Chapter 17 Severed Ties
Quinn didn’t hesitate to hurl her access card at Elsa’s face.
A burning pain flared across her check.
+8 Pearls
The next moment, Quinn’s voice rang out by her ear. “If I come back and find anything missing from my computer, I’m telling Mom and Dad it was you!“,
The digital clock on the wall read 7:00 PM.
Elsa couldn’t hold herself up any longer and curled up on the guest couch, drifting into an exhausted sleep.
There were still some leftover ibuprofen tablets in her pocket.
Half–asleep, she vaguely sensed Wagner tiptoeing into the lounge. Making sure no one noticed him, he quickly shoved a USB drive into her pocket.
The live chat exploded:
“Oh my god, he’s framing her!”
“He totally stole the data himself and planted it on Elsa.”
“This is a setup from start to finish–Elsa’s being made the scapegoat.”
Peter slammed the table and shot to his feet in outrage. “Who the hell would fall for something this pathetic?”
Elsa’s lifeless eyes stayed locked on the screen, frozen on a particular frame.
Then the footage went dark.
Nothing could be seen anymore. All that remained was Wagner’s unmistakable voice echoing through the hospital room. “Relax, it’s all taken care of.”
“Make it clean. Don’t let that bitch catch on,”
Elsa suddenly felt like her head had exploded. She ripped at the electrode wires in a frenzy.
As she yanked at them, her lips moved nonstop in a low murmur. “Why… why won’t they just leave me alone?”
The heart monitor let out a shrill alarm. A nurse rushed in to check on her.
Face tight and voice clipped, the nurse reported quickly, “The patient’s in critical condition. We need to resuscitate–now!”
The livestream feed abruptly cut off.
Even though the judgment livestream ended, the online fury didn’t die down–if anything, it only intensified. The sudden cutoff stoked even more outrage.
Soon, angry comments flooded Moore Corp’s official Twitter page.
*So this is how Moore Corp bleeds people dry? This is disgusting.”
“Absolutely vile. 4 hope this company crashes and burns.”
If I were Elsa, I’d have quit ages ago. Who the hell stays late and works for free like that?”
“To all you soon–to–graduate college kids, open your damn eyes. Never apply to Moore Corp.”
“Stay the hell away from this company!”
12:26 PM P
Chapter 17 Severed Ties
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The deluge of hate practically drowned Moore Corp’s Twitter page.
At one point, the site even started to lag.
Elsa had no idea how much time had passed. It felt like centuries.
Amid the beeping of the heart monitor, Elsa, half–conscious, caught a faint whiff of familiar perfume.
She slowly forced her eyes open and saw Mandy standing at the foot of the bed, seething.
The murderous glare in her eyes looked as if she wanted to tear Elsa apart and devour her on the spot.
The next second-
Mandy’s platinum purse slammed down onto the bedside table, knocking over Elsa’s bottle of pills.
White tablets scattered across the floor.
“Elsa! What kind of ‘good daughter‘ are you? Did we owe you something in a past life?”
Mandy’s furious voice echoed through the room.
She pulled out a tablet and shoved it right in Elsa’s face.
The screen displayed a financial news segment.
And the headline cut Elsa like a knife.
“Moore Corp Stock Plunges Another 10% at Opening–Fake Heiress Scandal Escalates!”
Elsa’s lashes trembled. Her throat burned like fire.
She swallowed instinctively and asked hoarsely, “Then what do you want me to do?”
She stared coldly at the woman in front of her–someone she’d called “Mom” for over a decade.
And yet, somehow, everything had turned into this.
“If it weren’t for you, Moore Corp wouldn’t be in this damn mess!”
Mandy would never have set foot in the hospital if it weren’t for the PR crisis.
To her, Elsa was nothing but bad luck.
+8 Pearls
“You’re going to issue a statement cutting all ties with the Moore family, That way, none of this garbage you stirred up will come back on us!”
Mandy spat the words out without a second thought. Her eyes held no trace of warmth.
In that instant–
Elsa’s hand froze in midair, her mouth slightly open, but no sound came out.
She just stared at the woman in front of her, speechless.
Smack! Mandy slapped Elsa hard across the face.
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