Chapter 586 Video
The Blackwoods just moved into their new crib, and Celeste didn't throw some huge bash. She just had a few close peeps and fam over.
The place was buzzing till the evening.
Celeste was kinda beat, so Sophia helped her back to her room.
Celeste grabbed Sophia's hand.
"Crash here with the kids tonight and head out tomorrow. Let Ruth and Gabriel stay too; Gabriel was a big help today."
Sophia nodded, "Cool, I'll sort out the rooms in a bit."
"Jennifer's already got it covered. Just chill and chat with me."
Sophia plopped down by the bed, and Celeste lay back, staring at the ceiling, lost in old memories of the house.
The new place was a spitting image of the old one, packed with memories.
Celeste dozed off mid-sentence. Sophia tucked her in, killed the lights, and bounced.
The once lively Blackwood Manor had quieted down. Jennifer and David, who were back from abroad for a bit, had also hit the sack.
Betty helped Ruth to the guest room, and Colin had the three kids settled. Gabriel was in the living room on the phone. When he saw Sophia come out, he wrapped up his call.
As Sophia got closer, she caught a bit of the convo, someone on the other end urgently yelling, "Gabriel."
Sounded like Tiffany.
Sophia, cool as a cucumber, said, "It's late. You should crash early."
She turned to head back to her room.
Suddenly, he grabbed her hand.
Gabriel's voice was low, "That was Tiffany on the phone just now."
Sophia stopped.
"She was just making small talk, nothing major," Gabriel explained, sounding a bit desperate.
Sophia's lips curled up slightly.
She let out a fake yawn.
"I'm beat."
Gabriel sensed her chill vibe and felt relieved, so he let go of her hand.
"Rest up, good night."
"Night."
Sophia checked on the three kids before heading back to her room.
Celeste had set up special rooms for her and the kids at Blackwood Manor. Seeing her room all decked out in princess style, Sophia felt a warm fuzzy feeling.
She was pushing thirty and pretty grown-up, but Celeste and Jennifer still treated her like a kid.
Sophia opened the walk-in closet, packed with all sorts of trendy dresses, bags, accessories, and shoes.
After a chill bath, Sophia felt super relaxed. She lay in bed but couldn't catch any Z's.
Her mind wandered to a bunch of stuff, including her parents. If they were still around, how awesome it would be for Susan to reunite with the Blackwoods.
But, that was just wishful thinking.
Last time Sophia saw Ella, Ella didn't spill anything.
She knew getting Ella to talk wouldn't be easy, but she wasn't about to give up.
Even if there was just a sliver of hope, she'd go for it.
The next morning, after breakfast, Gabriel took Ruth back to Blackwood Manor, while Sophia headed to Fusion Dynamics Corporation, and the three kids went to school.
Jennifer was packing David's bags while chatting with him.
"You just got back, and now you're leaving again."
David grinned, "I'll wrap things up quick over there, then I'll be back."
Jennifer huffed.
Just then, Colin knocked and came in, looking serious as he handed his phone to David.
"Dad, check this out."
David took the phone, and Jennifer peeked over curiously.
It was a video of Chloe kneeling outside Lancaster Manor in front of the Blackwoods.
By the next morning, that video had blown up, shared millions of times, and shot up to the top ten trending topics on all the major social platforms.
The video was crystal clear, no fuzziness at all, and you could see everyone in the Blackwoods, including Sophia and Gabriel, plain as day.
The backlash was instant. A flood of hate and nasty comments poured in.
"This video isn't just making waves here; it's gone global. Folks in tons of countries are talking about it."
Most people side with the underdog, and in the video, old Chloe was definitely the underdog.
In the freezing snow, an old lady kneeling on the ground—no matter what the story was, people were gonna blame the other side.
Colin said, "I checked the Blackwood Group's stock, and it's already tanked."
David, who had crashed early, hadn't checked the stock market. He'd missed a bunch of calls from his assistant, who was probably trying to give him the heads-up.
David thought for a moment.
"Where did this video come from?"
"I looked into it; a bunch of marketing accounts posted it all at once."
This mess wasn't just hitting the Blackwood Group; Fusion Dynamics Corporation was getting dragged too. Tons of international statements were slamming Fusion Dynamics Corporation's chairman and even calling for a boycott, saying Fusion Dynamics Corporation should be banned from the next Country M Fashion Show and shouldn't be allowed to dress the stars.
In the past, the Blackwood Group and Fusion Dynamics Corporation had faced all kinds of shady scandals, but they always squashed them without any proof.
But this time, it was a real, clear-as-day video.
David frowned; this was a tough one to handle.
Jennifer said, "I'll get the PR team to put out a statement right away."
David nodded, "First, calm down our partners at Fusion Dynamics Corporation. We'll deal with the rest later. Keep the statement short and sweet."
In times like this, the more you say, the more you screw up.
"Got it, I know what to do."
"Colin, find out who's behind this."
"On it."
Sophia saw the news too and followed Jennifer into the office when she got there.
Jennifer said, "Don't stress, David and I got this."
"Need my help?" Sophia asked.
"Nope, just keep doing your thing."
In the afternoon, another video popped up. Someone had tracked down Chloe's family, Logan, and filmed their current living conditions, which were a total mess. Logan, looking way older and scruffy with a messy beard, wore wrinkled clothes and looked rough.
He cried on camera, saying that Chloe had passed out after kneeling in the snow that day and never woke up.
Logan's pitiful sobs added more fuel to the fire, and self-proclaimed justice warriors started holding protests at Fusion Dynamics Corporation's entrance.
International social platforms were buzzing with rumors, and some folks were calling for a boycott of Fusion Dynamics Corporation's products. A big-name celeb even publicly announced they wouldn't work with Fusion Dynamics Corporation anymore.
Celeste snorted, "Everyone in the industry knows he's a pain to work with. If it weren't for my friend's sake, I would've ditched him ages ago."
While the world was busy slamming the Blackwoods, Logan and Patricia were living it up with a fancy meal.
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