Chapter 30

Henry's face darkened as he watched the scene unfold, gripping the car keys tightly. On the television, Sophia ran toward Group A's bonfire, pursued by a wild boar. Spotting Odalys, she veered sharply to the side, just before reaching her. She crashed heavily to the ground, and the boar charged toward Odalys, only to be kicked away at the last moment.

Everyone exhaled in relief. The atmosphere in the villa was tense. Hannah, who had been screaming, fell silent. A guilty silence hung in the air. They wanted to applaud Sophia for diverting the boar, but Odalys was family.

"Shit! How could Sophia say those things on camera? It's live, and those words are out there. How will she ever repair her reputation?" Caspian exclaimed anxiously. He frantically checked his phone, only to find videos of Sophia leading the boar toward Odalys circulating on various apps. Many netizens had clipped and spread these short videos. Fans of Stellan and Freya were also inciting conflict, posting videos and photos of Sophia with men.

The online comments were vitriolic:

• [Wow, Sophia looks like a hooker.]
• [Sophia enjoys ambiguous contact with men.]
• [Sophia is a manipulative bitch, aiming to kill Odalys on the show.]
• [Atlas is brainless; please send him an emergency neurosurgeon.]
• [What grudge led Sophia and Atlas to plot a boar-assisted murder? Any insiders?]
• [I’m begging Odalys to create a Twitter account. I want to follow her.]

Caspian glared at the screen, his anger almost making him throw his phone. "What's wrong with these netizens? Have they lost their minds?" he incredulously demanded. He then threw the problem to Henry. "Henry, what now?"

Henry, still sitting on the sofa watching Atlas and Odalys, replied, "I'll check the contract."

"Yes, check it immediately. We absolutely can't let Odalys escape our control. Once she's gone, who will be Sophia's shield?" Caspian echoed, fearing Odalys would slip away. After all, she was brought in as a scapegoat for Sophia. Despite their blood ties, Odalys was inferior to Sophia, who manipulated Caspian, unlike Odalys.

"Now that it's out in the open, it's tricky. She's married into the Stewart family in Sophia's place. Though her husband is dying, and the Stewarts might ignore minor issues, she's still part of the family. If we bully her too much, they might retaliate," Henry analyzed shrewdly.

Hannah and Caspian were stunned. They had overlooked the Stewarts entirely. Their plan involved ignoring Percival's death and then using Odalys’ connection to the Stewarts to benefit the Bennett family.

"The problem is Atlas openly confronted Odalys. Now that everyone knows, it's hard to keep it from the Stewarts. Maybe we should bluff our way through with them tomorrow?" Hannah suggested.

Henry's face hardened. He stood, addressing Hannah and Caspian, "Do you think they'd even see us? It's not somewhere anyone can just go. Given our position, we wouldn't even get to them!"

"Atlas is an idiot. If he wanted to target Odalys, he could have done it out of camera range. Why do it publicly?" he continued. "Behave yourselves, and don't stick your necks out for them. Our group has been under attack since yesterday. I've been investigating, but can't find out who's behind it. Now that Atlas has made this public, everyone knows Odalys’ contract is with us, and Freya is accusing us of bullying her. Our stocks will plummet tomorrow, and…" Henry trailed off, frustrated, tossing his car keys aside.

Hannah's face paled. "Let's hire trolls to clean this up," she suggested.

"Clean it up? Freya and Sophia are enemies. Sophia has provoked Freya and her millions of fans. How many trolls could possibly counter them? And there's Stellan. You may not know much about this industry, but Stellan and Freya have powerful backers! If we openly confront them, we'll make powerful enemies. We're already under attack; provoking them would ruin the Bennett family," Henry stated before striding upstairs.

Despairingly, Hannah ripped off her mask and threw it in the trash. "That brat is bringing ruin upon us. The fortune teller said she was a jinx. Half a year after her return, and she's destroying us," she muttered.

Caspian's eyes burned with hatred. "We absolutely cannot let the Stewarts accept her. We need to stir up trouble, make them believe she's cunning and that she replaced Sophia in the marriage." He picked up the car keys and left.

Meanwhile, in the Stewart mansion's dimly lit study, Percival Stewart sat in his chair, watching the livestream on his iPad.

"Mr. Stewart, Mrs. Stewart seems like a fighting pro," Callum commented, impressed by her handling of the boar.

Percival's low voice rumbled, "Grew up in the mountains, medicinal herbs, traditional medicine, a doctor, and a fighter—interesting."

When Ails’ harsh words toward Odalys appeared on screen, Percival's fingertips tightened, accidentally cracking his coffee cup.

Callum quickly cleaned the spill.

"Dig up dirt on these people—the more, the better," Percival ordered emotionlessly. He stood, switching off the livestream.

"Mr. Stewart, do you want to expose them?" Callum asked.

"Hold onto it for now," Percival replied, striding away. "Yes, sir."