By the time they reached Scott Group, Cristian was already standing by the CEO’s office door, waiting.
“Mr. Scott!”
Worry etched deep into his features, Cristian didn’t bother with greetings. “Hadley’s name is everywhere. She’s making headlines!”
The words hit hard. Both Eric and Phillips froze, caught off guard by the news. Nothing about this had come up during their drive over.
Cristian raised his phone, urgency in his voice. “Check what’s trending! Hadley’s name is blowing up online. Multiple hashtags—completely viral!”
“Let me see that!” Eric yanked the phone from his hand, skimmed the screen, and then tore his eyes away. His jaw tightened with so much force it looked like it might snap. “Who’s behind this?”
They had acted fast after the incident, working hard to keep the media out. Not even a whisper had surfaced when the police took Hadley in.
No other suspect made sense. He’d just come from seeing Linda. Everything pointed back to her. The footage, the stills—all of it taken from angles that screamed Jane’s work.
His visit to the hospital hadn’t even been an hour ago. Not even an hour had passed, and Linda had already gone public? Releasing the story just to corner him—classic move.
In a world where seconds mattered, a few minutes were all it took for chaos to erupt online. Hadley’s fame alone could stir attention, but her link to Eric turned it into a spectacle. Throw Linda into the mix, and it became a full-blown media circus. Srixby had long treated Linda like some untouchable myth—the first love Eric never quite let go of.
“Hadley Pearson Attacks Ex of Powerful CEO!”
A headline like that practically begged for hysteria, and the internet delivered.
“What a load of garbage!” Eric’s grip on the phone tightened before he launched it to the floor with a violent crack. Fragments of the shattered device scattered across the floor.
Cristian parted his lips as if to speak, but instinct told him to stay silent. A quiet groan echoed in his mind, though. “That was my phone you just destroyed, man!”
? g?ν?
Without missing a beat, Eric turned sharply to Phillips, his tone sharp and unyielding. “Why are you still standing there? Handle this—now!”
“Right away!” Phillips snapped to action. “I’ll handle it!”
Eric then shifted his glare to Cristian. His fury hadn’t cooled in the slightest. “Come with me.”
“Yes, Mr. Scott.”
After stepping into the CEO’s office, Eric gestured sharply toward the chair across from Cristian. Without wasting another second, he asked, “Be honest. How strong is our position in this case?”
Cristian gave a firm nod. “I’m confident in our approach. But how Linda plays this will heavily sway the outcome.”
As both the alleged victim and a crucial witness, Linda’s stance held weight. With the current evidence, her refusal to back down could complicate everything.
.
.
.