Chapter 7

Cecily rushed to the hospital while ignoring everything else.

The emergency operation lasted a full three hours.

Thankfully, Ellen's condition stabilized. As long as she woke up the next day, she would be out of danger.

After being overwhelmed by nervousness, Cecily felt extremely drained.

She dragged her heavy steps towards the restroom to wash her face.

But she accidentally overheard a conversation at the corner of the corridor.

She paused upon hearing the familiar voice.

"Chris, isn't what we're doing a bit too much? We hired online trolls to stir things up for Cecily. It's okay. But isn't it crossing the line for us to threaten her at home?"

"Emily is carrying my baby and has been crying her eyes out every day. I just wanted to let her vent a little. I just sent a minor threat to Cecily."

"But Ellen ended up in the hospital because of our behavior."

"She won't die. She was a murderer's wife, anyway. Emily is still trying to keep the baby in, so you don't come to the hospital unless necessary."

The footsteps gradually faded away.

In the shadows at the end of the corridor, Cecily stood frozen and trembled uncontrollably.

So Chris was behind everything happening to her.

She was harassed relentlessly online, and Ellen suddenly had a heart attack.

Chris saw it as a minor threat.

And yet, Ellen had always been kind to him before.

She knew he had stomach issues and had always cooked him nourishing soups.

Whenever he visited her home, the dining table was filled with his favorite dishes.

Even though he was an adult, Ellen still insisted on treating him as kindly as a boy.

Most of Ellen's concern was given to Chris, whom she thought would be her son-in-law.

But he wanted her dead now.

Cecily was shocked to realize the deceptively ungrateful character hidden beneath Chris's facade, although she had loved him deeply.

Fortunately, Ellen woke up.

Cecily learned that Chris had arranged for people to mess up her place with paint and filth.

Looking at Ellen's haggard face, Cecily felt overwhelming guilt.

On her lawyer's advice, Cecily decided to hold a press conference.

She intended to directly address all the rumors and clear her father's and her own name.

On the day of the press conference, the hall was packed. A lot of cameras were aimed at her.

Cecily took a deep breath and was about to speak.

But as the giant screen lit up, the evidence that she had prepared wasn't displayed.

Instead, it was a massively enlarged funeral portrait of Denis, who had been wrongfully accused.

The audience was in an uproar.

Flashlights blazed and nearly blinded Cecily.

Cecily stood there, and her mind went blank.

All the noise faded away to her.

She only gazed at Denis's eyes on the screen, which were staring back at her.

She was overwhelmed by humiliation.

She had failed to clear her father's name. Instead, she brought him further disgrace after his death.

She grabbed the microphone and wanted to defend herself. But she found the power was cut off.

Water bottles and garbage were hurled at the podium.

She didn't know how she managed to escape the chaos.

As Laura hurriedly escorted Cecily out, they bumped into a young reporter. "Ms. Warren, perhaps this can help you."

Back in the empty villa, Cecily looked at the painting which was hung on the living room wall again.

Surrounded by traces of Chris, she felt suffocated.

She opened the flash drive hastily, which had been handed to her earlier. With just one glance, she had tears in her eyes.

She clenched her fists, and her chest heaved with emotion.

Chris had secretly orchestrated so many schemes against her.

Since he showed no mercy to her, she would not let him off easily.

Cecily picked up her phone and dialed an overseas number. "Hello, Professor, I accept the offer to be a visiting professor at your esteemed university."

Before leaving, she did three things.

First, she exposed the secret affair between Chris and Emily.

Second, she publicly sued all the accounts that had spread rumors about her family.

Lastly, she posted a statement on her social media. "The evidence has been submitted to the lawyer. The truth cannot be twisted."

She attached all the evidence she had collected.

Then she turned off her phone and boarded a flight to another country.

The plane flew into the sky and carried her towards a new beginning.

Meanwhile, the online opinion changed rapidly and became a trending topic soon.

But Chris was unaware of what was going on at all.

He had dinner with Emily at the hospital when his phone rang.

It was a call from the department office where he worked.