Chapter 130 Diana is Trending Again
After saying goodbye to Lawrence, I rushed back to Stellar Legal Advisors to spill the news to Lila. "Lila, guess what? His experience is almost identical to mine."
Lila didn't seem as pumped as I thought she'd be. She just smiled and tried to comfort me. "Diana, then you should prepare well and win this case. I believe you can do it."
Her words really boosted my spirits.
I told Lila, "I won't be coming to Stellar Legal Advisors for a bit. I'll stay home and organize the case materials."
Lila nodded, so I hurried back to my apartment. Being alone there was quiet and comfy. Except for the essentials, I locked myself in the study. To avoid distractions, I turned off my phone. The busy work absorbed me so completely that time seemed to slip away unnoticed. And I had almost finished organizing everything in the past two days.
I turned on my phone, ready to discuss the case with Lila. As soon as it was on, it started ringing like crazy, almost making me drop it. When it finally stopped, I saw dozens of missed calls, mostly from Lila and Daisy. David and Nolan had also called several times, and even Nicholas, whom I hadn't talked to in ages, had called. I sensed something bad had happened and decided to call them back one by one.
Given Nicholas's high status, I called him first. On the other end, he sounded anxious. "Diana, I just found out about Mia and the Cooper Group. I can't believe you've been through so much. Why didn't you come to me for help? And why did you do that?" His voice was filled with reproach and concern, leaving me bewildered and clueless about what had happened.
I reassured Nicholas and said, "Godfather, my mom's matter is over, and I've sold my shares in the Cooper Group. Now I'm working as a simple lawyer. The income is modest, but I'm content."
But Nicholas still seemed hesitant. Finally, he advised me, "Diana, if you ever have difficulties, don't bear them alone. Come to me for help. Even though I've gone incognito, you should trust me. I still have some influence in Wind City." His words gave me a bit of confidence, but he never told me what had happened, which only made me more eager to find out.
Remembering that the last person I saw before turning off my phone was Lila, I quickly called her.
On the other end, Lila sounded anxious too.
"Diana, what have you been up to? Why was your phone off?" she asked.
I was a bit surprised and responded, "I was organizing case files, you know that, right? Mr. Parker's case is very similar to my experience."
Lila seemed to slam the table, and I heard a clear sound through the receiver. She then raised her voice emotionally. "Right, I forgot you were focused on organizing the files. Not being able to reach you these past two days worried me sick."
"What happened? I called Nicholas, and he wouldn't say anything." I frowned, tapping my fingers lightly on the table.
"You called Nicholas?" Lila sounded surprised.
I took a sip of water to calm my nerves and said, "Yes, is there something wrong with that?"
"He didn't tell you anything?" Lila asked instead of answering.
This made me even more curious. "No, he just said to come to him for help if I needed it," I said.
Lila seemed thoughtful and, after a moment of silence, said, "He probably didn't want to tell you directly..."
I was full of confusion and urgently asked, "What happened? Why are you all being so secretive?"
Lila sighed and replied, "Diana, haven't you been online?"
"No, I've been too busy. I haven't had time to go online," I said as I hurriedly turned on my computer and anxiously opened the browser.
Lila fell into a brief silence again. Then, in a complex tone, she said, "It might just make you angry. Maybe it's better if you don't see it."
"Am I trending again?" I scrolled through the web pages quickly, feeling a mix of surprise and unease. My fingers moved faster on the mouse wheel, and my breathing became slightly rapid.
"Yes, your private photos have been posted online. Didn't I pick that outfit for you? Why would you post it online?" Lila's voice was filled with surprise and confusion, almost questioning me.
With a sense of dread, I clicked on the top trending image. In an instant, I was stunned, as if struck by lightning, and time seemed to freeze. The clear image on the screen left my mind blank. There I was, in that sexy nightgown, posing lazily in the photo. The background was unmistakably the main bedroom of the Howard Villa, a place I knew all too well. I couldn't believe my eyes, and my hands began to tremble slightly. I instinctively covered my mouth, my face burning with shame and shock.
Judging from the background, I realized this photo was taken before I had moved out of the main bedroom. It must have been one of those nights I was waiting for Edward to come home from a late shift. I stared at the screen, my body frozen in place.
"What is going on?" I asked, my voice trembling with disbelief. My eyes were filled with confusion and helplessness as I instinctively turned to Lila, hoping for an answer that made sense, even though I knew it was impossible.
Lila said on the other end, "I also want to know what's going on. Didn't you post these photos?" Her tone carried a hint of doubt and surprise.
I shook my head vigorously, my brows furrowed tightly, my eyes full of determination and grievance. I said, "No way, I would never expose my privacy online, especially not something like this. Someone must have secretly taken these photos and posted them online."
I knew that if the previous trending topic about Alice's case brought me notoriety, this one would bring nothing but sheer humiliation and could utterly destroy me.
Fortunately, Lila trusted me. She continued, "Then someone must be trying to harm you. But besides you, only Edward would have these photos. Could it be him?"
I felt extremely troubled, torn between anger and helplessness at this sudden situation, yet I firmly believed in Edward's character. He would never do such a thing. I shook my head in distress, my face full of helplessness and conflict. I said, "No, it probably isn't him."
"Besides the two of you, who else could do this?" Lila was even more puzzled.
"Who else? Of course, it's Anne." I was somewhat indifferent to the matter. The only person I could think of was Anne. Only she could do something so shameless. But how did she get my private photos? Did she secretly take them, or did she steal them from Edward's phone? Thinking of this, I bit my lip.
I couldn't believe that something so hurtful had happened in just two busy days. I felt I had to investigate this matter thoroughly and uncover the truth.
I was on the fence about whether to go find Anne when suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. I opened it to find David standing there, looking furious. "Diana, what the hell are you doing? Even if you and Edward are back together, you can't post those kinds of photos online! Why are you humiliating yourself like this, just to please him?" he snapped.
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