Chapter 20 Leaked Scandal
01:04:34
Finished
Benedict glared at Raymond’s hand, then turned to Francesca with a cold voice. “You’ve really changed.”
Francesca’s smile slowly faded. “Think you know me that well? Here’s a fun fact, I’m not afraid to throw a punch. I can be pretty vicious when I need to.”
Benedict opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out. Her bluntness caught him so off guard, he completely forgot why he had chased after her.
Raymond hit the accelerator, and the car shot forward. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Francesca staring blankly ahead.
“You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you?” he asked.
She snorted. “Not really. Just realizing how bad my taste in men is. I must’ve been out of my mind to stick with him for three years.”
Then, Raymond’s phone buzzed. Glancing at it, he smirked. “The organizer sent me a video. Said it’s something I should deal with Here, take a look.”
Francesca leaned over, watched for a second, then laughed. “Post it. Let everyone see what really happened.”
By the time Benedict got back to the car, Suzanna was dabbing her damp hair with a towel from the waiter. She looked up and immediately started stammering some excuse.
However, his phone suddenly dinged. A message popped up, containing a video from the organizer, a replay of the scene at the fountain.
The footage made everything crystal clear: Francesca hadn’t laid a finger on her. Suzanna had jumped in all by herself.
The high–definition video didn’t lie. It even caught Suzanna’s smug grin right before her act–a far cry from the pitiful performance she had been putting on moments ago.
Apparently, the organizer had seen enough but didn’t want to stir up trouble with Benedict. So, he had claimed the cameras weren’t working and stayed out of it.
He knew if Suzanna’s lie got out, Benedict wouldn’t take it well, and the Landon family might come after
him.
Not wanting to get dragged into the mess, he played it smart; lied about the cameras, then sent the video to Benedict later, leaving it up to him to handle.
But the look Francesca gave him before walking away sent a chill down his spine. After a moment’s hesitation, he sent a copy to Raymond too. Better safe than sorry.
He was sure Benedict wasn’t stupid and would get why he had done what he did.
But now Benedict was just sitting there, staring at the screen. The air in the car felt heavy. His head was pounding, and everything seemed to blur.
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12:41 FN, 9 May
Chapter 20 Leaked Scandal
78%
(6) 01 00 00 49 Finished
Francesca was the victim, not the other way around. Yet, moments ago, he had demanded Francesca apologize to Suzanna.
That was the message she sent him. Her laugh echoed in his head, mocking him for being gullible, for letting himself get played. And to make it worse, he had chased her down in anger.
His phone buzzed again. It was Daniel. “Mr. Landon, a video of you and Miss Mitchell is going viral. And, uh, some photos too.”
At the same time, Suzanna’s phone lit up with calls from her manager. The internet was going wild, and one photo was getting all the attention. It was an intimate shot Suzanna had taken two years ago while Benedict was asleep. The comments were brutal.
“Are they in a hotel?”
“Aren’t they always teasing a marriage announcement? Not surprising.”
“No, check the timestamp on that photo.”
The date on the image was clear, it was from two years ago. The crowd online was losing it.
“I heard Mr. Landon was married before the fire. Looks like he’s been cheating all along.”
“Disgusting. And her? What kind of movie queen sleeps her way to the top?”
Benedict slammed his phone onto the car seat, his anger boiling over. Suzanna’s face was ghostly pale. Fear crept through her like ice, chilling her to the bone.
She never imagined her carefully buried secret would come to light–and certainly not like this.
20
I
