09
I had provoked him on purpose, knowing that a heated argument would give me the perfect excuse to storm out.
In their minds, I was storming off, too upset to cause any real trouble.
But unbeknownst to them, I had already extracted the audio from the voice recorder that night.
Tiffany had handed me exactly what I needed on a silver platter. The recorder had captured the crucial evidence I was after.
I reached out to lan once more, asking him to stir the pot when the time was ripe.
Then, I leaked the audio online with a clickbait title that was sure to catch the eye of the internet sleuths.
The audio began with muffled noises, and then Tiffany’s voice came through clearly.
“Dad, you have to let me back into the company. Zooey is your daughter, but so am I. Why does she get to stay while I’m pushed out? My mother and I lived in the shadows for years until you took me in after she died. You can’t do this to me! It’s just the Spencer Group, right? You still control it. Zooey isn’t that significant.”
Within those few lines, all the sordid details were out in the open.
That night, the audio exploded across the web.
I posted the recording using the same account I’d used during my birthday party incident. People had been clamoring for an update ever since.
When the sequel hit, it shattered their expectations.
The comments flooded in.
[Wow, I knew it! She’s the illegitimate one!]
Unbelievable! How dare this illegitimate daughter!]
D
12:07 PM
MIMITIV Sinw wynwww…wy
[What a soap opera.]
[Yuck. Following the cliché, she’s not also with your fiancé or childhood sweetheart, is she?]
I clicked “like” on the last comment, subtly confirming the suspicion.
My actions sparked the story back to life.
[Are you actually the novel heroine betrayed by everyone?]
[Who’s the cheater? Do some digging!]
As expected, the internet detectives went to work, unearthing our family’s scandal in record
[I got it! Zooey Spencer, eldest daughter of the Spencer Group. The company was her mother’s. After married to Zooey’s mother, her dad was closely involved with the Spencer family. After Zooey’s mom passed away while Zooey was still a minor, he took over the Spencer Group.]
[Technically, the company belongs to the Spencer family, and that other daughter has no rightful claim.]
[During Zooey’s birthday, her dad tried to get the illegitimate daughter to take the Spencer surname!]
[Never seen such shamelessness. Cheating and then trying to hand over his wife’s legacy to his lover’s child!]
[Her fiancé is Stephan Smith. Insider info says he’s cozy with the illegitimate daughter, but who cares now? Engagement’s off. Just adds to the nausea.]
Thanks to Stephan, the Smith Group’s stock took a nosedive.
lan’s strategy in aligning with me paid off handsomely.
But I wasn’t done yet.
The atmosphere in the boardroom was thick with tension.
With Tiffany’s illegitimacy out in the open, neither she nor Jack had a leg to stand on in the Spencer Group.
Reporters swarmed the company’s entrance.
Jack looked at me, his eyes heavy with exhaustion from a sleepless night.
“Did you really need to take it this far? I am your father!”
I met his gaze with indifference.
“You seemed to forget that when you started your affair. And if my memory serves, Tiffany is just two weeks my junior!”
