Chapter 598 A Live Broadcast, A Huge Uproar!
Evelyn wasJennifer's biological older sister?
The girls' mouths dropped open in disbelief. The one who had been crying couldn't even cry anymore.
The curly-haired girl sitting on the ground was scared out of her wits, trembling like a leaf. She covered her face, her legs shaking as she kicked backward, trying to retreat, but there was nowhere left to go.
Although Jennifer was also surnamed Taylor, she kept a low profile, and her clothes and daily expenses were just like any ordinary girl's. Who would have thought she was the daughter of the richest family in the country!
The three men - Patrick, William, and Edward - each had different expressions as they watched, but all showed their own form of appreciation.
William had been ready to throw aside his gentlemanly manners and rush up to teach these rude girls a lesson, but he hadn't expected Evelyn to act so swiftly and decisively.
Edward's clenched fist also relaxed as he stared intently at Evelyn's proud figure, his thin lips curving slightly upward.
Still, he felt somewhat annoyed with himself for reacting a bit too slowly.
"Weren't you acting all high and mighty just now? Why so quiet now?"
Evelyn smiled coldly, bending down and narrowing her eyes at the curly-haired girl. "You're so young - couldn't you learn something better instead of running your nasty mouth?"
"Quick... record this! Record everything! The Taylor family is actually hitting innocent students!" The curly-haired girl threw caution to the wind and started yelling, trying to play the weak and innocent victim, taking the moral high ground to fight back against Evelyn.
The girls held their phones, but Evelyn's overwhelming presence left them panicked and confused - no one dared to actually start recording.
"Ha, you think I'm scared? I already have a terrible reputation. I'm not afraid of you slandering me."
Evelyn smiled freely with reckless abandon, stunningly beautiful. "But you girls don't even dare offend the Alexander family - do you really dare offend the Taylor family? Believe it or not, I can make your entertainment industry dreams go up in smoke before you even graduate."
The curly-haired girl's expression went blank and stiff, and the other girls quickly put away their phones.
They were scared! This time, they were truly scared!
Evelyn crossed her arms and shook her head. "You've really lowered my expectations. To think you could spout 'victim-blaming' nonsense and speak up for a serial rapist. There's no morality test for college admissions, so I guess any kind of trash can get in here."
"These slaps are the tuition you're paying for running your mouths. I have eyes and ears all over Mugden. If I hear even one more disrespectful word about Jennifer, next time it won't be just a few slaps."
"Get lost!"
Evelyn's fierce shout sent the girls scrambling to pull up the curly-haired girl and flee in embarrassment.
Edward strode over to her side, wrapping his left arm around her trembling shoulders, while his right hand carefully took her cold little hand and gently blew on her palm.
The stinging pain in Evelyn's palm eased a bit, but the anger in her heart was hard to quell.
"Damn it... How dare they talk about Jennifer like that! Just slapping them a few times was too easy on them!"
"But my Evelyn has never been a cruel woman. No matter how angry you are, you'd probably just give them a small punishment as a warning."
Edward tightened his arm around her shoulders, his eyes darkening. "But what you can't do, I can do for you. Anything."
"They're just students, it's not worth it."
Evelyn took a frustrated breath, her heart in turmoil. "Right now, the most important thing is finding Jennifer! She's crazy - how could she livestream and expose this? She's basically pushing herself into the abyss!"
Edward's heart also tightened.
No one understood better than he and Evelyn what it was like to be pushed into the spotlight, where one wrong step could send you plummeting from great heights, shattered to pieces.
"Evelyn!"
William ran over to them, so worked up his voice was completely hoarse. "Jennifer is still livestreaming, and it already has over two million views!"
"Why... why would she expose this? What did Mr. Peter Taylor say to her?"
Evelyn stared wide-eyed at the screen where Jennifer sat upright, facing the camera, her expression pale and serious, her clear eyes shining with fearless light. Her heart felt like it was being ruthlessly crushed by a powerful hand, painfully convulsing!
Below the livestream, comments were scrolling by at a dizzying speed. At a glance, they were overwhelmingly negative!
"Are people really this shameless about chasing clout now? Using something like this for publicity?"
"I know her, she's the campus beauty. She's probably trying to ride Randy's coattails to get famous, right?"
"The campus beauty is actually a Taylor family daughter? And she was almost raped by Randy? She's making this up!"
"If what you're saying is true, I hope it's false. If what you're saying is false, I hope the Alexander family gang-rapes you!"
"Exactly, you say Randy raped you - where's your proof? Do you have a video? Can we watch it without paying?"
Words like knives, silent mockery. Yet overwhelming and deafening!
"What do we do? Evelyn, what do we do now?"
William's eyes were red as blood with rage, his heart breaking. "Can we make Jennifer stop? Can we stop the livestream? Jennifer is timid - without someone there to support and accompany her, if she sees those hateful comments... I'm really afraid she'll have an emotional breakdown!"
Even at this moment, he didn't blame his girl one bit. He just hoped to find her as quickly as possible and be with her.
"William, calm down. At least we know Jennifer hasn't disappeared and she's safe right now."
Edward showed the calm composure of someone in a position of power, especially in critical moments. "Besides, the livestream has already gone on this long - we can't just cut it off. Ending it abruptly like that would only cause more speculation and bring even fiercer personal attacks on Jennifer."
Evelyn's breathing was heavy, feeling like the air around her had thinned. Her fingers trembled and curled in the man's hand.
