Mark didn't respond to that and merely sighed. But his silence was loud, and everyone immediately assumed it really was Noah. Their hatred for him spiked even more, and several people began to post the screenshots online, boycotting him. In a matter of seconds, the keyword [#NoahExposed] had become the top trending search words."It must be him," several people commented."How low could he get? I mean, I already know he's a vile pedophile, but this?""From the timestamp of the screenshots, it looks like they were posted five years ago. It turns out he didn't just become such a person overnight."Everyone was talking heatedly, and it wasn't hard to imagine that if Noah was to appear in front of them at that moment, he would definitely be mobbed. Just when they had reached the heights of their speculations, Mark's voice resounded again, "I'd like to tell you that these comments were not written by Noah."Everyone immediately went silent, and they began to murmur in puzzlement, "If it's
At first, everyone was just speculating, but now that Mark had confirmed it, no one dared to disbelieve it. Their murmurs grew louder, and their looks of contempt grew even more on Richard. He could tell that everything he had planned was going down the drain, and he panicked.Suddenly, he shot up, his face contorted with rage, even with the guards restraining him. “Are you out of your mind, Mark? Don’t you dare slander me like this!” His voice boomed. “Why would I say that to my own daughter? You liar!”Mark ignored his rant and directly pulled up a video on the screen. Then, he said before playing it, "This video was gotten from one of Richard's neighbors, and I'd like to protect his privacy for security purposes, so some part of this video has been cut."Then, he played the video, which started with Richard and his neighbor talking, laughing about football. Just then, Emily walked past in front of them, and Richard suddenly whistled, hks voice filling the conference hall. "Isn't my
It was Emily who spoke up. She still didn't lift up her head and still looked nervous as she continued, "I made the video and kept it on my phone, but I didn't show it to anyone. I don't know how Mr. Mark got it."When Richard heard that, he got even more incensed and thundered, "You stupid girl!"He looked like he was about to go insane and if it weren't for the restraints on him, he would have lunged at her and attacked her. His attitude made her cower once again and went silent.And everyone in the audience was furious. "Shut up, you molester!""I've called the cops. Scum like he should be seriously dealt with.""What an irresponsible father!"When Richard heard all these comments, he seemed to calm down gradually, especially when he heard the word cops and stopped causing trouble. The audience's attention also returned to the matter of how the video came to be.Meanwhile, the phone in Tom Harris's hand chimed with a message, and once he caught sight of the content, his eyes glint
Several gazes panned toward his direction as everyone was still focused on Mark, wondering if he was running away now that he couldn't prove Noah’s innocence. Some even thought it was Noah seated there and stretched their necks severally to take a look."Is that really Noah?""It can't be. He wouldn't dare appear here, would he?""I guess so. Then who is that?""I don't know. He called him Mr. Norman. Is there someone like that in the industry?"Mark was standing directly in front of the man in question, blocking others' sight, and they couldn't see who it was clearly, but it was obvious it was a young man. He handed something to Mark, which surprised the latter, and they talked some more before he walked back toward the stage. It was only then that they saw who the young man was. He wore a plain black shirt with no label and a pair of crisp white pants, neatly ironed and pressed. He had sharp features and a handsome face, but paired with the indifferent look on his face, he gave off
Whilst everyone was confused, she stepped forward and stretched her hand to take the mic from Mark. He was taken aback and looked toward Max, wondering if he had somehow managed to plan this too. But even Max had a contemplative look on his face as he stared at the girl which showed he knew nothing about it.She collected the mic and bowed to everyone in the audience. Then, she began to speak, "I'm sorry for lying to everyone. Although I didn't exactly lie, I was used to frame and manipulate both the media and everyone who stood up for me."The entire hall was silent, and flashes of light rang out from time to time from reporters' cameras as they were all eager to capture what she had to say. Meanwhile, when Richard heard those words, he suddenly jolted up from where he sat, having given up fighting those guards. He glowered at her, "Emily, don't you dare! If you dare to say a word, you'll see what I'll do to you!"It was an outright threat, and everyone was immensely furious. Severa
In Apex Villa, Somewhere in between the livecast, Noah had sat up again and was now watching intently. Once it eventually came to close and the Thompsons were escorted away by the police, he leaned back, folding his arms and stared at the figure in black shirt and white pants languidly striding out of the hall without a word. Meanwhile, Lauren and Jasper were still speechless at the sudden turn of events and everything that just happened. "What a dramatic turn of events!" Jasper finally broke the silence, slapping his thighs as he leaned back in his seat. “Richard was a full-on creep this whole time? He was the one behind everything, and yet he went around blaming you, Noah. Crying in front of the cameras like he was some victim. I swear, I didn’t see that coming.” Lauren’s eyes darted toward Noah, brows furrowing. "Did you know about it? That he was the culprit?"Noah sighed, shaking his head slowly. "No. Not the full story."He thought it had been a simple case of Richard trying
