Only Smoke Remains - Chapter 6
After the livestream and video of the press conference spread online, public backlash against Luna exploded.
The day I was set to fly out, I suddenly got a video message from Zachary’s assistant. I tapped it open.
On screen, Luna was on her knees, begging, “Zachary, please help me. I can’t take it anymore. The netizens … they’re destroying me.”
Zachary stared down at her coldly, then kicked her aside. ” You made me lose Autumn and our baby . And now you want my help ?”
“I didn’t.”
When begging didn’t work, Luna’s expression snapped.
She shot to her feet and started screaming at him, “Don’t pretend to be some kind of victim! You think you’re so noble ? Weren’t you the one who couldn’t keep it in his pants ? You’re the real scumbag here. Why am I taking all the blame ?”
Zachary’s face turned red with rage .
“If you hadn’t thrown yourself at me, none of this would’ve happened! I never would’ve betrayed Autumn! And you – how dare you show your face again! Just so you know, I’ve already handed over all the evidence of your involvement in Autumn’s miscarriage to the police. Get ready to enjoy prison.”
The rest of the video was the two of them screaming, pointing fingers, and shoving blame back and forth.
Near the end, the sound of police sirens grew louder and louder.
Then came a message from the assistant.
“Ms. Talbot, Luna’s been arrested for intentional assault. She’s serving a one – year sentence. The scandal has seriously damaged the company, and stock prices have plummeted. Luna also leaked details of Mr. Reidser’s past illegal operations. He’s facing massive fines and is in the process of filing for bankruptcy.”
I sat in silence, not replying. The assistant had once been a student I mentored and supported financially.
I knew he sent this to give me some kind of closure. Nevertheless, I didn’t care anymore. None of it mattered to me now.
Just as I was about to power down my phone on the plane, it started ringing like crazy.
I glanced at the screen. It was my parents.
I picked up, and was immediately greeted with shouting, “You little brat! Where the hell did you run off to? What happened to Zachary? He’s being investigated, and now the family’s under scrutiny too!”
That was all I needed to hear. Our family had always benefited from the Reidser family’s protection.
With Zachary under investigation, it was only a matter of time before the authorities followed the trail back to my parents, who had plenty of skeletons in their closet.
“You’d better get in touch with Zachary and find out what’s going on! If they dig too deep, we’re screwed! Your mom and I aren’t going to jail for this!”
I didn’t say a word.
Just hung up, blocked their numbers, and sighed in relief. Thankfully, they’d always kept me out of their shady business, so none of it had anything to do with me.
The plane rumbled to life and took off. Looking out at the wide, open sky, I felt something I hadn’t in a long time – peace – and I smiled.
From today on, every day would be a brand new beginning.
A future full of hope.
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