Chapter 236: Exploded

Qiana nodded, turned around and went out to prepare.

The press conference was held in the first-floor lobby of OmniFront Labs.

Qiana stood behind the podium, with the OmniFront Labs logo behind her and a sea of cameras and microphones in front of her.

She read through the clarification statement from the script, with careful wording and a composed attitude.

After finishing, she moved to the Q&A session, and reporters eagerly raised their hands.

"Why didn't Ms. Thomas personally attend today's press conference?"

Qiana looked at the reporter with a flat tone: "Ms. Thomas is very busy. Such a small matter doesn't require her personal appearance. Besides, this is pure rumor. If similar incidents happen in the future, should Ms. Thomas personally clarify each one?"

Whispers rippled through the audience. Qiana ignored them and continued to the next question.

A reporter asked what legal action OmniFront Labs would take against the rumor-mongers.

Qiana said: "We've already secured the relevant evidence, and our legal team is preparing the lawsuit materials. Whether it's the employees spreading rumors or the paid trolls behind the scenes stirring things up, we won't let any of them off."

Her tone was light, but every word carried weight.

The reporters wanted to ask more, but Qiana raised her hand: "Today's press conference ends here."

She turned and left the podium.

After the news got out, the online discussion didn't die down. Instead, because Evelyn didn't appear in person, some people got even more worked up.

[She's guilty, right? Too scared to show her face?]

[If she was really wrongly accused, why doesn't she come out and explain herself?]

[OmniFront Labs sent out an assistant to brush us off?]

The paid trolls seized on this point to viciously smear Evelyn, and the criticism in the comments section reached a whole new level.

Evelyn didn't see these comments.

At that moment, she was on her way to the base.

Tyler had called—there were some problems with the base's system that needed her help.

She dropped everything, got in the car Tyler sent, and headed straight to the base.

Once there, she dove into the server room. Facing screens full of dense code, she worked from afternoon until the early morning hours.

When she walked out of the base entrance, the sky was already getting light.

The morning breeze blew past with a chill. She pulled her coat tighter, took a deep breath, feeling her head still a bit swollen and her eyelids heavy.

A figure stood up from the steps.

Geraldo was wearing a dark jacket, holding a bag, standing there—who knows how long he'd been waiting.

He walked over and handed her the bag, which contained a hot coffee and a sandwich.

"Eat something first, you don't look well."

Evelyn glanced at him, took the bag and said thanks.

She stood on the steps and took a sip of coffee. It was scalding hot, burning her tongue, but her whole body warmed up.

Geraldo waited until she'd had a few sips before speaking: "I heard about what's happening online. Need any help? I can have my family help smooth things over."

Evelyn knew how powerful Geraldo's background was—smoothing over something like this would barely take any effort.

But she shook her head, "No need. If I need others' help with such a small matter, how can I be the company's leader?"

Geraldo looked at her, admiration in his eyes.

He smiled: "Then let me drive you back to the company. You can't refuse that, right?"

Evelyn didn't refuse and got in his car.

When she returned to OmniFront Labs, it was already broad daylight.

Qiana was waiting at the office door, tablet in hand, her expression complicated.

"Ms. Thomas, after the press conference, the online discussion not only didn't calm down, it got worse. Many people are saying you don't dare show your face because you're guilty."

Evelyn pushed open the office door, sat down in her chair, and slowly smiled.

Her smile carried a hint of coldness.

"Good. Since someone wants to play dirty with us, let's give them what they want and make them completely satisfied."

She pulled up a photo on her phone, looked at it for two seconds, then handed the phone to Qiana.

"Release this photo. Find someone to leak it."

Qiana took the phone, looked down, and her eyes suddenly widened, her expression changing instantly.

She looked up at Evelyn, her voice trembling slightly.

"Ms. Thomas, are you sure you want to do this?"

Evelyn leaned back in her chair, her gaze calm without a ripple, "I'm sure."

Qiana's fingers tightened around the phone. She took a deep breath, nodded, and turned to leave.

At the Nguyen family's place, the atmosphere in the living room was quite relaxed.

Eleanor was curled up on the sofa, holding her phone, scrolling through online comments one by one, unable to suppress her smile.

"Maggie, look at this one—it says Evelyn is jealous of you, so she's causing all this trouble."

She scrolled down a few more pages and laughed out loud, "This one's even better—it says Evelyn is too guilty to show her face, and OmniFront Labs is going to collapse. Serves her right!"

Maggie sat on the other side of the sofa, holding a cup of coffee, drinking quietly, a faint smile on her lips.

Though she didn't say anything, she felt incredibly smug inside.

This time, Evelyn should have no way to turn things around.

"What's this?"

Eleanor's finger suddenly stopped, the smile on her face slowly freezing as it was replaced by disbelief and horror.

She stared at the screen, mouth open, nearly dropping her phone.

Hannah frowned, "What's wrong? Why so dramatic?"

Eleanor didn't answer. She turned the phone around and held it in front of Maggie.

On the screen was a photo from a wedding.

Evelyn wore a white wedding dress, holding the arm of a man in a black suit. They stood under a flower arch, looking well-matched.

That man was Luke.

The photo was very clear—Luke's profile, Evelyn's smile, even the folds in the wedding dress train were visible.

And in the corner of the photo stood a woman in a bridesmaid dress—Maggie.

Her expression wasn't terrible, but that deliberately maintained smile looked stiff no matter how you looked at it.

The caption had only one line: [Turns out some people were a homewrecker from the start.]

Maggie's hand holding the coffee cup suddenly shook, spilling coffee and scalding the back of her hand.

But she seemed not to feel it, staring fixedly at that photo.

Her pupils contracted, her lips trembling slightly.

Eleanor stood with her mouth open, unable to speak. Hannah also leaned over to look, frozen in place.

The living room was silent for a few seconds.

Maggie set the coffee cup on the coffee table and stood up, moving slowly, as if all the strength had been drained from her body.

She walked up the stairs step by step, pushed open her room door, went in, and closed the door.

The moment the door closed, she leaned against it and closed her eyes.

It's over. Everything's over.

Downstairs, Eleanor and Hannah looked at each other.

Eleanor looked down and scrolled through more comments—the section had exploded.

[Oh my god, Maggie was the third party all along!]

[Evelyn and Luke were married? Then what is Maggie? A homewrecker who broke up someone's marriage?]

[Some people had the nerve to say Evelyn was jealous of her—that's hilarious.]

"A homewrecker is a homewrecker, playing innocent."

Comments came one after another, like a bursting dam that couldn't be stopped.

Eleanor's hand holding the phone was shaking.