Chapter 77
At these words, Charlotte froze.
This was something she genuinely hadn't thought of.
But soon, she tugged at her sleeve, "I'm wearing long sleeves, and I'll add another layer of protection later. No one will recognize me."
"What if someone bumps into you? What if the wound tears open again?" Alexander's brow furrowed tightly.
"Then I'll just get it stitched up again."
Her answer came lightning-fast, her tone completely indifferent.
Hearing this, Alexander was so angry he actually laughed.
But he had absolutely no way to deal with this woman!
Left with no choice, he could only take a deep breath and step aside halfway, "I'll take you there."
"No need, Jason is already on his way."
Charlotte's hand was on the door handle, about to open it, when Alexander pressed it down firmly.
He said, word by word, "Tell him to go back."
The two locked eyes for a few seconds. Charlotte's mouth twitched, and in the end, she backed down.
She quickly looked away and pulled out her phone to send Jason a message.
Watching this scene, Alexander finally showed a hint of satisfaction on his face.
Then he went upstairs to change clothes before personally driving her to the company building.
As soon as the car stopped and Charlotte was about to unbuckle her seatbelt, Alexander pressed down on it again.
"I'll pick you up tonight."
"I don't know what time it'll end."
"Then call me when you're done."
Charlotte said nothing more. After glancing at him, she turned and got out of the car.
Only after watching her walk into the building did Alexander pull out his phone and make a call.
"The people are in place?"
"All set. They're waiting outside the building and will notify you immediately if anything happens."
"Good."
He hung up and drove away.
When Charlotte walked into the company, the receptionist froze for a moment before quickly standing up to greet her.
She nodded and walked straight toward her office.
In the hallway, she ran into several more employees.
Although they acted normal and enthusiastically greeted her when they saw her, Charlotte could clearly see the concern hidden in their eyes.
Obviously, yesterday's parking garage incident had spread, but no one dared ask about it directly.
Pushing open the office door, Jason was waiting for her at the desk.
At the moment, he was holding a tablet, his expression somewhat grave.
"What's wrong?" Charlotte put her bag aside and sat down in her office chair.
"Charlotte, the news about your injury is trending."
Jason handed over the tablet. On the screen was a trending topic headline—Charlotte Injured, Hand Suspected to be Disabled!
Followed by an "explosive" tag, with over 30 million views already.
Charlotte raised her eyebrows slightly and clicked to read more.
The article's photo showed her at the hospital entrance, her left arm hanging at her side, the sleeve covering and concealing it. Though blurry, you could still tell the injury was serious.
The caption read, "Queen suspected to have been in an accident, left hand severely injured. Industry insiders say it may affect her future career."
And the comments section below had exploded.
[No way, right? If Queen's hand is ruined, how can she design blueprints?]
[What exactly happened? Can the company say something?]
[Feel so bad for Charlotte, please don't let anything be wrong!]
[Don't spread rumors without an official statement. Who knows if this is true or false?]
[The source is someone in the design industry, so it's probably not groundless.]
After silently scrolling through a few comments, Charlotte returned the tablet to Jason, her lips pressed slightly tight.
"Who posted it?"
"Still investigating."
Jason shook his head, his voice low. "The original account is a burner account with an IP showing overseas, most likely a virtual account."
"The main thing is, this trending topic rose way too fast! It shot to number one in less than an hour. Someone must have bought traffic for it."
Charlotte interlaced her fingers and leaned back in her chair, lost in thought.
This trending topic's narrative clearly aligned with yesterday's attackers' purpose. They didn't just want to ruin her hand—they wanted to completely destroy her career!
Seeing Charlotte remain silent, Jason leaned in closer and lowered his voice.
"Should we issue a statement to clarify? We could say your injury isn't actually that serious, and the stitched wound can be removed in about a week."
"Just one photo would debunk the rumors."
"No rush."
Charlotte shook her head and narrowed her eyes. "If they want to hype it up, let them."
"But if we do that..."
"Clarifying now would mean my injury isn't serious, and once they find out, they'll definitely strike again."
Charlotte's tone was calm, her eyes downcast. "Might as well let them think they succeeded. That way we can save ourselves some trouble."
"True."
Jason thought about it and nodded in agreement. "We'll hold our position for now and see what they're really up to."
Charlotte hummed in acknowledgment, then seemed to think of something and spoke again.
"Keep an eye on Chloe's movements."
Jason froze. "Charlotte, are you saying..."
"It's most likely her doing."
Charlotte let out a cold laugh, the corners of her mouth curving with faint mockery. "She didn't win the championship last time and got humiliated by me like that, so she definitely can't swallow this insult."
"Look into her social connections and see who she's been in contact with recently."
"Got it, Charlotte."
Jason agreed and quickly turned to leave.
With his departure, Charlotte was left alone in the office.
She lifted her sleeve and looked at her left arm, wrapped tightly in gauze.
Because it was healing, the wound still had a numb, itchy sensation.
Charlotte gently flexed her fingers, and after confirming they moved freely, she covered them with her sleeve again.
Just then, her phone vibrated frantically, and Henry's name popped up.
Charlotte stared at the name on the screen for a while, her brow gradually furrowing.
Why was he calling?
"Hello."
"Charlotte, how have you been lately? Busy?"
The voice on the other end was very warm, with a hint of flattery underneath.
"Is there something you need?"
"Nothing much, just thinking that our family hasn't had dinner together in a long time."
Henry chuckled and rubbed his hands together. "Come back tonight, and let's all have dinner together, have a little gathering."
Hearing his invitation, Charlotte scoffed and replied without thinking, "No thanks, I'm busy."
With that, she was about to hang up, but Henry spoke up urgently.
"Your grandparents still have some things here. You should at least come get them, right?"