Edward's large hand gently rubbed her shoulder, his eyes deep. "Since Jennifer chose to make this public, it means she's been holding it in for a long time, with a lot she wants to say. So let her say it all. It's better than keeping it bottled up inside. Worst-case scenario, she still has you, Evelyn, and me backing her up. Those small-time people can't hurt her."
William's dry lips pressed into a tight line as he looked at Edward with grateful eyes.
Just then, Jennifer's sweet, soft voice came through:
"Whether or not you believe me, I'm sitting here speaking out today not just for myself, but for those girls who suffered Randy's brutality and are trapped in painful circumstances but can't get justice for themselves."
Jennifer tried to hold back, but still choked up. "I'm one of the lucky victims, but I don't want to stand by and protect myself. If no one will speak up for me, I'll speak up for myself. If no one will stand up, then I'll stand up for them."
"I'm not some brave hero, but even if all the attacks come at me, I absolutely cannot watch Randy trample on girls' dignity and innocence while still getting away with it!"
As she finished, Evelyn's eyes filled with tears that fell drop by drop onto the screen.
She deeply blamed herself, ashamed that despite being clever all her life, this time she had been narrow-minded and petty.
At the same time, she felt immense pride for Jennifer, who could bravely stand up despite public opinion.
William also turned away, his broad shoulders trembling as he quietly wiped his eyes.
"Evelyn, Jennifer has really grown up. She's no longer the little girl who needs your protection." Edward sighed deeply, feeling more gratified than heartbroken.
Evelyn smiled through her tears. "Yes, from now on our Taylor family... has gained another warrior."
Jennifer chose to livestream from a guest room at the KnightSpear Group World Hotel that Evelyn managed.
After turning off the computer, she sat alone in the darkness, lost in thought for a long time.
During the livestream, she had seen those malicious comments online. In the past, she would have been timid and might have gotten trapped in the whirlpool of public opinion.
But now, her emotions were calm, and her expression even showed an unprecedented sense of relief.
The biggest shadow in her heart wasn't being victimized by Randy. It was the thought that if this evil person didn't pay the price and continued living freely under the Alexander family's protection - that would be the cruel shadow she could never escape from!
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Jennifer pulled herself from her mixed emotions, straightened her somewhat stiff body, and went to answer it.
The moment the door opened, everything spun before her eyes.
Before she could see who was at the door, she was pulled into a warm, vigorous embrace. The heavy force seemed to want to squeeze her into his body, merge her into his flesh and blood.
"Jennifer, something this big happened - why didn't you tell me? Do you know... how worried I was about you!"
Hearing William's hoarse, affectionate whisper by her ear, Jennifer's previously strong heart instantly broke down, tears gathering on her lashes. "William, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kept it from you... Go ahead and blame me."
"I don't blame you. You did great, really great."
William's warm, trembling lips gently brushed against her reddened ear, his deep, husky voice full of admiration and even fervent worship. "Tonight you were so cool, you made me feel ashamed of myself. My dear Ms. Taylor, I'm willing to submit to you for life."
Jennifer, who had never heard such words before, blinked her watery eyes in surprise, then bit her lip shyly, her cheeks blushing beautifully, her heart pounding as if visited by a deity.
She longed to be loved, but had never dared hope to be worshipped by the one who loved her.
Seeing that the young couple had been affectionate enough, Evelyn and Edward walked over.
"Evelyn, Edward..."
Jennifer, held in William's arms, lowered her voice weakly, her little head drooping guiltily.
Evelyn pretended to be angry, putting on a stern face. "Jennifer, you've really grown up now."
Edward blinked and blurted out foolishly, "Wasn't it you who cleverly noticed the livestream room's layout looked like our hotel, then called the front desk to check the guest records and found Jennifer here?"
"So what, should I praise her for that?" Evelyn glared at him sharply.
The mighty Edward fell silent, quiet as a cicada.
Sigh, no choice - who told him to be henpecked with no authority at home!
"Evelyn, I'm sorry... I know I was wrong."
Jennifer sniffed her reddened nose, but still steeled herself and said firmly, "But even if you resent me, I don't regret the choice I made today.
Evelyn, you know what? I haven't felt this proud in a long time. I feel like I'm... doing something very important and very right.
Besides, I'm right here in front of you, aren't I? Even if there's danger... William will definitely protect me."
William gazed into Jennifer's spring-like, clear eyes, the bone-deep love overflowing from his eyes with nowhere to hide.
Evelyn had wanted to keep up the act a bit longer, but hearing these heartfelt words, she finally couldn't help but smile.
"Who said you did anything wrong?"
Jennifer's eyes lit up with joy. "Evelyn! You're not mad at me anymore?"
"I'm mad at you for turning off your phone and going completely off the grid!"
Evelyn put one hand on her hip, pouting angrily. "Hmph! Did you want to scare us to death? Do you know how many horror scenarios went through my head during those hours we couldn't reach you? I could make a crime drama with all the murder cases, dismemberment cases, and psycho kidnapping cases I imagined!"
Edward and William were speechless.
Jennifer frowned and laughed. "Evelyn, you're being too dramatic. Don't think such scary thoughts. You used to get so scared watching horror movies, you couldn't sleep, remember? You'd climb into my bed and hold me while trembling. If you think about all these scary things, you won't be able to sleep tonight."
Evelyn's face instantly flushed red as she stammered, "Who was trembling? I wasn't."
Edward's eyes darkened as his gaze fell on her smooth hair, his breathing growing heavier.
So she had things she was afraid of, too.
He'd have to get Bart to download more horror movies. It could add some new fun to their bedroom activities.
Just as the atmosphere was becoming harmonious, a call came through to Evelyn's phone.
"It's Charlie."
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