Chapter 168 Public Opinion Reversal
The room buzzed with mixed reactions the moment that sentence was dropped.
The shareholders were floored. "What? Abigail's got ambitions like that?"
Someone piped up, "Mr. Martin, cutting ties with her is the right move! You can't trust a woman with hidden agendas."
Seeing everyone so riled up, David was about to speak when the conference room door flew open. "Let's see who's really got hidden motives."
A clear, pleasant voice hushed the room, and all eyes turned to the door. When they saw who it was, the shareholders gasped. 'Abigail? How is she here?'
Abigail stood there, her cold gaze sweeping the room, eyes icy and unfeeling.
She'd been there for a while, eavesdropping from the door.
She always suspected David would trash her in front of the shareholders, but she never thought he'd stoop this low.
'He doesn't deserve to be my father!' Abigail thought.
Sometimes she even doubted if she was really David's daughter.
How could a father be so biased?
David's eyes widened in shock when he saw Abigail, a mix of guilt and panic flashing across his face.
When did she get here? How much did she hear?
He wasn't scared of Abigail, but he couldn't afford to tick off Gregory.
His eyes darted around before he composed himself, walking toward Abigail with fake enthusiasm. "Abigail, what brings you here? Here to see me? I heard about the online mess. How could you be so foolish to plagiarize Jessica's work? Looks like I need to discipline you better, or I'd be letting your mother down!"
Abigail's gaze grew colder. "David, you don't deserve to mention my mother. And for the record, I didn't plagiarize. Jessica did."
David was taken aback, then sneered, "You're hopeless. Plagiarism is one thing, but denying it after being exposed?"
Abigail crossed her arms, looking indifferent. "You can call the school and find out if I'm lying."
David felt a pang of unease. "What do you mean by that?"
Abigail smirked, "The school investigated and expelled Jessica."
"That's impossible!" David quickly pulled out his phone and was about to call the president, but he hesitated.
If Abigail was lying, no big deal. But if she was telling the truth, the fallout would be huge.
He'd just confirmed Abigail's plagiarism in front of everyone, only to be proven wrong moments later; it would be humiliating.
Realizing this, he pocketed his phone and sternly said, "Abigail, stop arguing."
He added, "I know you've always been unhappy with me running the company and want to take over, but using such dirty tricks is low!"
Abigail looked at his hypocritical face and couldn't help but sneer.
For some reason, David suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Before David could say a word, Abigail turned to the shareholders. "You all built DM Group with my mom. I trust you can tell right from wrong. Instead of arguing, why not check the trending topics on Twitter?"
The shareholders exchanged glances, their thoughts all over the place.
Even though Abigail was Michelle's daughter, she rarely came to the company because David kept her away.
So, they didn't really know her.
When David bad-mouthed Abigail, they naturally believed him.
But seeing Abigail now, they hesitated.
She looked so much like Michelle.
For a moment, it felt like Michelle was standing right there.
After Abigail's suggestion, everyone checked Twitter and saw that the top trending topics were all about her.
Thanks to David, of course.
They clicked on the topics, their brows furrowing.
Loren had stated Abigail, saying the plagiarism scandal was a smear campaign and included a video secretly recorded by a student.
In the video, Abigail logically and convincingly proved that Jessica's work was actually hers. Jessica, on the other hand, looked pale and speechless.
The contrast was almost painful to watch.
Then, Loren posted another statement, revealing that Abigail had inherited Michelle's estate and provided evidence that David had used shady means to trick Abigail out of her shares.
At first, netizens, swayed by the story, thought it was wrong for Abigail to kick her dad out.
But after seeing the evidence, they went silent.
They realized they had been played.
Suddenly, all the criticism turned toward David and Kayla, almost drowning them in a wave of condemnation.
[I've never seen such shameless behavior. What kind of father is this?]
[She really is the illegitimate daughter of a mistress with such twisted thoughts.]
[Jessica deserved to be expelled!]
[Having such a father is truly pitiful! That beautiful young lady must have suffered a lot over the years.]
After getting the full picture, the shareholders also went silent, realizing Abigail hadn't willingly given up those shares. There were so many hidden twists.
The shareholders glared at David. "This is your doing! How dare you twist the truth and make us misunderstand Abigail!"
David sensed the shift in the room and knew things were going south.
He rushed over, grabbed one of their phones, and frantically scrolled through it.
Seeing the overwhelming online criticism, David was furious.
How could this happen? He had checked Twitter in the morning, and all the criticism was aimed at Abigail. How did public opinion flip so fast?
He glared at Abigail. "It's you! It must be you, right? You're trying to ruin me! Abigail, you'll only take this company from me over my dead body!"
As he charged toward her angrily, Abigail calmly took two steps back and stood behind one of the shareholders.
The shareholder, a woman in her forties, felt a protective instinct toward the petite Abigail. "Mr. Martin, now is not the time to be angry. You owe us an explanation!"
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