Chapter 121

Suzan’s facade as a lady of grace crumbled in an instant at Winnie’s words. She moved protectively in front of Kathryn, her voice laced with indignation, “You ungrateful snake! Haven’t you caused Kathryn enough pain already? Look at her–do you not have any mercy? How can you be so venomous? Aren’t you afraid of karma catching up to you?”

Unruffled by Suzan’s verbal assault, Winnie didn’t even bat an eyelid, as if accustomed to such outbursts. She coolly retorted, “Whether I face karma is not for you to decide, but it seems like you are already reaping what you’ve sown.”

With that, she turned to the host, her tone dismissive. “Seeing as the Hendersons are quite agitated, I doubt I can be of any help. Perhaps Gentry could take a look instead.”

Stepping aside, Winnie adopted an air of nonchalance, as if she had washed her hands of the matter.

Quincy’s face darkened at her attitude. Pulling Suzan aside, he whispered urgently. “Mom! Remember what you promised me?”

Suzan, momentarily jolted back to reality by her son’s grip, still retorted stubbornly, “Did you see how she threatened your sister? Do you want Kathryn to suffer just because of your issues?”

Quincy felt a pang in his chest. Suzan’s overt protection of Kathryn, even at the expense of his own wellbeing, chilled him. It seemed in her eyes, Kathryn was the only one who mattered.

Swallowing his bitterness, Quincy, who had cut his teeth in the business world alongside Barton, managed to keep a composed facade. Ignoring the implications of Suzan’s favoritism, he inhaled deeply and tried to reason with her softly, “Mom, think it through. It isn’t just about our family problems. Kathryn’s amulet began to crack. Without it, she’s had nothing but accidents. If we lose its protection, she’ll suffer even more backlash. Winnie is the only one who can help us now. Are you sure you want to hold onto past grudges?”

Quincy’s business acumen hit the mark. The thought of the amulet’s failure softened the harsh. lines on Suzan’s face.

Seizing the moment, Quincy shot Kathryn a warning glance, “Keep it together.”

Kathryn, feeling wronged by her brother’s glare, knew deep down that Winnie was their only hope. But after being misled so badly and losing a prestigious college opportunity, she couldn’t help feeling resentful, which led her to react impulsively when she saw Winnie.

Meanwhile, Bagot, the show producer, was no longer fazed by such sudden “accidents” after the last mishap. He even optimistically thought that conflict made for good television–it brought in viewers and sparked discussions that kept the show trending.

Contrary to his expectations, while many initially tuned in for Kane and his charisma, it was the drama around Naylor and Winnie that dominated online discussions. Winnie’s revelation the scheme had even turned some detractors into fans.

1/2 And now, as the live chat buzzed with anticipation over Winnie’s potential bombshell recording. the focus had shifted entirely from Kane to the unfolding Henderson family drama. The viewers were more intrigued by the mystery and the promise of scandal than the original premise of the show.

As the chatroom pressured for the release of the recording, someone finally pointed towards a trending search term. Curious viewers temporarily left the stream to dig up the dirt.

What they found was a revelation: a leaked confession from a high school bully concerning at case that had gripped the nation–a pregnant and bullied teen’s suicide attempt. Sympathy for the girl, Catherine Lester, was widespread, and the public outcry against the bully, identified as Kathryn, was fierce.

Although the court case hadn’t officially started, the court of public opinion had already rendered its verdict, with Kathryn’s role as the “mastermind” exposed. The Henderson and Quentin families had managed to scrub much of the online information, but the internet had a long memory, and the scandal had merely been dormant, waiting to be reawakened by the show’s latest developments.

The sudden mention of it, coupled with the voices on the recording and Kathryn’s recent words, had the online sleuths nearly ninety–nine percent certain. They couldn’t help but discuss “Who would have thought that the girl looking so weak would be a vicious bully?”

“Guess no one can claim this is just scripted by the production team now, huh?”

“Man, when I saw how fragile she looked before, I almost instinctively wanted to protect her and slam Winnie. Lucky for me, I didn’t do that…

“The moment she started talking, I could get her fakeness!”

“She is shady and low class, look how low–level her tactics are!”

“Exactly!”