A short sentence, yet it carried a massive amount of information.
Marriage, pregnancy, abortion, infidelity, and the wealthy elites of the financial circle.
Each detail was explosive enough on its own.
Furthermore, the man intentionally raised his voice to ensure the majority of the room could hear him.
Today’s event was already grand. There were even reporters present, carrying cameras with long and short lenses. Many people were so shocked by this sudden turn of events that they couldn’t react in time.
It was a reporter who had transitioned from entertainment journalism whose muscle memory kicked in, aiming their lens straight at the source of the drama.
Even the "main character" being cursed at, Zoe Lancaster, was taken aback for a moment.
A trace of coldness seeped into her beautiful eyes. "Who are you? Do I know you?"
She wondered where this absolute lunatic had come from.
The young man was only moderately good-looking, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He dressed plainly in a simple jacket and black pants. However, the raw emotion on his face made it hard not to believe him. His eyes were bloodshot, filled with what looked like genuine despair and grief.
Staring at Zoe, he accused her word by word. "You’re pretending not to know me? Was us being together for over a year and sharing a bed all fake? Zoe Lancaster, how can you be so heartless and cruel! Sleeping with so many men just to climb the ladder and secure your future—aren’t you disgusted with yourself?"
Shocked by the man’s filthy slander, the wives who had been chatting happily with her just moments ago stepped back with strange expressions. Zoe’s eyes grew colder by the second.
She instinctively looked toward Wendy Lawrence.
Sure enough, the woman stood there, her eyes brimming with vicious triumph.
It was obvious she wanted to ruin Zoe’s reputation in the financial circle and destroy her completely!
"You claim we were together for over a year. Those are empty words. Where’s the evidence? When did I ever meet you?" Zoe demanded.
The man gave a desolate smile. "I knew you wouldn’t admit it. Then what about these photos?"
He took a stack of photos from his bag and threw them in front of Zoe one by one.
Seeing the photos of her and this man in intimate poses—which were clearly doctored—Zoe frowned. He had come prepared. They truly wanted to drive her to her grave.
She knew they were AI-generated, but the people present would only believe they were the truth!
Soon enough, whispers fell into her ears.
"I told you, with a slutty face like that, how good could her true nature be?"
"She’s just a toxic bitch! She even aborted a child? So ruthless."
Emboldened by the crowd’s condemnation, the man yelled even louder. "You slept with other men, got pregnant with a bastard, and couldn’t even keep it! It’s one thing to be so cruel to me, but you maliciously pinned all your dirty deeds on your sister! You were the one who slept around and dumped people! Your sister suffered in silence and didn’t explain herself just for your sake, and now she has depression. Are you happy now?!"
GASPS echoed through the room.
Astonished and disgusted gazes all landed on Zoe.
There was actually such explosive drama?!
Zoe’s lips pressed tightly together, her face growing increasingly cold.
The man grew more agitated the more he spoke, crying and making a scene. "There were security cameras at the auction that day. Zoe went upstairs, and her sister went up to look for her out of concern. As a result, she offended that VIP, which led to the Lancaster Family being suppressed. In truth, the main culprit from the very beginning was Zoe! She forced her sister to take the fall for her! If Zoe hadn’t pushed things too far, I wouldn’t have exposed her!"
The surrounding murmurs intensified. Zoe had practically become public enemy number one.
Not far away, Martin Lancaster looked at Wendy Lawrence in shock. "You!"
Wendy naturally understood that Martin could definitely guess the whole story. She threw caution to the wind. "Are you willing to let Riley be ruined? She’s your biological daughter! Zoe is an ungrateful wretch, why do you care about her? Anyway, Mr. Hawthorne didn’t hold Riley accountable, and Sheffield also stopped his actions. Such high-and-mighty figures are so busy they won’t pay attention to this matter anymore. They absolutely won’t step forward to reveal the truth. Since that’s the case, why shouldn’t I protect my daughter?"
She wanted to ruin Zoe completely!
If she hadn’t been certain that Simon Hawthorne and Sean Sheffield, the two people involved, had already moved on, she wouldn’t have come up with this scheme. After all, Simon didn’t even bother to sue or suppress the Lancaster Family, and Sean had lost interest in continuing his targeting. Didn’t that mean it was all in the past?
They weren’t that idle. Who would care about the life or death of an insignificant ant like Zoe?
Martin’s face was extremely gloomy. "But Zoe is also a member of the Lancaster Family!"