"I didn't expect that this new manager is quite skilled," Max heard one of the members of the legal team mumble as he approached the meeting room. "Yeah, I simply thought he was fooling around that time he followed us. Who knew he was actually scheming?""Yeah. So much evidence. Who knows how long he has been tailing that man to have found out so much? He even dug so deep that he found things that Richard himself would have forgotten.""Better be wary of such scheming people."Max merely chuckled to himself when he heard that and strode into the meeting room. His gaze found the speaker, and he muttered, "Don't worry, I'm not a rabid dog who goes around biting other people. As long as you don't cross my path, don't be too wary of me."The man instantly gave an awkward laugh when he heard that, and the rest of the room chuckled, except Ivan, of course. "Just saying..."Max took a seat and looked toward Ivan, who sat with his legs crossed and folded his arms. He was giving Max a pointed
The secretarial section was empty when Max got to the top floor of the company, so he knocked on the door of the presidential office directly. “Come in,” Lawson’s voice echoed from inside.Max twisted the handle and strolled in, shutting the door behind him with a soft click. The secretary standing before Lawson paused mid-report, glancing briefly at Max, who made himself comfortable on the sleek leather sofa in the middle of the room.Lawson barely looked up, simply brushing over the secretary’s report, and it was obvious he didn’t want Max to hear what was being said. “That’ll be all. Leave it here.” The secretary nodded, placing a folder on the desk before making his quiet exit.Once the door clicked shut, Lawson turned his attention to Max, an exaggerated look of surprise washing over his features. He stood up and took a seat opposite Max, throwing his coat over the second sofa. “Well, well! If it isn’t our rising star,” he chuckled, slapping his thigh theatrically. “I should h
"This is the list for available artists," Ivan muttered, throwing the file in his hand on the desk casually. "Take your pick." His attitude was full of arrogance, and it was obvious he was throwing his weight around now that he was in charge of Max’s affairs. But the latter did not seem bothered by his attitude and simply picked it up, flipping the pages open to take a look. After some time, he looked up again and pointed to a name amongst the list. When Ivan looked down and saw who it was, his face instantly changed. "What? Marianne? Who put her on the list? She's my artist. Choose someone else." Max gave him a scrutinizing look and retorted simply, "She's the one I want." "What do you mean she's the one you want!?" Ivan was about to blow his top in anger. Just then, the door of his office opened, and Marianne entered right in time. She stood by the door, hesitant, and faced Ivan. "You wanted to see me." Ivan nodded, beckoning to her. "Yeah. Come over here." She looked towar
"Claire?" Max called out in surprise, and she spun around immediately when she heard his name. She looked surprised to see him standing there, but it was only for a moment before she looked at herself and the drunk man hankering about her, and a look of utter mortification crossed her face. The man who grabbed her didn't seem to care that there was a third party and continued to hanker, "Why the attitude, huh? Chris already gave his approval. You think you can last in this industry without pleasing us directors?" Claire’s lips curled in disgust, and she yanked her arm away from his grip. "So what if I can, you slimy old geezer? Do I look like some young girl you can prey on? Do I look like some naive starlet you can toy with? Take your filthy hands off me, you creep!" "You bitch-" The director looked even more furious when he heard that, and he reached out to grab her again. But Max was faster and directly pulled Claire over to his side, giving him a backhand slap. Probably, it w
Blue Lagoon Bar Max swung his car into the bar's garage, the quiet purr of the engine cutting out as he stepped out. The cool evening breeze tugged at the black-on-black outfit he wore—a tailored shirt and slim-fit trousers - simple yet unmistakably expensive. He adjusted his cuffs, a faint smirk playing on his lips as he strolled toward the bar entrance. When he entered, he found his former boss, Sam, waiting by the door for him with two assistant managers beside him. When Max entered, they all stared at him in a mix of shock and awe - Max had really hit a jackpot. He went from an ordinary bartender to a noveau riche out of nowhere. Even though he wore a simple black on black attire, it wasn't hard to tell that they couldn't have been cheap out of the market. "Eh, Max. It's really you!" One of the two managers leaned forward, blinking hard. "You've really changed." The second manager chimed in, still trying to process the sight in front of him. “Man, you’ve changed. If I didn’t
