Chapter 4

That night, Adrian didn't come home.

When the lawyer sent over the drafted stock agreement, he asked if I wanted to pursue legal action for the online harassment from the past few days.

"Collect the evidence first. We'll settle all accounts together later."

Calculating the time, it was almost here.

Then the lawyer brought up the child in Mira's belly.

"According to current law, illegitimate children have inheritance rights. Ms. Ye, should we take some measures?"

"No need."

I'd never taken the child in Mira's belly seriously.

After all, how could someone who lost their ability to reproduce seven years ago possibly have a child?

Adrian's counterattack came later than I'd expected.

Six hours after the photos went viral, he suddenly held a press conference.

And had someone bring me to the scene.

In front of the live cameras and a barrage of media, he openly held Mira in his arms.

Claiming we'd agreed to divorce six months ago.

Originally he didn't want to use public resources for private matters, but he didn't expect that because of yesterday's incident, I'd blame Mira and try to have her hurt.

"Though Mira is a student I sponsored, she's excellent. She became an outstanding teacher at Riverside University on her own merit and is very positive, giving me the confidence to find true love again."

"So I can't let her suffer this kind of injustice."

Mira timely raised her injured face, staring straight at me.

"Laura, you know I'm carrying Adrian's child. Why are you so cruel?"

This single statement made me the target of everyone's criticism.

Adrian looked disappointed.

"Laura, you clearly understand the pain of being hurt, yet you're destroying an innocent person because of your own trauma. I can't let you keep making mistakes."

With that, he released various reports from my years of seeing psychologists.

Trying to brand me as mentally unstable.

At this point, I finally understood how ruthless his heart could be.

And there were only five minutes left until the chip failed.

Netizens praised Adrian as a genuine, good man and hailed Mira for her courage.

I faced only the bile.

The media also turned their cameras on me.

"Adrian has stated that you struggle with mental instability. Can you confirm this?"

"The divorce was finalized six months ago. Why are you still fixated on him?"

"Sources say you attempted to sabotage Mira. Was this a psychotic break, or are you truly that malicious?"

To completely nail me to the pillar of shame, Adrian also pulled out a USB drive.

Saying it could prove how sick I was.

Thinking back to the drive here, River had mentioned the lab was broken into that evening.

Though nothing was stolen, the core video file had been copied.

I knew Adrian's plan at once.

"You really want to play that here?"

Adrian hesitated.

Mira took over.

"Laura, I know you don't want the past seen. But sometimes facing it openly is the only way to heal."

That erased Adrian's last doubt. "Laura, You shouldn't have pushed me this far."

With that, Adrian had his assistant play it on the big screen.

My pain, my humiliation, there for everyone to see. The room froze.

Only Adrian stumbled back, clutching his head.

"Ah!"

His chip had failed.