Chapter 408 The Mystery of the Illegitimate Daughter
Fiona had instructed the PR department to downplay Darwin's attack as much as possible.
However, no news can be suppressed entirely in an era dominated by social media.
Less than half an hour after the incident occurred, footage from the scene was rampant online, spreading faster than websites could censor it.
It had yet to hit the trending pages.
However, due to the spread of the video, many who saw it began discussing it fervently on the front pages.
"I heard it was a well-known local lunatic; she made headlines last year for trying to kidnap a tourist's child!"
"Ah, is there no consequence for the lunatic's family? Society isn't obliged to take responsibility for your mad relatives; no matter how pitiful, please lock them up. If someone is harmed or killed, the lunatic might not be accountable, but the family will still face civil liabilities, OK?"
"Not another lunatic incident; how many has it been this year?"
As the online mob raged against the so-called madwoman, a blogger unearthed a news report from twenty years ago: "Before you hurl insults, get your facts straight. This lady has no family left. Twenty years ago, her entire family and unborn baby in tow all perished due to a toxic spill from Solomons Chemical Corp. That's what drove her insane. Over the years, even if she snatched away someone's child, she never harmed them. And her attack on Darwin? Guess why? It's clear—vengeance for the destruction of her family!"
"She harbors an indiscriminate hatred for anyone who sympathizes with the capitalists. Solomons raked in their profits while she endured unfathomable pain. Twenty years ago, the Solomons chemical spill was hushed up with Grandma Solomon's money. Now, twenty years later, some still try to dismiss this as the random act of a deranged killer. I won't allow it."
And like that, the public outcry reached a fever pitch.
At that point, doubt started to surface.
"Let's be real here; anyone who's seen the video can tell she wasn't going after Darwin. That knife was aimed at the little girl, right?"
"True, we sympathize with her, but we can't let that blind us to the truth. If Darwin hadn't reacted quickly, the child would have been in grave danger!"
"And about that video—there's a lot of background noise, but I cleaned up the audio. Listen to this part: isn't the child calling Darwin 'Daddy'?"
That audio snippet set off another frenzy of sharing.
Amidst the unresolved details of Darwin's attack, speculation about the little girl's identity—who had called Darwin "Daddy"—erupted amongst the public.
"Looks to be about four or five, right? There have been rumors of Darwin and Lilian having an illegitimate daughter; could this be her?" someone boldly speculated.
"I've heard whispers of it too. Many employees at Solomons have seen this girl, and a friend who works there mentioned Lilian even acknowledged her."
"What a bombshell today. Didn't Darwin always claim he had nothing to do with Lilian? Where does the Chicago connection come from?"
"Heh, leave it to the rich to redefine 'nothing to do with.'"
"The video's a bit blurry, but I enhanced the child's facial features, and no kidding... she looks like Darwin and even has a hint of Lilian!" a tech whiz joined the gossip fray.
But that post was quickly met with condemnation.
"Please, leave the kid out of the adults' mess, would you?"
"Yeah, are you sick? Who wants a clearer picture of the child?"
"Ha, if the kid is Darwin's, you're in big trouble, buddy!"
Soon after, the tech-savvy guru deleted the tweet and issued an apology statement.
After a short while, Big Dan deleted his Twitter account, looking like he'd been scared witless.
Not long after that, someone at the crime scene posted another video.
The video clearly showed Darwin's tycoon wife commanding with authority to have Darwin taken to the hospital. While she spoke, she effortlessly scooped up the controversial little girl and cradled her in her arms. The girl showed no aversion to her at all.
There was an evident trust; she clung to the woman's neck, buried her head in the crook of her neck, and wept incessantly. The woman kissed the girl's cheek and stroked her back to soothe her while walking away.
This set the online spectators ablaze. They plunged into deep confusion.
"Is Darwin's kid from Chicago that close with her stepmom?"
"Wow, the little girl trusts the tycoon lady a lot. That doesn't look like they've only known each other for a few months..."
"Right? Kids cling to those they trust most when frightened, right?"
"Man, I'm puzzled. So, when exactly did Darwin and Chelsea meet and get together?"
"Hey, any dirt on Chelsea from the North American folks? Have you heard rumors about Chelsea's illegitimate child?"
"Oh yeah, some local tabloid covered it, and they went bankrupt the second month, taken over by the Rhoads family's news conglomerate! Wasn't there a photo?"
"That's right, so we've been focusing on the wrong thing. It's not Darwin's illegitimate daughter but Chelsea's! Because she wasn't familiar with her new dad, they didn't hold hands when the attack happened; there was a sense of estrangement. But when her real mom showed up, she immediately snuggled into her embrace, holding on tightly."
"Dang... this analysis kinda makes sense!!!"
"Oh my God, the little darling resembles Mr. Solomon, which suggests that Darwin could indeed be her biological father. Looking at the timeline, if that's true, did Mr. Solomon and Chelsea have an affair before Secretary Woods passed?"
"Could this be some one-night fling from a romance novel? Misidentifying her as the one he loved. And then, after the tycoon lady found out she was pregnant—as Darwin made his relationship with Secretary Woods official—she had no interest in Darwin and decided to raise the child on her own."
After this comment, someone added below: "And then six years later, Mr. Solomon finds out about the child, and they have a shotgun wedding?"
"This guess seems highly plausible, which also explains why Darwin and Chelsea's marriage was so sudden!"
"What a melodramatic saga in the world of the wealthy!!!"
While watching over Darwin, Fiona had scrolled through the internet, amused by the wild theories of obsessed fans, but found herself sinking into an abyss of silence as she finished reading.
Suddenly, a WhatsApp notification popped up.
"All photos related to the lady's appearance have been cleansed."
Fiona's eyes glinted with a frosty resolve. "Do not let anyone responsible off the hook, understood?"
Fiona lost the urge to gossip online. The speculation involving her and Darwin was out there, and she'd come to terms with that. But having Chicago's identity exposed was something she couldn't tolerate.
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