Justin’s statement caused an uproar in the crowd.
Rachel was in disbelief when she heard what he had just said.
Holding on to her shoulders, he pulled her up from the chair so that they were facing the reporters side by
side.
“Rachel and I divorced peacefully and on good terms five years ago. Before that, we lived as an affectionate couple and never did anything to betray each others’ trust throughout our marriage. Even after our separation, we still respect each other and remain friends who wish each other nothing but happiness.”
“Even if you’re friends, how do you explain the child in the photo and Miss Hudson’s maternity records overseas?” the reporters pressed.
Upon hearing this, Justin questioned them, “What made you think that the child is someone else’s if he was born after the divorce? Both children are mine.”
With that, it sparked an uproar in the audience, and the camera shutter clicks filled the entire conference hall.
Shocked, Rachel was speechless.
Justin must have gone mad to have said such things.
“Therefore, the Burton Group and I will file a lawsuit against the writer and spreaders of the article. All media outlets that have forwarded or commented on the article are requested to delete all inappropriate remarks immediately. This rumor has caused me, Rachel, and the Burton Group great trouble. We’ll be sure to conduct a thorough investigation about this!”
At that point, the crowd was in chaos.
Besides a daughter, the president of the Burton Group also had a son. In addition to that, the mother of the child was his ex-wife. This sudden news was like a bombshell.
“I’m sorry, we’re done with the press conference today. Kindly make an appointment if you have further questions.”
Then, the site manager tried to keep the crowd under control while the bodyguards escorted Justin and Rachel out of the hall.
Running up to Justin, Rachel asked, “Why did you say that?”
“I did it for Charlotte, not you.”
Coldly, he added, “What would Charlotte think if she found out that you abandoned her for five years to marry and have children with someone else?”
As soon as she heard that, her face turned pale. “I can explain. It’s not what you think.”
“I have no interest in knowing who the father of the child is, and you better keep your mouth shut as well. If anybody finds out the truth, I’ll see to it that you leave Riverdale and never come back.”
She wanted to say something but eventually gave up when she saw how reluctant he was to listen to her.
Besides, she never expected that he would defend her during the press conference.
Just as he left, her phone rang in her pocket.
“How was the press conference? I’ve already prepared a draft for you to retaliate.” Jolly’s voice sounded on the phone.
“I’m fine for now.”
“Wait, what happened? The reporters and Justin didn’t eat you alive?”
“It was not what I expected. I’ll tell you when we meet, alright?”
“Sure! I’ll post the article first to give them a taste of their own medicine. I’d like to see how brazen that b*tch can be!”
Listening to this, Rachel only kept quiet.
As for Justin, he had already gone back to his office.
As he replayed the video of the press conference earlier, he felt irritated all of a sudden. Immediately, he closed his laptop as he did not want to hear another word.
Suddenly, Frankie knocked on the door and came in with a stack of documents.
“Mr. Burton, there’s news from Montenegro.”
With his palm on his forehead, he asked impatiently, “Who’s that man?”
“What man?”
Justin’s icy stare gave Frankie a good scare. As soon as Frankie returned to his senses, he continued, “The hospital only has the mother’s information and no information about the father. Besides, Rachel never got married in Montenegro.”
“She gave birth out of wedlock?”
Handing the documents to Justin, Frankie explained, “It’s not like that. Things are a bit complicated, so you should take a look at it for yourself.”
Two sets of documents with complete information were prepared.
The first set was the medical report of her hospitalization and childbirth which the reporters had received when news got out. The timestamp on the other set of documents was coincidentally the same as the first–with the only difference being the patient’s name.
“Who’s Jolly? What does she have to do with Rachel?”
“She’s Miss Hudson’s best friend.”
Upon hearing this, Justin frowned and narrowed his eyes. “So, Rachel’s not the child’s biological mother?”
With a complicated look, Frankie nodded.
At that moment, Justin stared at Frankie in disbelief.
That afternoon, the contents of the press conference started to spread online. New topics regarding this overshadowed the contents of the previous articles.
‘My God! I never knew there could be such an incredible man who would still defend his ex-wife even after they’ve divorced!
‘They had the little boy after the divorce, so that must mean they still have feelings for each other!
‘Both of them are still single, so they must still miss each other very much. Otherwise, why have they not remarried after five years?’
‘Please get back together! I’m rooting for this couple!
As Amber read the comments, she fell silent.
The netizens’ comments kept refreshing on top of the searched list.
With a loud bang, she closed her laptop with a pale expression on her face.
She could not believe that Justin would admit that the illegitimate child was his. It was clearly impossible as Rachel had left as soon as she gave birth to Charlotte.
The netizens must have been blind to believe everything. The child had curly hair. Which part of him resembled Justin?
Still in her own thoughts, she logged into her private Twitter account instantaneously to post a few comments.
‘The child’s obviously illegitimate. How could they be father and son?”
‘It’s obvious that the company’s public relations department said so on purpose. They have no feelings for each other and are on bad terms in reality:
‘She’s obviously a slut!’
After posting a few comments, her phone rang. It was her friend.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Amber, what are you doing right now? You need to see what’s online at this moment.”
“I’m looking at it right now, and I’ve read the news already. These netizens only speak and act on hearsay. They need some good scolding from me. Don’t you have a lot of friends from the media? Get me some trolls, won’t you?”
“What trolls? You should worry about yourself! Your main Twitter account’s in trouble, don’t you know?”
“What?” She froze.
All this while, she had been using her private Twitter account to tell off the netizens, so she did not know what was happening on her main account.
“Somebody posted an article titled ‘Wealthy Daughter Seduces Brother-in-law and Tries to Claim the Moral High Ground After Forcing Sister to Leave.’ It’s so obvious that it’s talking about you!”
By then, the article had already exploded on the Internet.
Just after the Burtons had issued a statement and Justin had defended his ex-wife at the press conference, people already started digging up dirt on Amber-his fiancée.
From her hooking up with the attending doctor when she was studying medicine abroad to forcing her sister to leave so that she could replace her, every word hit the nail on the head that it made her gnash her teeth in anger after reading the article.
When Amber logged into her main account, she was bombarded with tons of private messages and comments.
‘Homewreckers should die.’
‘How dare you seduce your brother-in-law? How shameless!
‘Let me see what this homewrecker looks like! She doesn’t even look half as good as her sister, yet an ugly person like her is causing so much trouble.
She was utterly speechless.
As she typed, her fingers trembled and her face turned white.
Who did this?
Who the hell did this?
