mother was most important. So what if people criticized her? Could they help rescue her mother?
The most important thing now was to ensure her mother's safety. Everything else would have to wait.
Besides, she never planned to work in entertainment anyway. She only went on that reality show before because she was really broke and had no choice.
People would criticize her for a while, but once some new drama came along, she could completely disappear from the public eye.
Before, Emily had placed all her hopes on William. He had personally promised her he would definitely come back and help her sort everything out.
But now she had called William so many times with no answer - wasn't that enough to prove the point?
Forget it. In the end, she still had to rely on herself.
Emily gave a bitter smile, pressed record, and spoke the lines she had prepared to the camera.
Every sentence cut her heart like a knife, every sentence went against her conscience, but for her mother's sake, she couldn't worry about that. She could only say "I'm sorry, I'm sorry" over and over in her heart.
She didn't expect people to forgive her either. This kind of thing would be hard for anyone to deal with. She'd figure things out after rescuing her mother.
Emily had finished recording the video, but didn't send it right away. Instead, she sent it to Brian first.
Since she had already taken this step, she had to make sure Brian was satisfied. Otherwise, there was no point - he definitely wouldn't return her mother obediently.
"What the hell is this?"
To Emily's surprise, as soon as she sent the video, Brian cursed angrily.
"I told you to clarify all the rumors. Are you sure you covered everything? Why are you being so careless? Are you trying to play games with me?"
"I'm not."
Brian didn't want to hear Emily's explanation. "Let me tell you, Emily, you're my daughter. Don't try to play games with me! If you can't satisfy me, you'll never see your mother again!"
Bang - Brian angrily hung up.
Emily held her phone, looking lost.
What had she done wrong now? She had clearly explained everything. Why was Brian still not satisfied?
But Emily didn't dare say anything. She could only adjust and record the video again.
But Brian still wasn't satisfied with this version either, and his insults were even worse.
"What exactly do you want?" Emily was about to break down. "Just tell me all your requirements at once."
"I just hope you won't hurt my mother. She's suffered enough. You're already divorced - can't you treat her well? Even for the sake of your past marriage, I'm begging you to let her go, okay?"
"Whether I let her go or not is up to you, not me." Brian's face was dark on the other end of the phone. "I told you not to play games with me. Do everything exactly as I say, and your mother will be fine. Otherwise, I can't make any promises."
"I will, I definitely will." Emily's heart was in chaos, her heart trembling violently as if someone was squeezing it hard.
She recorded the video once more, carefully checking it several times from beginning to end. Only after confirming there were no mistakes did she nervously send it over.
This time Brian was finally satisfied. "Now post this video and don't do anything else. Your mother will be back tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow morning!" Emily cried out. "Dad, aren't you going too far? I've already done what you asked. Shouldn't you send my mother back right now? What more do you want?"
"I don't want anything more. Right now, do you have any other choice but to listen to me?"
"You!" Emily was too angry to speak, yet helpless.
She really had no other choice. Besides listening to Brian, what else could she do?
She had thought William could help her. As the heir of the Brown family, even though William hadn't returned to the Brown family yet, he definitely wouldn't let her down.
But now she couldn't reach William at all. No matter how anxious Emily was, she had to bear all this herself.
"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you. I'll do whatever you say." Emily almost burst into tears. "I just beg you not to hurt my mother. Please."
"Of course I won't hurt her. I should be thanking her."
Brian's crazy laughter came through the phone.
Emily weakly dropped her phone, her body sliding down powerlessly to the floor.
She didn't know if this decision was right or wrong, but it was the only path she could take.
Let people criticize her all they wanted. As long as her mother could come back, she could accept any price and would never regret it.
Half an hour later, the internet exploded.
This was peak internet usage time. As soon as Emily posted the video, it was like a drop of hot oil falling into a pan - instant chaos.
People were all stunned, unable to believe it was real.
[I don't believe it. This must be fake! How could Emily be that kind of person? There must be some misunderstanding!]
[Right, I don't believe it either. Someone must be deliberately trying to mess with her. No wonder they say fame brings trouble - it's really true.]
[Emily just started making a name for herself online, and people are already this eager to take her down? How shameless!]
Something unexpected happened - people were all taking her side.
Even though she had taken all the blame and responsibility in the video, people's responses were surprisingly unanimous.
Although there were one or two questioning voices, they were quickly drowned out by more righteous voices.
Emily was stunned.
Her eyes filled with tears as she watched the rapidly scrolling comments in shock, hardly able to believe her eyes.