Chapter 317: The Battle Of Public Opinion 2

Judy opened her gallery again, found the video of Julian announcing Isobel as his daughter, and uploaded it.

The clip spread rapidly.

Within moments, the internet erupted once more.

This time, the revelation was no longer merely about Kristoff Dalton’s scandal.

It was about Isobel Lancey, the woman who had once been looked down and dismissed as an orphan but was now publicly acknowledged as a member of the powerful Foster family.

And just like that, the people who had mocked Isobel were scrambling to make sense of the shocking revelation.

The comment section exploded with fresh discussions.

"I swear I only went to take a bath! How did I miss an entire family-reveal drama in the meantime?"

"WAIT. So Isobel is really a Foster? No wonder Morgan Foster has been so protective of her!"

"Hold on! If she’s a Foster, why are they only announcing it now?"

"Are you seriously that dense? Maybe the family wanted to protect her privacy. Did you expect them to hold a press conference just to satisfy your curiosity?"

"But this changes everything! People were calling her an orphan just a few minutes ago. I wonder how they’re feeling now."

"Probably deleting their comments as we speak!"

"Good heavens! The world of the rich and famous is terrifying. One minute, you’re an orphan being bullied online. The next, you’re the daughter of a powerful family!"

"Exactly! Thank goodness I’m just an ordinary person. I can barely handle my own problems. Imagine having your family background become a trending topic!"

"Speak for yourself! I’d gladly accept the trouble if it came with the Foster family’s wealth!"

The comments kept pouring in, and the discussion grew more heated by the minute.

One thing was certain: Isobel was no longer the helpless orphan the internet had assumed her to be. And those who had been so quick to look down on her were beginning to realize that they might have made a very costly mistake.

...

Inside Marco’s office, Charlotte and Marco watched Kristoff’s livestream with eager anticipation. Both were convinced that Kristoff would never escape the scandal threatening to destroy his reputation.

At first, Marco watched with undisguised delight, certain that Kristoff’s public admission would seal his fate.

But as Kristoff methodically addressed each accusation, clarified the circumstances surrounding his past relationship with Charlotte, and refuted the allegations concerning Alexander, Marco’s smug smile gradually vanished.

By the time Kristoff finished, amusement had given way to barely contained fury.

And when the livestream ended, he was so enraged that the glass in his hand shattered.

Fragments scattered across the floor, while a jagged piece sliced into his palm.

The company nurse was summoned immediately to treat Marco’s injured hand. As she cleaned the blood and bandaged the cut, Charlotte remained glued to her phone, scrolling through the comments.

Her face drained of color as she read the accusations that she had harmed Alexander.

Until now, Kristoff had kept the real reason for their breakup to himself. He had merely cited irreconcilable differences, never revealing what had happened behind closed doors.

Charlotte believed he would take that secret to his grave for the sake of their past.

She had never imagined that he would expose her darkest secret in front of the entire world.

How could he expose that? Am I doomed?

She was still thinking about how to counter Kristoff’s words when Judy’s post caught her attention.

She sat rigidly on the couch, her phone gripped tightly in both hands.

Now, as she read the comments, her face grew increasingly pale.

"How could Judy do this?" she whispered. "She’s defending Isobel as though they’re real sisters."

She had once been close to Judy when she was still Kristoff’s fiancée. Back then, Charlotte had believed Judy genuinely liked her and wanted her as a sister-in-law.

She once said, that only she can become her sister-in-law.

She even thought that, despite the occasional disagreements, their relationship had been sincere.

But now Judy was openly defending Isobel, replying to hateful comments one after another with a determination that left no room for doubt.

Charlotte’s fingers tightened around her phone.

So this is what I mean to her now?

"She’s just as heartless as her brother," Charlotte murmured bitterly.

Yet she knew Judy was no longer her biggest problem.

The real danger lay in Kristoff’s accusation that she had deliberately hurt Alexander.

That allegation had struck at the very heart of her reputation.

No matter how wealthy or influential a woman might be, being branded as someone who had harmed an innocent child was a stain that money and connections could not easily erase.

Charlotte lowered her phone.

A bitter, self-mocking smile crept across her lips.

For a long time, she had refused to acknowledge the truth, even to herself. She made excuses, convinced herself that her actions had been necessary, and insisted that everything she had done was meant to protect her own future.

But now, faced with the consequences, she could no longer escape the one regret that haunted her most.

If only I hadn’t plotted against Alex.

If only I had treated him like a mother should, even if I had to pretend.

Perhaps Kristoff would never have discovered what she had done in the past.

Perhaps their relationship would have survived, and she would still be standing beside him today, enjoying the status and security she had once taken for granted.

But those possibilities belonged to a past she could never reclaim.

There was no point dwelling on what might have been.

Kristoff had left her. The public was turning against her. And now, with his accusations spreading across the internet, every action she had taken in the past threatened to become evidence against her.

Charlotte had spent years carefully cultivating her public image, presenting herself as the devoted fiancée and, for a brief time, the gentle, loving mother to Alexander.

She was convinced that her interview the previous night would win her public sympathy. By portraying herself as the heartbroken woman abandoned by her fiancé, she had expected netizens to take her side and condemn Kristoff for their failed relationship.

She had played the victim, believing the sympathy card would work in her favor.

But Kristoff’s press conference had turned everything upside down.

In a matter of minutes, the carefully constructed fa?ade she had spent years maintaining began to crumble.

If she remained silent, the public would accept Kristoff’s version of events as the truth. Before long, she would be condemned by millions of strangers, and no amount of explaining afterward would be enough to save her.

She couldn’t allow that to happen.

Charlotte slowly lifted her head, her eyes hardening as fear gave way to determination.

If Kristoff had decided to expose her to the world, then she would have to fight back.

Even if it meant dragging their entire past into the open.

Even if it meant revealing secrets she had sworn never to tell.

She had already lost Kristoff.

She refused to lose everything else.