The secretarial section was empty when Max got to the top floor of the company, so he knocked on the door of the presidential office directly. “Come in,” Lawson’s voice echoed from inside. Max twisted the handle and strolled in, shutting the door behind him with a soft click. The secretary standing before Lawson paused mid-report, glancing briefly at Max, who made himself comfortable on the sleek leather sofa in the middle of the room. Lawson barely looked up, simply brushing over the secretary’s report, and it was obvious he didn’t want Max to hear what was being said. “That’ll be all. Leave it here.” The secretary nodded, placing a folder on the desk before making his quiet exit. Once the door clicked shut, Lawson turned his attention to Max, an exaggerated look of surprise washing over his features. He stood up and took a seat opposite Max, throwing his coat over the second sofa. “Well, well! If it isn’t our rising star,” he chuckled, slapping his thigh theatrically. “I sho
"I didn't expect that this new manager is quite skilled," Max heard one of the members of the legal team mumble as he approached the meeting room. "Yeah, I simply thought he was fooling around that time he followed us. Who knew he was actually scheming?" "Yeah. So much evidence. Who knows how long he has been tailing that man to have found out so much? He even dug so deep that he found things that Richard himself would have forgotten." "Better be wary of such scheming people." Max merely chuckled to himself when he heard that and strode into the meeting room. His gaze found the speaker, and he muttered, "Don't worry, I'm not a rabid dog who goes around biting other people. As long as you don't cross my path, don't be too wary of me." The man instantly gave an awkward laugh when he heard that, and the rest of the room chuckled, except Ivan, of course. "Just saying..." Max took a seat and looked toward Ivan, who sat with his legs crossed and folded his arms. He was giving Max a p
In Apex Villa, Somewhere in between the livecast, Noah had sat up again and was now watching intently. Once it eventually came to close and the Thompsons were escorted away by the police, he leaned back, folding his arms and stared at the figure in black shirt and white pants languidly striding out of the hall without a word. Meanwhile, Lauren and Jasper were still speechless at the sudden turn of events and everything that just happened. "What a dramatic turn of events!" Jasper finally broke the silence, slapping his thighs as he leaned back in his seat. “Richard was a full-on creep this whole time? He was the one behind everything, and yet he went around blaming you, Noah. Crying in front of the cameras like he was some victim. I swear, I didn’t see that coming.” Lauren’s eyes darted toward Noah, brows furrowing. "Did you know about it? That he was the culprit?" Noah sighed, shaking his head slowly. "No. Not the full story." He thought it had been a simple case of Richard
Max's smile didn’t falter even though she had hit the jackpot just like that. It seemed everyone knew what was going on with Oliver but just pretended not to.He calmly responded, “Yes, we’re here to discuss Oliver’s role and—”She cut him off, a cold laugh escaping her lips. “Dream on. Just because he got a few fans overnight doesn’t mean we owe him anything. In fact,” her gaze hardened as she glanced at Oliver, “he should be grateful we haven’t shown him the door yet. Zero revenue, zero worth. Do you understand what that means?”Oliver swallowed when he heard that, his shoulders tensing, and he looked at Max, whispering, “Maybe we should just go. I don’t want to make this worse.”Max didn't seem bothered at all. Instead, he gave a small smirk as he turned back to the HR head. “No need to worry, Oliver.” He took out his phone, his fingers moving swiftly as he typed. “If you think we’re not worth your time, then I’ll let the committee decide.”The HR head was stunned at first, but sh
Max rubbed his eyes, still processing Oliver’s shocking news. “You’re telling me that your insta went viral? Like, overnight?”“Yes!” Oliver practically shouted through the phone. “A friend sent me a screenshot, and people are talking about me. And it’s not just the followers! Fans are sharing posts about Blades of Honor. They’re reminiscing about my old stunts!”Max couldn’t help but smile. “That’s incredible! Did you check to see if you got hacked?”“I’m worried I did! What if I can’t get my account back?” Oliver’s voice was tinged with panic.“Relax, Oliver. Let me check it out.” Max flipped open his phone, but before he could dive into the app, Oliver sounded panicked again.“Wait! What if someone posted something embarrassing?”“Hang on, I’ll find out right now,” Max assured him, swiping the screen. “But I think you’re just experiencing an overnight fame surge.”“Seriously? Do you think my stunts are that good?”“I don’t know, man,” Max said, stifling a chuckle. “But let’s not wo
Max sat on his bed, phone in hand, eyes narrowed in concentration as he scrolled through the footage he'd captured of Oliver’s stunts earlier. He watched as Oliver’s punches and kicks cut through the air, his movements swift and precise. A smirk tugged at Max’s lips.“Not bad, Oliver,” he murmured to himself. “Not bad at all.”A soft knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He glanced up, giving a brief sigh. “Come in.”The door creaked open, and a young maid entered, head bowed. “Sir, a package just arrived for you,” she said politely.Max gestured to the bedside table without looking away from his phone. “Leave it there. Thanks.”With a quick bow, she set the package down and slipped out, leaving Max alone once more. He didn’t give the box a second glance, too engrossed in sorting the video clips. Finally, after a few minutes, he saved the best parts, satisfied with the shots.His gaze shifted to his laptop, curiosity sparking as he opened the browser. A quick search brought up c