“Mustagram?” Vespera lowered the phone from her ear and tapped the Instagram app. Instantly, she noticed several influencers had shared the same video, which quickly gained immense popularity. The footage depicted the scene outside the airport from yesterday afternoon, but it was clear the video had been heavily edited. It portrayed Tina as delicate and innocent, being ruthlessly slapped by the fierce and vengeful Vespera. Interestingly, Luke, who was present during the incident, had been edited out, showing only the part where Vespera struck Tina.
What was even more intriguing was that the comments weren’t condemning Vespera for her aggression. Instead, they targeted the supposedly innocent Tina. They not only exposed her identity but also ridiculed her. Despite being the daughter of a wealthy family, she was labeled shameless for falling in love with a married man and disrupting another family. They argued that she deserved the slap and brought it upon herself. As someone branded a mistress—a social pariah akin to a rat scurrying across the street, subject to attack by anyone—the public’s tolerance for Tina was remarkably low. Those who initially felt sympathy for Tina after watching the video quickly lost all compassion upon learning the full story.
Ninety percent of the commenters were on Vespera’s side. Some said that the slap wasn’t forceful enough, while others were so thrilled they suggested stripping the mistress and parading her through the streets. Soon, people began to investigate Tina’s background, even bringing the Sole family into the limelight. Vespera noticed that the video was first posted anonymously the previous evening, with influencers sharing it after 2:00 am.
“Did you do this?” Yasmine asked impatiently.
Vespera smiled and replied, “Do you think I did it?”
“I’m just puzzled. It seems like something you would do, but it also doesn’t. Who else besides you would stir public opinion like this?”
“Maybe it was just an ordinary person who couldn’t tolerate the mistress and decided to post it. Isn’t that simple enough to understand?”
“Come on, would a regular person go to such lengths and spend money to get influencers to create buzz?”
“Actually, it doesn’t matter who did it. What truly matters is the outcome,”
“The outcome?” Yasmine was growing more curious about the conviction in her tone. “Could someone with a crush on you be behind this? Like Dominic?”
Vespera burst into laughter. “Yaz, I might not always speak with certainty on other topics, but I can assure you it wasn’t me, and it certainly wasn’t Dominic.”
Vespera didn’t elaborate further. After ending the call, she immediately rang up Rebecca to discuss the Instagram incident. Rebecca had spent the previous night at home, tending to her mother, who had hurt her back while doing square dancing. She had just woken up. After checking Instagram and considering what she already knew, she suggested, “Could it be Felicia? She intentionally edited Luke out of the video. Clearly, she wants to keep him out of it.”
“Felicia? She’d prefer to bury this issue forever. Would she really be foolish enough to bring it up herself?”
“That’s a good point. So, who was it?”
“I suspect it was Tina herself.”
“That’s impossible. She’s the biggest victim here. Her reputation is shattered, and everyone is criticizing her. Is she seeking more backlash?” Rebecca countered.
Then, a realization seemed to dawn on her. “If she really is the one who posted it, then she’s completely out of her mind. She’s crazy enough to be admitted to a mental institution. Ruining herself and dragging the whole Sole family into disgrace just to appear as a victim before Luke? Is that even possible?”
Vespera said, “Let’s wait and see how things unfold. Once the video circulates, my parents will find out eventually. They aren’t aware of my injury. If they connect the dots, they might start worrying. Could you please explain it to them first? Then let them know I’ll be away for a few days.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already spoken to them, and they were quite calm.”