Chapter 38

"Holy shit! Is this woman insane?"

The private chat group exploded with messages.

"If she can turn this around, I'll livestream drinking bubble tea upside down!"

"Bubble tea? I'll swallow a keyboard!"

"Keyboard's child's play. I'll eat a monitor!"

The group fell silent for a second.

"Anyone dare to eat shit?"

"I will!"

The journalism circle never lacked daredevils.

Entertainment reporters were the most ruthless of them all.

Victoria Henn's roar cut through the office noise: "Are you all deaf? Check the work group chat!"

Instant silence fell.

Her next words froze the air:

"Ryan Holt just got exposed by his ex! Cheating, sleeping with fans, forcing abortions! Are you all dead—"

The sharp crack of a keyboard slamming on a desk made everyone jump.

Evelyn Sinclair stood up with a dark expression and left.

Stunned silence filled the room.

"She dug this up?"

"Why wait until now to drop such explosive news?"

"How did she even get this?"

"She looks... upset?"

Ten minutes later, Evelyn returned to her desk.

Her expression had softened slightly, but her brow remained furrowed.

Martha Nash's laughter broke the tension: "Evelyn! Orange Media just recalled their freshly printed magazine! All pre-orders canceled. Bet they're fuming!"

Evelyn pressed her lips together.

Orange Media had specially added a Ryan Holt feature.

Fans had pushed pre-orders past 100,000 copies.

Their editor-in-chief had bragged about "Orange Media speed" on social media.

Now reality had slapped them hard.

Horizon Media staff worked overtime tracking developments.

Strangely, previously unverifiable rumors now flooded out like a broken dam.

Even his kindergarten teacher claimed he'd kissed girls at age three.

At 4 AM, as they wrapped up, someone muttered:

"Who promised to livestream eating shit earlier?"

"Ugh—" Someone actually gagged.

Martha walked Evelyn downstairs:

"Brilliant work, but warn me next time."

Evelyn looked down: "No one believed me..."

Martha looked guilty: "It's not that. Orange Media... they tried to acquire Horizon during our crisis years."

Evelyn's lashes fluttered.

Was that the rainy night?

When she'd knelt outside Royal Gardens begging Alexander Kingsley to believe her...

Julian Ashford's car waited below.

"It's late. Your parents asked me to look after you."

Evelyn seemed lost: "Before age ten... I don't remember."

The night her mother jumped, trauma stole her voice.

After recovery, all memories before ten had vanished.

The Kingsleys said her parents died saving their family.

Each mention felt like a boulder on her heart.

Tears welled but never fell.

She'd scoured every Autumn Detail report:

[Annual Corporate Rankings]

[Industry Trends]

[Short-Selling Legends]

[Fraud Scandals]...

Alexander would never understand.

"Mommy, the brooch is gone..."

This lone memory haunted her childhood.