Chapter 1797: Chapter 1797

Ryan was confused, not grasping what Justin meant at first.

“Justin, I don’t understand what you are talking about.”

“Mr. Hoffman! There’s a big problem!” Dean said, handing him the phone in a panic, his hands trembling. “Someone… Someone posted a video of Young Madam having an episode online, and it’s going viral. It’s already been shared 200,000 times!”

Yasmin’s face instantly turned as pale as paper, and the crutch supporting her tumbled to the floor with a loud thud.

Ryan stared at the screen. His eyes turned red and widened in shock. His entire body tensed and trembled.

Justin’s enraged voice came through the phone, but Ryan’s mind was blank. The voice sounded like it was coming from somewhere far away.

“Why did Carrie have an episode? Who recorded the video, and who posted it online?! Didn’t you say you’d take good care of my sister? Didn’t you say you had people watching over her closely?! Ryan, what the hell is going on? Have you been so blinded by power that you’ve forgotten the woman you claim to care about the most?!”

Ryan felt his throat tighten, the taste of blood seeping onto his tongue.

“Say something! Are you going to play dumb now?!” Justin’s voice was hoarse with rage, shouting furiously.

Despite his resentment and anger, he just could not bring himself to utter the cruel words of asking them to break up.

Justin had been through this before. He believed that Ryan loved Carrie, just as he loved Bella. He understood the pain of separation all too well. It was like slowly tearing someone’s flesh every day, with blood that never stopped flowing and wounds that never healed.

But at this moment, Justin was also at a loss. Carrie and Bella were very different. Bella was a strong woman who could fight alongside him, with a wealthy background and a warm, happy family. She could afford to fight and was not afraid to lose.

But what about Carrie? What did she have? She couldn’t fight.

Could Ryan really protect her?

Love alone would not guarantee happiness!

“I will take care of this issue, Justin. Please trust me… I know who exposed the video; I know who the mastermind is, and I will deal with them.”

Ryan’s eyes twitched, his vision blurring with emotion. He said with ragged breaths, “Whoever it is… Whoever harmed Carrie will pay for it!”

“Does that help, Ryan?” Justin’s deep voice was laced with bitterness. “The mastermind’s plan has already succeeded. That video has caused a huge commotion, and now the whole country knows Carrie isn’t an ordinary girl.”

The video had tens of thousands of shares already, and it would soon surpass a million, seen by countless people.

It could not be completely deleted, nor could it be controlled.

“Not only that, my grandpa and Gregory also know about this. Grandpa was so furious that he almost had a relapse. Bella has already gone to accompany him.”

Justin suppressed his heartache, speaking hoarsely. “Grandpa wants to bring Carrie home. I’m coming to see you now to take her back.”

Ryan seemed deaf to Justin’s words. His gaze was chaotic and muddled. “I wouldn’t have become CEO if I had known it would be like this…”

“Ryan, this is a tough situation without a clear solution. The Hoffman Group is your father’s legacy. To avenge your father, you wouldn’t let it fall into Liam’s hands, so you were bound to get involved in the power struggle sooner or later. Your enemies will always target your vulnerabilities. In your case, that’s Carrie.”

Justin let out a heavy sigh. "Ryan, balancing family feuds and love is never an easy thing. Being in love doesn't mean you're the right match, and it doesn't guarantee happiness."

In just a few hours, the whole country knew that the Salvador family had a mentally ill daughter.

Despite the Salvador family's best efforts to manage the comments and remove the video, the flood of harsh criticism was just too much for them to contain, leaving them with no way to go back.

[No wonder Madam Shannon has never allowed Ms. Carrie to appear in public. They were afraid of embarrassing themselves!]

[Haha! It's karma! It's only right that Shannon's wicked deeds come back to haunt her own daughter!]

[Oh, why couldn't it have been Bethany who was crazy? What a pity.]

[Does that bitch, Bethany, even need to go crazy? She's already mad enough!]

[Anyway, Young Master Hoffman must be a real saint if he's willing to marry someone who is mentally ill. I'm so touched!]

[Come on, is there true love between rich people's marriages? Didn't you see the recent news? Ryan is going to be the CEO of the Hoffman Group. Marrying Carrie isn't about love, it's about using the Salvador family's background to secure his position in the business world! What a joke!]

Bethany lay on the bed, applying a face mask while browsing the comments, laughing so hard she nearly rolled off.

Her joy turned to sorrow when the iPad slipped from her hand, landing right on her face and bruising her lips, as well as slightly altering her newly done nose job. She cried out in pain and sat up abruptly.

Just then, Zoe’s call came through.

Bethany held her nose and answered with a voice full of resentment.

“Good news is at your doorstep, and yet you still sound like a resentful hag. Can’t you be a bit happier?” Zoe’s typical languid voice came through.

“Hmph, even though that little bitch’s disgraceful state has been exposed, Ryan still can’t marry me. So what’s there to be happy about?” Despite her inner delight, Bethany didn’t want to expose herself too much in front of this annoying girl.

“Don’t be too greedy. If it weren’t for my help, your annoying sister would still be giving you a hard time. And you really think you can become the CEO’s wife of the Hoffman Group? Keep dreaming.”

Bethany gritted her teeth in anger. “You think it’s all thanks to you? If I hadn’t given you that medical report, would everything have gone so well for you? But Ryan isn’t one to give up easily. Even after all we’ve done, he will still be determined to marry Carrie.”

“That’s why we need to keep pushing. You need to continue stirring things up with Chairman Salvador, and I have some plans on my end as well.”

Bethany vaguely heard the sound of Zoe kissing someone, which made her feel uneasy.

“What plans?”

Zoe’s voice was sickly sweet and coy. “Come to the Hillside Club. We can talk more about it in person.”