Chapter 244
By the next day, the news about Nicolas potentially losing his shares had exploded all over the media.
The Anderson family, of course, was deeply concerned about whether Nicolas could weather the storm. But Noelle told them all to relax completely.
What she didn’t expect, though, was that even her classmates at school were talking about it the moment she arrived.
“Noelle, did you see the headlines! Your fiancé’s shares are about to be reclaimed by the Sawyer family—what’s going on?”
“The article said he committed some kind of major offense against the family’s interests.”
“What kind of mistake could be big enough to make them take back 30% of his shares?”
“Noelle, do you know anything?”
Her classmates crowded around her, speculating wildly. And since Nicolas didn’t have the best public image, most of the guesses leaned toward the...
Someone muttered, “Maybe he got caught cheating or something shady.”
Another chimed in, “Or maybe he secretly sold off family assets and got caught.”
Basically, none of it was flattering.
Noelle couldn’t stand people talking trash about Nicolas, so she suddenly spoke up, loud and clear. “It was because of me.”
The room fell silent. All eyes turned to her.
Noelle stood straight, her voice serious.
“Remember Reyna? The one who wrote that fake sob story and tried to cancel me online! She even tried to sue me and get me thrown in jail. After we presented real evidence, she’s the one who had to leave the industry.”
“Yeah, I remember that. But wasn’t Radiance Media the one who cleared your name?”
Noelle replied calmly, “Radiance Media is owned by my fiancé. So the person who really defended me... was Nicolas.”
That revelation flipped the room. Her classmates huddled closer in surprise.
“So Nicolas went against Reyna—who had ties with the Sawyer Group—just to protect you? No wonder the family’s mad.”
“Exactly,” Noelle nodded.
A wave of admiration followed. “Wow, that’s husband-of-the-year energy. He took down his family’s golden goose just to stand up for you.”
“Still, wasn’t that kind of reckless! I mean, Reyna was working with a ton of Sawyer Group subsidiaries. Once she dropped out, their stock tanked. It’s no surprise they’re furious.”
Someone immediately pushed back. “How is that reckless? Reyna almost sent Noelle to jail! Did the Sawyer family even try to stop her?”
“Right? Noelle’s practically part of their family already. And they didn’t do a thing. If Nicolas hadn’t stepped in, Noelle would’ve been thrown under the bus.”
“Exactly! And Reyna’s a fraud too—she claimed to have written The Shadows, when it was really Noelle’s work. She lied and bullied Noelle online. That’s the real villain here!”
“If the Sawyer family turned a blind eye to all that, they’re just as bad.”
“Ugh, and now they’re trying to take his shares! It’s so obvious—they were just waiting for Nicolas to make a mistake so they could take them back.”
“Classic rich family move. Cold-blooded as hell.”
Seeing the sentiment shift, Noelle seized the moment and added, “Exactly. The Sawyer family has never been decent. And that whole story about Nicolas’s mom being a mistress? That’s fake news. They’re the ones who started those rumors. The truth is totally different.”
“What? There’s more drama?” someone gasped. “Spill the tea!”
And so, Noelle laid it all out—the trap they set for Nicolas’s mom, how they scammed her out of her fortune, twisted the story, and played the victim.
By the end, everyone was fuming.
“Disgusting. That’s textbook manipulation. Took her money and ruined her name!”
“Rich families really are terrifying.”
“His mom was married legally, and they treated her like garbage! If it were me, I’d lose my mind.”
“The Sawyers need to burn. They’re straight-up parasites.”
Noelle nodded, serious again. “They really are awful. If you see anyone trash-talking Nicolas online, please help set the record straight. He deserves justice.”
“Don’t worry, Noelle. We’ve got your back,” several classmates promised, patting their chests with pride.
Noelle beamed. “Thanks, everyone.”
Word spreads fast in school, especially among young people who live online. And once her classmates started spreading the real story, it triggered a ripple effect.
Nicolas had once told her that he already had solid evidence of how the Sawyer family deceived his mother. Once that truth came to light, their stock would tank again—and that would be his chance to strike.
He’d buy out the company before they even realized what was happening.
Meanwhile, on the Sawyer family’s side…
…they were still celebrating the news that Nicolas might be forced to sell back his shares.
Braiden, the head of the family, was busy scraping together funds to buy back the 30% Nicolas controlled. But even for a powerhouse like the Sawyers, it was a hefty sum.
Just then, the matriarch, Marissa, walked in. She saw how frazzled her husband and sons were over the finances and snapped, "Braiden, why do we even have to buy the shares back? They belong to the Sawyer family to begin with—just make that little brat hand them over."
After all, she’d faked her death for this plan, watched her husband have a child with another woman, and now that boy—Nicolas—wanted to sell the shares back at a markup.
Braiden smiled patiently. “Darling, it’s not that simple. Amelie left behind a will that clearly gave the shares to Nicolas. With that in place, we can’t just take them back—we have to buy them.”
Marissa scoffed, “And now he wants to sell them above market price? What a little ingrate. After everything we did to raise him, he can’t even call me ‘mom’?”
“Mom, calm down,” said her son Marshall, adjusting his glasses. “This is a smart investment. Reclaiming all the shares gives us full control of the company. And paying a premium for Nicolas’s shares? That’ll boost our reputation. It’s a strategic move—it’ll pay off in the long run.