Chapter 9: Counterattack

Audrey's POV

Milos decided to take my advice and told William to hold off on any clarification for now.

However, that very afternoon, his hospital came under attack from protesters claiming to stand for justice. Several security personnel were injured in the chaos.

Even Daniel joined the fray, reposting Lyanna's content with his own commentary: [Everyone, I'm Audrey's fiancé. Because she found a better option, she falsely accused Lyanna and me of having an affair and even insulted us! This is a personal attack on my character!]

The photo he attached made me laugh out loud—a shot showing only his nose and forehead, with the word "Fornicators" prominently displayed across it.

William couldn't hold back any longer. "Boss! We can't just sit and watch anymore. We need to take action immediately, or the hospital will be forced to shut down."

Milos's face turned iron-gray. He gripped his phone tightly and shot me a glare.

"Hey, you don't need to be so tense. This is just a minor conflict. I have a better way to resolve it." I patted Milos's shoulder reassuringly.

He turned his head away angrily, refusing to look at me. "That's not what I'm upset about."

Not about the hospital? Then what was bothering him?

Before I could ask, my phone buzzed with a new message.

It was from Sophia, asking when we could proceed. David was eager to participate in this righteous exposure.

[Ok, start now.]

After sending my reply, I stood up and told Milos I was going to take a nap.

Back in the master bedroom, I pulled out my laptop and began typing code at lightning speed. Breaking into Frank's computer was surprisingly easy.

He was a cautious, cunning snake who had layered seven levels of protection on his system. Even David, if he wasn't careful, could easily trigger one of the traps. But I navigated through them effortlessly.

I copied all of Frank's communications with congressional representatives, along with their corrupt money-for-influence transactions, storing everything on my own computer.

William knocked on the bedroom door. When I opened it, he still wore a sour expression. "Madam, the boss retrieved some evidence. You can decide whether to use it or not."

"Ok." I took the USB drive from him and opened it on my computer. Inside were videos of Lyanna and Daniel meeting secretly behind my back, as well as footage of Lyanna—supposedly a charity ambassador—using donation funds to buy luxury goods. The cookies and milk she distributed to the poor were expired, and the medical supplies she provided were defective rejects from the manufacturing process, cheap pills and bandages that had been discarded as substandard.

"God, William, please thank Milos for me. This is incredibly valuable."

William glanced curiously at my computer screen, then nodded and left.

I first uploaded the videos Milos had given me to my personal social media account without adding any caption. Just posting the videos alone attracted a swarm of followers.

Within a minute, people began sharing my videos, expressing shock that they'd almost been fooled by those two despicable people, Lyanna and Daniel.

@Lily: [My God, I can understand why Audrey wanted to torment this pair of cheating scum. If it were me, I'd destroy them both!]

@Nanana: [Ok, I can understand the tattoo incident, but Audrey hurt her own parents and brother, and there's the BBC report. She needs to apologize for that!]

@Mike: [Hey, friends, I don't care about your messed-up love lives. I just want to know—is it true that the hospital kidnapped ordinary people for experiments?]

The share count climbed from one hundred to ten thousand, with countless people tagging me with questions.

I first responded to the user "Nanana": [Hi, if you knew that my father and stepmother got married just one month after my mother died, and that their daughter is only one year younger than me, you'd be just as angry as I am. As for the BBC report, you should know that the news director, Frank, is Daniel's father. I don't believe his reporting comes from an objective standpoint.]

To "Mike's" question, I replied with just one word: [No!]

After that, I kept monitoring David's activities. Finally, five minutes later, using the identity of an anonymous justice-seeker, he released videos and audio recordings of Frank and his associates plotting against Milos and me.

This included the evidence I'd just sent him: proof of Lyanna's charity fraud, and Frank's long-term dealings with certain congressional representatives. As BBC's news director, he had used his position to destroy the reputations of his clients' political opponents.

These revelations hit social media like a stone thrown into a still lake. Users erupted in celebration, countless people saving the evidence and reposting it even after the platform tried to delete it.

I smiled with satisfaction.

Hey, my enemies, are you enjoying what you're seeing?

This was only the beginning. Damaged reputations were the lightest punishment. I was confident that FBI agents would soon be paying Frank a visit.

Linda came to knock on my door, asking if I wanted lunch.

"Is sir still here?"

"Sir went to the company, madam."

Hearing that Milos had left dampened my spirits. Perhaps it was because of last night—I'd grown accustomed to him being inside me, holding me, his scent possessively enveloping me.

Ignoring the reluctance in my heart, I simply told Linda, "Bring me fried eggs with lamb chops and a pumpkin soup."

On my way to the dining room, Linda mentioned that someone claiming to be my father had called.

I remembered blocking Robert and his family yesterday, so it wasn't surprising he'd called the house phone.

I took the phone from Linda. "Robert."

"Audrey! Are you trying to destroy us?! Make Milos delete everything immediately and tell everyone those videos were AI-generated!"

Robert barked his orders frantically.

I raised an eyebrow. "Hey, Robert, please calm down. If it weren't for your conspiracy, why would we need to fight back? You brought this on yourselves!"

"No, no, you knew all along..."

"Yes, and I think you and Frank both understand one principle: victory makes the king, defeat makes the bandit."

Robert fell silent. He asked incredulously, "How did you know Frank was with me?!"

I sat down at the center of the dining table as Linda helped cut my lamb chops into smaller pieces.

"I'm having lunch now, Robert."

I hung up and began enjoying my meal leisurely.

The chef Milos hired suited my tastes perfectly. The lamb chops had been marinated in red wine rather than the lemongrass I detested.

After lunch, I returned to the garden to continue reading Aulton's Pharmaceutics. The intricate pharmaceutical formulations captivated me.

It was time to have Sophia establish a pharmaceutical laboratory here. I couldn't just stay home every day waiting for Milos to return—

The house already had sufficient staff. Linda handled most of the troublesome matters for me, and professional gardeners tended the plants. Apart from reading and socializing, I had nothing else to do. It was simply too boring.

Perhaps I'd forgotten something?

The answer came soon enough. Milos returned before dinner and told me about Robert and his associates' fate.

Robert's company stock had plummeted, and he'd been kicked off the board of directors. Lyanna's charity ambassador title had been revoked, and she and Daniel were being called adulterers online, with netizens even tracking down their hospital to harass them. As for Frank, his situation was probably the worst—not only had BBC fired him, but FBI agents had taken him away.

"This is truly satisfying, isn't it, hubby?"

I raised my glass cheerfully and clinked it with Milos's.

"Of course, darling," Milos said with a smile, "but I think you may have forgotten something."

I asked hesitantly, "What?"

Milos's smile grew more mischievous. "Baby, you forgot about school. Your professor called me today and said you've been skipping classes for half a month without requesting leave from the college."