Chapter 39

A large number of fans online declared their intention to leave the fandom and vowed to hate Lily forever. Meanwhile, several of Lily's loyal fans expressed disbelief, suspecting a mistake during the investigation. Lily herself was skeptical. The police had issued an investigative report, which she learned about simultaneously with other online users.

A shiver ran through Lily. How could this be? Would the public image she'd built over the past few years, and the career she'd worked so hard for, be ruined in a single day? And yet, the worst was yet to come.

At the Reed Group, Jason's personal secretary, Terrence, directly called both the Atkinson and Stevens families to inform them of Jason's absence from their engagement dinner. Everyone naturally associated this with Lily's negative press.

When Grace saw the police report, she was surprised by its swift release and the fact that Sean and Lily hadn't been able to suppress it.

At the Sanitation Service Center, the incident sparked a flurry of comments:

“That Lily is detestable! She made us all search for the ring, and she hadn't even lost anything!”

“No wonder this is going viral—she's heinous.”

“But it doesn't make sense. She's a huge celebrity—why would she claim to have lost a ring and ask us to look for it?” someone asked.

“She has nothing better to do,” someone else replied.

Claire pulled Grace aside. “That day… I noticed Lily speaking with you for a long time. Do you know her?”

Farah Steele, passing by, overheard and mocked, “Claire, are you joking? Grace might know Lily, but how would Lily know Grace? She's a socialite from a respected family.”

“But I saw them talking the day of the incident.”

“Maybe Grace offended Lily. That's why a huge celebrity would pretend to lose a ring,” Farah suggested. “Well done, Grace. You dragged everyone into searching through the rubbish.”

Farah's animosity stemmed from Chase's crush on Grace.

“That's unfair,” Claire protested. “Why blame Grace?”

Grace's cold gaze swept over Farah. “So, if someone is deceitful, you don't shame them, but blame someone else for hurting them? Your sense of right and wrong is interesting.”

Farah, unable to refute this, glared at Grace before stomping away.

At the Atkinson family mansion, Lily and her father waited anxiously for Jason.

“You immature girl! How could you cause such trouble? Grace is a sanitation worker. There's a huge difference in your social standings. What is there to compare?” Harold scolded his daughter.

“She murdered my sister! If not for her, Jason wouldn't have taken his anger out on the Stevens family! It's all her fault! And the projection ads Sean commissioned—Jason had them all taken down!” Lily shouted.

Harold’s expression changed, but he remained silent.