Chapter 276 How Can She Be So Ruthless?
After the recording blew up, Betty got hit with a tidal wave of backlash. Her face was splashed all over the news, and the criticism came in hot. Her phone wouldn't stop buzzing, and her family's scolding was like a never-ending lecture. Not long after, Samantha called, she was pissed, giving Betty an earful.
In their social circles, everyone was talking about the scandal, throwing shade at her as a mom. Someone even tagged her in a post, sarcastically asking what she was thinking, favoring Brenda so much and sidelining Elizabeth. Feeling like her dignity was stomped on, Betty kept quiet, her mood getting darker when Richard's words just added fuel to the fire.
She frowned and snapped, "Why are we even talking about this now? It was mostly Enrique being an idiot. And Elizabeth? She was ruthless, did it on purpose to embarrass us. This isn't really about Brenda, so don't take it out on her."
Betty had raised Brenda for over ten years, treating her like her own kid. Brenda always played the sweet daughter role, clinging to her. Even though Brenda sometimes got a bit too cozy with her sons, Betty couldn't just cut her off. Doing that would mean admitting they made a mistake back then. So, while she said she'd send Brenda away, she really wanted to give her another shot.
Paul suggested keeping Brenda at home to keep an eye on her, and Betty agreed, even hiring a manners teacher for her. She wanted to fix Brenda's behavior.
Richard, seeing Betty's stubbornness, realized she hadn't been personally hurt by Brenda yet, so her feelings for Brenda were still strong. She still blamed Elizabeth for their embarrassment, thinking Elizabeth had no right to expose them like that.
Seeing that arguing was pointless, Richard just shut up.
Meanwhile, Paul was also getting chewed out by his dad, Bishop, in a call that left him both pissed and overwhelmed. Relatives were roasting Paul in the family group chat, and shareholders at the company were giving him the side-eye. Friends called, nosy about their family drama.
Frustrated, Paul saw Elizabeth's actions as cold and calculated, a move to shame the family. Despite the backlash, he couldn't help but admire her strategic mind, wishing she was working for the Clark Group.
The whole mess gave Paul such a headache that he had his secretary book a flight abroad, planning to dodge the immediate fallout and speed up his investigation into Brenda and those two fortune tellers.
At Clark Entertainment, Loren was going through the same crap. First, he got a call from Bishop, who tore into him. Then, in the family group, his cousins were laughing at him. At the company, he got a bunch of weird looks.
Walking around the office, he heard people gossiping about the incident. This time, it wasn't just his brothers who were embarrassed; he got dragged into it too.
So, Loren made up an excuse and jetted off to another city for a "business trip." He figured he'd come back once things cooled down. The embarrassment was just too much to handle.
His feelings toward Elizabeth were all over the place; her ruthless move left them with zero dignity, making him lash out at Enrique, calling him a useless idiot.
Over in Seraphim Heights, Enrique sneezed a bunch of times, knowing someone was probably cursing him out behind his back. Elizabeth dropped the video bomb, and he was totally blindsided. Standing next to Brenda, he looked all gloomy and kept his mouth shut.
Arthur, not wanting the awkward vibe to linger, noticed the livestream numbers were through the roof.
"Alright, let's get to the main event," Arthur said, grinning. "You all know Seraphim Heights, the place that brings ancient culture back to life. In a bit, we'll give you a makeover and dress you up in your favorite ancient costumes. Your mission? Explore Seraphim Heights with a fresh perspective and take the viewers along for the ride. As usual, you'll handle your own food, lodging, and transport for the next week. Tasks will pop up randomly, and you'll still be working in teams."
As soon as he finished, Raymond shot his hand up. "Can we pick our teams again? I wanna be with Elizabeth."
Others quickly jumped in, "I wanna be with Elizabeth too!"
Except for Kevin's brothers, Brenda, and Eugene, everyone else wanted to team up with Elizabeth.
Kevin and Eugene didn't bother because they knew Elizabeth wouldn't pick them anyway.
Arthur squinted. "Looks like everyone wants to team up with Elizabeth."
Then he added, "But sorry to break it to you, this time you can't pick your teams."
They'd let them choose teams the last two times, so they needed to shake things up.
Raymond, looking shocked, asked, "Why not?"
Arthur replied, "A lot of viewers suggested that this time, teams should be decided by drawing lots. They thought it'd be more fun to see different combos. After talking it over, the production team decided to go with the viewers' idea. So, this time, teams will be decided by drawing lots."
This twist would spice up the final episode and pull in more viewers.
Raymond and the others went quiet; it was obvious the production team just wanted to change things up.
But since the production team had made the call, they had no choice. They could only hope and pray they'd end up on Elizabeth's team. Even Kevin and Eugene were secretly hoping for the same.
Raymond asked, "Do we draw the lots ourselves?"
Arthur, still smiling, signaled to his assistant, who wheeled in a big spinning wheel. The wheel had twelve slots, each with a guest's name: Elizabeth, Raymond, Elbert, Ronald, Nancy, Marlon, Eugene, Kevin, Brenda, Enrique, Natalie, and one labeled "Mystery."
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