Chapter 277 Scandal Broke!
"I wanted to ask about Viviana's health. Given her age, is surgery even an option?"
Tom was taken aback, "Surgery? With Viviana's condition and age, it's best to stick to conservative treatment."
Conservative treatment meant the risk of complications was always looming.
"Come on, Giorgio, you're not just interested in the wine when you're looking at the cellar, right?" Tom hinted, sensing an underlying issue.
Giorgio's eyes darken, he speaks slowly, "What else is there to say? It's about that."
"Oh," Tom drew out thoughtfully, then his curiosity piqued, "By the way, how's married life with Katherine? I've been seeing you two all over the gossip columns, looking cozy. Are you guys working on baby number two? That would be great, a little brother or sister for Charlie. A happy family of four."
Giorgio's handsome face turned a shade darker, giving Tom a side-eye, "Found yourself a girlfriend yet?"
His implication was clear, “Why meddle in my affairs when yours is a mess?”
Tom choked on his words, then turned to Enrico, "Enrico, see? Giorgio is being unreasonable. Aren't you gonna say something?"
Enrico glanced up, his voice airy and teasing, "He's right, though. Did you find a girlfriend?"
Tom nearly spat out his drink.
Enrico and Giorgio, this was not a fair game!
He took a sip of his drink, smirking sarcastically, "No girlfriend for me. I'd rather be single than in a relationship like you guys. Wife in name only. Any day now, you both could end up true singles.
Especially you, Giorgio. I remember how Enrico used to give your wife the cold shoulder, just like you do now. He's been through a real ordeal trying to win her back. Be careful, or you'll end up the same.
After all, we've got Katherine. She's educated, gentle, and loving. Where could you even find a woman like her?"
On this topic, Enrico agreed, "Tom's right for once. Katherine is perfect for you. You're not still hung up on that other woman, are you?"
His tone was light but carried a clear dislike for Anna.
Giorgio took another sip of his red wine, letting his palate and lungs fill with the delicious aroma.
After a brief pause, he said, "There's nothing to cling to. You're overthinking it."
His demeanor was cold, detached, and indifferent, with an edge of irritation.
The more he dismissed it, the more it seemed there was something amiss.
Enrico and Tom exchanged glances, instantly understanding each other.
No wonder Giorgio called this meeting tonight.
Because of Anna...
The drinks in their glass tasted differently now.
*Ding!* The alert tone from Tom's phone cut through with a news notification.
He tried to lighten the mood, "Must be our stunning and competent Katherine hitting the trending list again. My news feed's pretty much just Giorgio Katherine updates."
As for Enrico, not a blip in the news.
Nobody dared to make headlines with Enrico.
With a sleek swipe of his finger across the screen, Tom unlocked his phone to check the news, but the color drained from his face instantly.
That news...
"You ok there? Got a cramp in your jaw?" Enrico, noticing Tom's mouth opening and closing without a sound, asked with a raised eyebrow.
Tom shook his head, pointing at his screen, struggling to speak.
"No, it's not that. It's the news... There’s been an incident! You guys need to see this."
News?
Giorgio and Enrico pulled out their phones, and their faces turned ashen.
On the large screen of their smartphones was the headline, "Katherine Caught Cheating with Giuseppe".
At 10 PM sharp, a user posted a live photo of a man and woman kissing passionately in a bar. The woman turned out to be Katherine, the wife of Giorgio Vittorio, CEO of the Vittorio Group, and daughter of the influential Stefanelli Family, Katherine of the so-called aristocracy.
It was beyond belief, was Katherine having an affair?
The details were still unclear as efforts were being made to reach the people involved.
Below the text was a grid of nine live photos.
Each showed a couple's intimate embrace on a bar sofa, so steamy that the images bordered on inappropriate for underage viewers.
"No! It can't be our Katherine! Stop the rumors!"
"Oh my God!!! Their faces are identical, what's left to explain or spin?"
"The great imperial heiress messed up like this!"
"Just yesterday she and Mr. Vittorio were flaunting their love? Now with Giuseppe?? Her nephew??"
"Such chaos in the elite circle."
"Giorgio, Mr. Vittorio, you seeing this?"
"Love is like a brilliant blue sky that abruptly darkens with a storm overhead."
In the world of showbiz, the biggest stories were about weddings, affairs, or crime, and now Katherine and Giorgio were the main characters.
In just ten minutes, the buzzing commentary skyrocketed to over 3 million, with 30 million shares and 40 million likes!
Twitter crashed, paralyzed by the influx!
In the private room, the atmosphere was frozen solid.
Tom and Enrico sat with grim faces, looking lost and forlorn, at a loss for words to express their feelings or to offer any comfort to Giorgio.
They were just as shocked.
Only a moment ago, they had been praising Katherine, thinking Giorgio should cherish her, and then in the next second...
Giorgio was fixated on his phone, his handsome face engulfed in a halo of light, ambiguous and dim, an inscrutable yet cold expression on his face.
The Vittorio household was turned upside down at the moment.
"Good heavens, is that Katherine and Giuseppe?"
"That's them alright! We see them every day, how could we mistake them?"
"What kind of earth-shattering scandal is this? It's terrifying!"
The servants were chattering nonstop, buzzing like bees.
"Enough!" Viviana hobbled out with her cane, her gaze sternly sweeping over them.
Those who worked for the Vittorio family were usually well-trained, rarely so undisciplined.
"What has got you all in such a flap?" Colombo demanded sharply.
The servants hung their heads, hesitant to speak.
"Speak," ordered Viviana, cutting to the chase.
The servant holding the phone jolted, then hurried forward, handing it over, "It's news about Ms. Katherine and Mr. Giuseppe."
Giuseppe?
Upon hearing news of his son, Colombo furrowed his brows, leaned in to look, and then his face went ashen.
"Impossible! Who made up this news? My Giuseppe would never do such a thing!"
Viviana, seeing the news herself, turned pale with fury, barely able to contain her anger.
"How dare they! Get Joe, Katherine, and Giuseppe back here now!"
Her command hung heavy in the air as if a bomb had suddenly dropped.
"Yes, ma'am," the butler stammered, quickly hurrying to carry out the order.
Viviana patted her chest, gasping for breath, but suddenly her breath caught, and she collapsed into darkness.
"Viviana!"
"Viviana!"
The Stefanelli household was in an uproar as well.
"Mr. and Mrs. Stefanelli, young master, we've got trouble! Miss Katherine is trending online!" Judy rushed into the living room, her face a canvas of panic.
Mrs. Stefanelli was unfazed, "Why all the panic? Isn't our Katherine always trending for something?"
"Let's continue our discussion, you can go," Davide instructed.
"But... but Miss Katherine is involved in a scandal this time!"
A scandal?
Davide's brows furrowed as he snatched the phone, then his eyes widened in shock.
Katherine's affair?
How could this be possible?
Carla's eyes swirled, and she fainted from sheer fury.
"Carla? Carla!" Davide quickly pinched her philtrum, thrice before Mrs. Stefanelli came around.
As she gazed up at the light above, her eyes were lifeless and filled with dread.
"That wasn't real, was it? That's not our Katherine, right?"
Davide pursed his lips, "Yeah, I'll call Katherine right now to find out what's going on. Don't worry too much."
"Alright, go ahead."
Amidst of the chaotic frenzy, where everything seemed to be going topsy-turvy, Katherine, the center of the entertainment cyclone was...
In a karaoke room!
Partying!
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