Chapter 35

Filip seemed momentarily stunned. "Lilian is kind, unlike you," he said, "always pretending—"

Cynthia scoffed. She took out a voice recorder and turned it on. A woman's voice came through: "It was all Lilian's fault. She gave me a folder of information the day I quit. She manipulated me into releasing it online on the last day of voting so she could secure the prime-time host position."

Filip's expression darkened. He had seen that post, which contained much slander and twisted facts, aiming to label Cynthia as the daughter of a murderer, corrupt, and psychologically twisted.

After hearing the recording, Lilian's expression changed. "It's not me! Vivian is slandering me! This recording is fake! Cynthia, how could you frame me like this?"

Cynthia smiled faintly. "The recording is indeed fake. I had someone re-record it; it's not Vivian's voice at all. But how do you know those posts were published by Vivian?"

Lilian's face turned pale, leaving her momentarily speechless.

Cynthia walked to Lilian's bedside, lifting her hand to pinch Lilian's chin. "Lilian, remember, this is just the beginning. If I find out you were involved in anything else in the past, you'll deeply regret it."

With that, Cynthia left. Filip stared at the weakened Lilian on the bed, for the first time not stepping forward to comfort her.

Lilian cried, her tears falling like rain. "Filip, you have to believe me! It's Cynthia framing me; this is all her setup! You know how much she hates me. She wants to harm me and our child, our precious child. I've endured so many injections and medications… it hurts, it hurts so much…"

Lilian suddenly covered her belly. Filip rushed forward, urgently calling for a doctor. Their child, a test-tube baby, was hard-won, perhaps their only child.

Filip held Lilian's hand. "I believe you. Don't get too anxious, Lilian. I've always believed you."

Lilian finally relaxed, leaning into Filip's embrace, sobbing softly. But once seeds of doubt are sown, they grow wildly.

Filip was not a fool; Lilian could only claim Cynthia framed her, yet she had no way to refute the evidence.

Later that evening, Filip returned to their apartment to pack some clothes for Lilian. Throughout the day, Cynthia's words echoed in his mind: "Have you never doubted Lilian, considering how far things have gone?"

As Filip reached the study door, his footsteps halted. Lilian's laptop sat on the desk.

For the first time, he opened Lilian's laptop. The computer was password-protected. He tried several combinations—Lilian's birthday, his own, and the date they'd gone abroad—but none worked.

Just as he was about to give up, something flashed through his mind, and he entered a series of numbers. To his surprise, the computer unlocked. The password was Cynthia's birthday. "How much does she hate Cynthia that she even set her birthday as the password?" Filip pondered.

Filip frowned as he opened the computer. He quickly found a folder containing original images related to the recent posting incident, identical to those circulating online.

Chapter 25 (Note: This chapter appears out of order in the original text. It should likely be placed before Chapter 35)

However, these photos had been stored for over a year. At that time, they were still abroad. This meant Lilian was indeed behind the incident, gathering damaging material against Cynthia since they were overseas.

But it didn't stop there. Filip discovered several other categorized folders on Lilian's computer, all concerning Cynthia, containing damaging evidence that could ruin her reputation. Most of the content was taken out of context or deliberately fabricated. For instance, there were accusations of bullying in high school and claims that Cynthia was promiscuous and had undergone an abortion.

Since they attended high school together, Filip knew Cynthia had never bullied anyone and was not promiscuous. Instead, she had been cheerful, honest, and talented; teachers and students liked her. Clearly, these were malicious slanders. If exposed, any one of them could drag Cynthia, a public figure, into an endless abyss.

The room was unlit. The flickering light illuminated Filip's expressionless face, making it seem even graver.

Cynthia had rare downtime these days. Over the past year, she had hardly taken any breaks due to her daily responsibilities reporting the afternoon news. Now that she suddenly had some free time, she felt aimless.

In the morning, she slept until well past noon. Then she began designing jewelry. Simon had been urging her for design drafts lately, so she took the opportunity to create two sets and sent them to him.

Jonathan had been on a business trip to Japan for three days and was just returning. At noon, Cynthia received a message from Jonathan inviting her to lunch in the CEO's office at BJ.

Feeling bored, Cynthia decided to go. She liked the special meals the chef at BJ prepared for Jonathan.

She drove to the parking garage beneath the BJ Building and took Jonathan's exclusive elevator. When the elevator opened, it led directly into the private lounge of Jonathan's office. Cynthia thought this design was perfectly suited for an affair.

The lounge was empty. Cynthia walked to Jonathan's office and ran into his personal secretary, Claude. The atmosphere became instantly awkward.

Claude, however, seemed unfazed. He adjusted his rimless glasses and spoke politely: "Ms. Jones, Mr. Bennett is still on his way and should arrive in about ten minutes."

Cynthia replied, "Okay, I understand."

She sat in Jonathan's office chair. A stack of documents on the desk caught her eye. She saw a familiar photo: Shirley.

Unable to resist, Cynthia picked up the file. It was a job application. Shirley was applying for the position of CEO's secretary assistant.

A layer of coldness seemed to rise in Cynthia's bright eyes.

In her sophomore year, Shirley had burst into the Jones family with DNA test documents, turning both her and Cynthia's lives upside down. Shirley's "adoptive mother," actually Cynthia's biological mother, Rachel, had conspired twenty years ago to switch two babies as revenge against the Jones family.

(The remaining text "1:20 Fri, Nov 2474%" appears to be extraneous and unrelated to the narrative.)

This cleaned-up version addresses grammar, punctuation, paragraph breaks, and improves the overall flow of the narrative. The out-of-place chapter number has been noted. The final line seems unrelated and was omitted.