Wendy sneered mockingly. "She’s practically sucked you dry and scammed so much money out of the Lancaster Family! Ever since you divorced her mother, she’s always had a problem with you. Even if she thrives, she won’t help the Lancaster Family one bit! We might as well let her take the blame so Riley can restore her reputation. Isn’t this the most cost-effective solution?"
Now that she had become the true Mrs. Lancaster, she couldn’t be bothered to pretend anymore. As a parent, what was wrong with scheming for her own daughter?
Martin’s lips moved, but he couldn’t utter a single word in rebuttal. He cast a complicated glance in Zoe’s direction and said nothing more, treating it as his tacit consent.
Wendy was indeed right.
Zoe didn’t necessarily care about him as a father. They had practically dropped all pretenses. Even if she climbed higher in the future, she wouldn’t necessarily be of use to him. The Lancaster Family was in a bad situation. Although his heart ached for Zoe, he... had to consider the big picture.
Perhaps out of a guilty conscience, he stepped back, avoiding Zoe’s gaze, unwilling to play the bad guy.
Meanwhile, the young man had already stepped forward, trying to grab Zoe’s hand. "Why are you so cruel? You were the one who wanted to be with me, and you were the one who brought up marriage. We were already prepared to go get our marriage certificate, but then I found out about your dirty side. You ruined everything!"
Zoe stepped back, dodging the man’s hand. "Do you know what the consequences of defamation and slander are? Can you afford them?"
The man froze for a moment before quickly recovering. "You’ve become so despicable! A woman who doesn’t follow basic decency—who would dare to have you in the future? Forget wealthy families, even ordinary people would spit on a woman like you!"
"Try to touch her again, and I wouldn’t mind making you crawl out of here today with broken arms and legs."
Suddenly, a tall figure stepped in front of her.
Zoe looked up. Miles Yates had walked over at some point. Right in front of everyone, this usually well-mannered man now wore an icy expression. His overwhelming presence made the young man’s legs go weak.
Seeing Miles intervene, the situation grew even more complicated.
The crowd merely assumed Miles was stepping in to salvage the situation out of his good upbringing.
But Wendy wasn’t about to let the fire die out. She immediately rushed out crying, continuing to fan the flames. "Riley is suffering from depression because of you! I don’t want to swallow my anger anymore. You brought Miller home and said you were going to marry him, and now look at you. Who are you doing justice to?!"
As she spoke, she looked at Miles with tear-filled eyes. "President Yates, don’t let her deceive you! She isn’t worth your protection! You should stay away from an ungrateful wretch like her, lest you get stabbed in the back in the future!"
The corners of Miles’s lips curled slightly. "Is that so?"
The surrounding crowd immediately looked at Zoe with mockery.
Evildoers got their just deserts. In the end, wasn’t she going to end up isolated and helpless...
Miles slowly turned around. His eyes were deep, completely devoid of coldness. Instead, they were sincere and firm. "Miss Lancaster is open and upright. She is intelligent and polite in her dealings with others, and meticulous and serious in her work. She loses to no one. Relying on her own strength, she has advanced steadily without ever taking shortcuts. She is wonderful—better than anyone else."
As soon as his words fell, a hint of gentleness rippled in his beautiful eyes. Word by word, with earnest care, he said, "I like you very much."
His gentle and calm tone ruthlessly shattered all the prejudiced views and malicious rumors.
The expressions of the people in the venue changed drastically.
President Yates... was confessing his love?!
The woman Miles Yates liked was bound to be extraordinarily outstanding. Who would dare question it?
Miles admitted to himself that seeing Zoe humiliated and subjected to dirty rumors filled him with uncontrollable fury. He also knew that gossip was a fearful thing and that simple explanations wouldn’t dispel what people already wanted to believe. He could only take a different approach.
By revealing his true feelings, he was telling the world that Zoe was a wonderful person.
He was also giving them a warning: anyone who spoke a single bad word about Zoe would be making an enemy out of him!
Let alone the others, even Zoe’s heart skipped a beat as she stared at the man in front of her in disbelief.
Wendy turned pale with shock. "President Yates! She almost got married and had an abortion! What do you like about her?!"
Before Miles could answer, the side door of the venue suddenly opened, and the curtain was pulled back.
An indifferent yet ruthlessly pleasant voice echoed, "Spreading rumors about my wife... do you think I’m an easy target?"