Chapter 179 Gabriel's Daughter
The latest stream unexpectedly trended 'Big John' and 'Money Daddy' – the duel of donations between the two tycoons catapulted them into the spotlight, much to the amusement of the viewers.
People’s curiosity was piqued, so some attempted to uncover the identities behind these generous benefactors. Their efforts, however, were in vain. The accounts were squeaky clean, focused solely on Milk Sugar, with no other streamers in their sights.
Rumors were floating around that Milk Sugar might have created fake accounts to boost her own popularity on the charts. Word on the street had it that Milk Sugar was an heiress, with wealthy, influential parents. During her recent livestream, the chair she sat on was worth a staggering two million dollars.
Before long, the tag "Milk Sugar Chart Manipulation" shot up the trending topics.
Alex, not waiting for instructions from the boss, had already brought in the top PR team to smooth things over.
Meanwhile, Gabriel was mulling over the chair Milk Sugar had been using during her livestream; it was a limited-edition piece, and he remembered one just like it in Sam's room.
Such a chair would only be found in less than three households in the entire B City. Could there be an inconspicuous tycoon elsewhere, or even a magnate unknown to him?
The true identity of Milk Sugar remained a mystery. All the online buzz about her being part of the elite had been fabrications by the PR team initially— a mix of promotion and counterattacks against negative press. But now, it seemed they may not have been far off the mark.
Reviewing screenshots from netizens, Gabriel recognized the chair that Milk Sugar had been sitting on and a flush of familiarity washed over him. Even the backdrop of her livestream seemed oddly recognizable.
Ethan was taken aback by the news online—they had taken care of the backdrop, yet overlooked the chair, assuming it to be ordinary. Who knew it would be worth a fortune?
Would Daddy Dearest recognize it from the livestream?
Ethan and Emma were restless and lost the mood to play, saying an early goodbye to Great-Grandma at just four o'clock.
They had planned to have dinner with Great-Grandma before leaving, but Ethan needed to deal with the aftermath of today's livestream. Moreover, he had a hunch that the virus attack on the streaming platform wasn't just random—someone might be targeting Emma.
Emma was a veritable sensation. Each of her livestreams managed to hit the trending searches; it was as if she was bound to the buzz, possessing what was dubbed a "trending constitution."
Even a ten-day hiatus from streaming would land her on the trending page.
This unique allure made many celebrities green with envy and inadvertently stepped on some toes.
After reaching out to the head of the streaming platform and having a deep dive with the tech team, they agreed to let Ethan strengthen the platform's firewall to prevent future cyber-attacks.
The platform's CEO, astounded by Ethan's expertise, hardly contained his shock and excitement as he asked, "Would you consider working for us? Name your price, and we can discuss shares too."
Ethan's instinct was to refuse. He was too young to be employed by any company, so making money meant taking on online gigs to help businesses fix technical issues they couldn't handle internally. He didn't even have a clue about how to market the software he created.
"I value my freedom." He typed the phrase, sent it across the digital void, and watched as disappointment flickered across the recipient's face. But just as quickly, the message was deleted by the prolific hacker on the other end and replaced by the phrase, "I'll consider it."
Consider it?
That meant there was hope!
Ethan had crafted a program that would not only track the IP of anyone attempting to breach his systems again but counterattack their computer directly. This time he was determined to uncover who was trying to harm Emma.
Meanwhile, Gabriel had the top tech people at his company reach out to the streaming platform to investigate whether the recent cyberattack was specifically targeting Milk Sugar.
The realization sent a jolt through the CEO of the streaming platform. Two power players were showing an interest in Milk Sugar—one shrouded in secrecy and the other none other than the illustrious Lancaster Group. Good heavens, was Milk Sugar connected to Gabriel; was she perhaps his daughter?
But no, everyone knew Gabriel only had a son. Could Milk Sugar's influence surpass that of the Lancasters?
On the down-low, the CEO instructed the operations department to reduce Milk Sugar's service fees—in fact, to drop them altogether.
Emma noticed the extra cash in her payout when she streamed next time, but more on that later.
David was tasked with taking Sam to Sophia's that day. At the Lancaster family's ancestral home, when Mrs. Lancaster didn't see Sam, she was informed by Betty that David had taken him out under Gabriel's orders and wouldn't be back tonight.
Mrs. Lancaster huffed in irritation, "What sorcery has that woman used on Gabriel?"
Suddenly, she recalled Gabriel taking Sam to stay overnight every other day for the last month. Could it be not to foster father-son bonds but for that Tiffany to care for Sam, to forge a maternal connection with him?
A headache began to pound in Mrs. Lancaster's temples.
"Call Gabriel," she commanded, feeling an urgent need to shake some sense into her grandson. Tiffany was not Sam's biological mother; how could she possibly treat him as her own? And if they married and had their own children, where would that leave Sam?
Betty hurried to make the call but returned shortly.
"Mr. Gabriel's phone is unreachable."
"Keep trying," Mrs. Lancaster insisted.
However, call after call, there was still no connection.
Mrs. Lancaster commanded without a trace of doubt, "Notify David. Bring Sam back."
She wouldn't have that woman care for Sam. How could she entrust Sam to someone who wouldn't put her heart into it?
Betty had no choice but to call David.
David, having already met with Sophia, answered the phone with a pinch of distress. He glanced from Sophia to Gabriel, torn between responsibilities.
"What's going on?" Sophia inquired with a furrowed brow.
"I'm sorry, Miss Kelly," David said, "Mrs. Lancaster insists I bring Sam home. She says he can't stay overnight; he'd be scared."
Grandma?
Sophia sensed that something was off. Was she trying to keep her away from Sam? Was Grandma still upset about the feigned death? It would be reasonable for Madam to be furious. Sophia didn't want to clash with Madam, who cared so deeply for her, yet she'd betrayed her trust and hurt her feelings. The guilt weighed heavily on her heart.
She crouched down to Sam and said apologetically, "Sorry, honey. Auntie can't tell you a story tonight. We'll do it next time, okay?"
Sam, ever so obedient, nodded.
He'd overheard it all—Great-grandma had objected.
Why wouldn't Great-grandma let him go to Auntie Kelly's?
This question nagged at Sam as he climbed back into the car, leaving almost as soon as he'd arrived.
Night had fallen, and as the car faded into the distance, Sophia remained, shivering in the brisk wind. Eventually, she headed home alone, her figure engulfed by the loneliness of the evening.
The following day, before Sam left for his first boxing lesson, Madam, suspecting he might meet Tiffany, grilled him thoroughly. She relaxed only upon confirmation he was indeed going to boxing class.
She sternly advised David, "Keep Tiffany away from Sam, do you hear? If they meet and I find out, you'll regret it."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
