"Mrs. Zane, you might want to have someone authenticate this picture," Hazel Sinclair suggested tactfully. "Perhaps it’s a fake?"
’The person behind this is pretty vicious,’ Hazel thought. ’They didn’t even bother with Photoshop and went straight to using AI.’
’Pretty ruthless.’
AI wasn’t as widespread in this world yet. It wasn’t like her previous life, where AI was a part of everyday existence.
It was normal for them not to recognize it, but Hazel could tell at a glance.
A closer look revealed that the man’s face was just too strange.
It was unnatural, incredibly stiff.
"The picture is right here. How could it be fake?" Pearl Zane stared at Hazel’s face, her own filled with disgust.
’Is she still trying to argue at a time like this?’
One side of Hazel Sinclair’s face was swollen, and tears welled in her eyes. The sharp pain from where her hair was being pulled was unbearable.
"Is it possible... that the picture is fake?" Hazel Sinclair asked earnestly.
"Fake?" Pearl Zane scoffed. "How could it possibly be fake?"
"It’s an AI-generated image. You’ve truly got the wrong person," Hazel reminded her.
"Mrs. Zane, isn’t it possible someone wants to use you to get rid of me? That way, they wouldn’t have a death on their conscience, but you would—all for a stranger," Hazel Sinclair said, tilting her head and looking at her intently.
"Mrs. Zane, no matter how powerful your family is, if you get tangled up in someone’s death, there will be a price to pay."
Hearing her words, Pearl Zane thought of her own mother. She hesitated for a moment before letting go of Hazel’s hair.
The hand gripping her hair finally released its hold. Hazel quickly reached up to touch her hair.
’It hurt like hell.’
Seeing the strands of hair on the floor, Hazel’s heart ached.
’My poor hair.’
Pearl Zane looked at a nearby bodyguard. "Get someone over here to determine if this picture is real or fake."
"Yes."
Hearing this, Hazel Sinclair breathed an inward sigh of relief. ’So she’s not a complete idiot in love. She can still listen to reason.’
"Even if the picture is fake, how do you explain my husband watching your livestreams?" Pearl Zane demanded, crossing her arms and staring at Hazel.
Hazel was left speechless.
Before she could respond, Pearl Zane continued, "Not only that, but he gifted you enough to become your second-biggest supporter."
After hearing this, Hazel touched her forehead and let out a soft, exasperated laugh.
’I was just running a normal sales stream. I didn’t do anything. How can this be my fault?’
"Mrs. Zane..." Hazel began, her voice weary.
"Is it possible that I was just doing my job?"
"I’m a sales streamer. More viewers mean more orders, which means a bigger commission for me. Whether viewers choose to gift or not has nothing to do with me. I never solicit gifts from anyone."
"Your husband watching my stream only proves he’s the one with impure thoughts." Hazel wasn’t afraid of her, deciding to expose the truth about Felix Zane.
"Mrs. Zane, you’re so strict with him that he feels emasculated. On the surface, he might be intimidated by your family’s power, but who knows what kind of wild things he gets up to in private?"
Looking at the picture of Felix Zane’s face, Hazel decided to get a little revenge.
"You know about The Crimson Villa that was raided by the police a while back?" Hazel asked, her expression serious.
Pearl Zane was no fool. Of course she knew about the villa.
"Your husband... might have been a client," Hazel said gravely.
At this, Pearl Zane’s expression turned even fouler. Gripping her phone, she snarled, "Felix Zane!"
The expert they called in examined the picture and quickly concluded that it was a fake.
The expert also used some under-the-table tech to find the address of the person who had sent the image to Pearl Zane.
"They’re also in Veridia."
’Vincent Hawthorne. Of course it was him!’
Hazel Sinclair seethed with anger. That bastard. First, he’d dragged her to The Crimson Villa, and now he was framing her.
Seeing Hazel’s furious expression, Pearl Zane asked, "You know who framed you?"
"Vincent Hawthorne!" Hazel spat the name out, her voice laced with venom.
"He tricked and threatened me into going to The Crimson Villa. He was planning to give me away as a ’gift’ to someone in his circle."
"But my brother and his people came and rescued me, and The Crimson Villa was completely shut down."
"He’s held a grudge against me ever since."
After listening to Hazel, Pearl Zane snorted. She was embarrassed at how easily she had been manipulated.
Just as Pearl Zane was about to say something, there was a knock at the door.
The moment the knock sounded, two bodyguards moved to the door and checked the peephole.
A woman was standing outside.
"Who is it?" Pearl Zane asked the bodyguard.
"A young woman."
Hearing this, Hazel’s eyes lit up. ’Jill Kensington is here to save me!’
"Get rid of her," Pearl Zane said with a wave of her hand.
"Yes."
One of the men opened the door and stood in the entryway, looking down at Jill Kensington. "What is it?"
"Yes," Jill said, looking at him. Her heart quivered as she took in his bulging chest muscles.
But for Hazel’s sake, Jill swallowed hard and said, "I’m looking for my friend."
Then, Jill immediately shouted past him into the room, "Hazel Sinclair—"
"Are you still alive?"
"I’m alive!" Hazel shouted back, rushing to the door and pushing past the bodyguard to see her.
When Jill saw the red handprint on her face, she asked urgently, "They hit you?"
"Yeah..." Hazel touched her cheek, then her scalp.
Hazel pulled Jill inside, then turned to Pearl Zane. "If you had dared to kill me today, you would have been finished."
The expert standing nearby tensed up at her words. ’Was this seemingly sweet girl really so vicious?’
"When did I ever say I was going to kill you?" Pearl Zane demanded.
’Although I did want to kill her at first,’ Pearl thought, ’I came to my senses and gave up on the idea.’
She could be willful, but she couldn’t drag her mother into it.
"You may not have said you’d kill me, but you did hit me."
Hazel pointed to her own face and hair. "This is the evidence." Then she pointed to Jill. "And here’s the witness."
"If you don’t want me to press charges, then you’ll have to pay up!" Hazel said, holding out her hand with an air of complete justification.
"Plus, you had your men forcibly drag me here from my apartment, which caused trauma to my fragile heart. You’ll have to compensate me for emotional distress, too."
Pearl Zane breathed a sigh of relief when Hazel demanded money. If Hazel decided to burn everything to the ground, it would definitely affect her mother.
Pearl Zane asked, "How much?"
Hazel Sinclair glanced at the shoes on Pearl’s feet, then said, "I want seven hundred thousand."
"Seven hundred thousand? You’ve got to be kidding!" Pearl Zane shouted.
"Those shoes on your feet cost seven hundred thousand. If you’re not willing to pay, don’t blame me for what happens next."
"I’ve got nothing to lose. If I can drag the Zane Family down with me, I’ll consider it a worthy death," Hazel threatened.