Chapter 538 - Reaction To Death
As soon as the news of Karen"s death came out, it immediately sparked a tremendous uproar.
Just this morning, Karen had done a livestream with the few popular streamers and nearly ten million fans on four major platforms, during which she had wept the entire time and accused Lucas of trying to kill his father-in-law by creating the car accident that had turned him into a vegetable, followed by beating his mother-in-law after being exposed by her. She had even accused Lucas of being inhumane and driving her out of the house.
At the end of the stream, Karen said herself that if she suddenly died, it had to be because Lucas killed her to take revenge.
As soon as the stream ended, a huge commotion fermented on the internet because of the brutal nature of the incident.
Now, only a few hours had pa.s.sed, and Karen, the protagonist of the incident, had actually died just like that. For a while, everyone targeted Lucas, the murder suspect. The sounds of discussion were getting louder and louder on the internet.
"Oh my G.o.d. That poor woman Karen Turner actually died. Without a doubt, it must have been her sc.u.mbag son-in-law who did it!"
"I"ve never seen anyone as vicious as Lucas Gray. It has really broadened my imagination!"
"Exactly! If not for the Carters, he would just be a penniless good-for-nothing. How dare he be so arrogant and kill his parents-in-law for the sake of the family"s a.s.sets?!"
"That"s right! How can such a sc.u.mbag still be in charge of the Stardust Corporation"s Orange County branch? It seems that he and his company are peas of the same pod. How disgusting!"
...
The online media platforms were flooded with all kinds of similar abusive comments.
Countless people were full of righteous indignation and cursing their hearts out at Lucas.
As the head of the Stardust Corporation"s Orange County branch, Lucas was embroiled in this mess and became the target of public criticism. The company"s image was greatly affected, and all of a sudden, the company"s stock price plummeted too.
Charlotte, sitting in the general manager"s office and handling the company"s public relations affairs, was dumbfounded when she saw the just-released earth-shattering news on the internet.
"No… That"s impossible. How can Mom be dead? Lucas clearly promised me he would bring her back! How can she be dead?!"
She stared blankly at the shocking news on the monitor, not wanting to believe a single word of it.
But the netizens were actively discussing this matter, which meant it was almost impossible that she was hallucinating.
Charlotte didn"t want to believe that Karen was dead. But just because she didn"t want to believe it, it didn"t mean that it hadn"t happened.
She held her head and laid on the desk while crying in pain.
Of course, she didn"t believe the accusations on the internet that Karen had been killed by Lucas, but it was true that her mother was already dead!
How could she not be devastated at this moment?
Charlotte"s best friend and secretary, Sophie, quietly walked over and put her hand on Charlotte"s shoulder to comfort her softly with reddened eyes. "Charlotte… I didn"t expect your brother-in-law… I mean, the company chairman to be such a person! Don"t worry. If you plan to sever ties with him and leave the company, I will definitely go with you too! No matter what happens, I"ll always be your best friend and stand on your side forever!"
Charlotte choked and raised her head while crying in pain. "No, that"s not the case. That"s not the truth! All of you have misunderstood Lucas!
"He"s not the person that the internet says he is, and my mom wasn"t killed by him. Everything on the internet is rumors and accusations to slander him. My mom was forced to say those things on the stream this morning too!
"But… but I really don"t know what to do now. Sophie, I feel terrible!"
Sophie seemed astonished. "What? You said that Aunt Karen was forced to say those things on the stream this morning? Were the people who forced her the same ones who killed her? But the people online are all saying that the chairman did it. They"re las.h.i.+ng out at him and calling him all sorts of unbearable names. They even said that our company deserves to close down sooner with a person like him in charge…"
"Bulls.h.i.+t! Those people don"t know anything and are just going with the flow and believing that nonsense!" Charlotte gritted her teeth and clenched her fist before punching the table.
After a long while, she finally took a few deep breaths. Seemingly having made up her mind, she said, as if she was speaking to herself, "You"re right. There"s something else I should do now, and that is to help Lucas keep his company running!
"I can"t let those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds with malicious intentions who killed my mom and framed Lucas and our company get what they want!"
Her eyes were filled with firm conviction.
Sophie was astonished. She grabbed Charlotte"s hand and said firmly, "Okay, I will stand by you and face it with you. We will protect our company together!"
Charlotte glanced at her best friend gratefully, quickly dried her tears, pulled herself together, and then said firmly, "Summon all the company executives to the conference room on the top floor for a meeting!"
"Yes, Miss Carter!" Sophie replied with gusto. Both of them looked extremely resolute, as if they were preparing for war.
It was indeed a war to protect the Stardust Corporation"s Orange County branch!
——
At the same time, in the hospital…
Cheyenne, who was taking care of William in the ward, had a drastic change of expression when she inadvertently overheard the gossip of the nurses.
When she stumbled back into William"s ward, she unlocked her phone and saw the overwhelming news and comments on the internet, making her break down immediately!
"Mom! How did you… It"s all my fault. I was the one who caused this to happen to you! If I hadn"t chased you out last night, you wouldn"t have encountered all of this!
"It"s my fault! It"s all my fault! Mom, please don"t die! Please come back alive, okay? I promise I will never drive you away again. Mom!"
Cheyenne was bawling so hard that she almost fainted.
When she saw the pale and motionless William on the bed, she cried even harder and more uncontrollably.
"Dad, it"s all my fault! If I hadn"t chased Mom out last night, she wouldn"t have met with a mishap at all! It"s all my fault!
"Dad, wh-what should I do now?"
She was wailing without any regard for her image, just like a pitiful child.
In fact, she didn"t believe that Karen was killed by Lucas.
As his wife, Cheyenne knew better than anyone else what kind of person Lucas was.
Even if Lucas hated Karen, he had always been patient because she was her mother, and there was no reason for him to kill her.
Moreover, with Lucas"s skills and power, Karen wouldn"t have had the chance to denounce him openly on a stream if he really wanted to kill her.
Right, the stream! That stream this morning is extremely suspicious!
Karen had always been a conservative person who wasn"t open to new things and technologies. When she was at home, she would spend most of her time watching TV and reading all sorts of fas.h.i.+on and makeup magazines. But she rarely spent time on the internet, let alone watch streams.
Besides, she had only been taken away by Lucas last night. So how could she have gotten to know prominent streamers overnight and even get them to help her slander Lucas publicly?
She thought that Karen must have been kidnapped and compelled into doing so.
All of a sudden, Cheyenne"s heart was full of guilt and misery because of Karen"s death and also because of Lucas.
She also hated her powerlessness and cried even harder.
But she failed to notice that William, who had been lying motionless on the bed, suddenly moved his pinky outside the sheet twice.
The movement soon stopped, so no one knew what just happened.