Chapter 79

**Audrey's POV**

Morning light filtered through my blinds. A persistent buzzing pulled me from sleep. I fumbled for my phone, knocking over a glass of water.

"Damn it," I muttered, finally opening my eyes.

My screen showed dozens of notifications, most from Astrid. I yawned and unlocked my phone. The first message jolted me awake.

*"Audrey, things have gotten worse!"*

Below were multiple texts and links, each more urgent than the last.

*"Look at this! They're saying anything to clear Laurel of being the homewrecker!"*

I clicked the link, suddenly wide awake. My stomach dropped as the page loaded.

There on the screen was a post with my private medical records-documentation of my miscarriage.

"What the hell?" I whispered.

The post displayed a headline in bold: "TRUTH BEHIND THE PARKER

MARRIAGE SCANDAL REVEALED!"

Below was my hospital record with minimal censoring. The date of my miscarriage was cireled in red, with arrows connecting it to another date-when Laurel Rose returned from Europe.

Snow jumped onto the bed and settled beside me. I stroked her fur

absently as I read through the post:

*"These are medical records of the 'Mrs. Parker' who shared her marriage certificate yesterday. Notice she miscarried right when Ms. Rose returned from Europe."*

*"Reasonable to suspect she terminated her pregnancy deliberately, which forced Mr. Parker to publicly comfort Ms. Rose to make her jealous."*

*"This Audrey has been married to Mr. Parker for three years, finally gets pregnant, then decides to terminate? Why?"*

Below the post, the comments were vicious:

*"The paternity of the child is questionable. In wealthy families like the Parkers, children secure a woman's position. Why would she terminate unless she had something to hide?"*

*"Look at her partying at The Underground - does she look like someone who just miscarried? Maybe the medical records are fake?"*

Photos of me at The Underground appeared-sitting at the bar, talking,laughing. Now weaponized as "evidence" against me.

*"This woman is disgusting. Fakes a miscarriage, then can't control herself from dancing with men at clubs right after.."*

*"Pretty obvious she released the marriage certificate yesterday to blackmail Mr.Parker and Ms. Rose for money!"*

*"Mr. Parker should divorce her immediately. She's absolutely revolting!"*

Looking at these comments, I felt eerily clam. *Perhaps it's because I'm facing the end of my life, that I can't seem to feel much about any of this

anymore.*

My phone rang-Astrid calling. I put it on speaker.

"Audrey!" Astrid's voice crackled with anger. "Have you seen what they're saying?"

"Looking at it now," I replied, still petting Snow.

"Audrey, if these records weren't leaked by hospital staff, they must have come from someone who knew the exact date of your miscarriage," Astrid said.

I heard her pacing through the phone.

"You never like bothering people. When you miscarried, I only found out that night when you finally called me." She paused. "Besides me, who else knew the exact timing?"

"If no one else knew, I'll sue that hospital for violating patient confidentiality!" she added.

"Don't bother."

"What? Why not?"

"The day I miscarried, Blake brought Laurel to my ward. They saw me there."

"What? That jerk!" Astrid exploded. "He doesn't know your miscarriage,and even brings his mistress to the hospital? I want to punch him right now!"

I laughed despite myself. Classic Astrid.

"Enough, Astrid. There's no point getting angry over them."

A moment of silence.

"Audrey, I'm getting the feeling... you're not even angry about this?"

I pulled Snow closer. "I don't care anymore, so it doesn't matter. I'm just an ordinary person. The online abuse will fade in a few days."

"I'm not like Laurel, who depends on public opinion for her career."I contiuned,"'Since they don't want to resolve this peacefully, I don't mind if we all go down together."

*I only have less than three months left anyway. I can afford to go all in.*

We talked a while longer before hanging up. I checked my other notifications and found a message from Ethan Davies.

He'd sent screenshots from a private chat group. The first showed a conversation between an administrator and members:

*Group admin message: "The male principal has increased the budget.Keep creating content, original posts preferred. The more vicious the attacks on Ms. Sinclair, the better. I'll report upward and increase your payments!"*

Below, Ethan had written: *"I can go undercover for you."*

I frowned and typed: *"What's going on here?"*

His reply came quickly: *"My roommate sent me this freelance job opportunity - easy money, he said. We just take these talking points and post them under relevant news articles."*

*"I know you're nothing like what they're saying in the news. So I'm

staying in this group to collect evidence for when you need it."*

*"How did you get access to jobs like this?"* I wondered.

*"College student - we take whatever gigs we can find."*

That struck a chord. I knew that life all too well. Five years ago, I was in his position-taking any job that paid. Working as a server, I rescued Rachel Hayes from an aggressive classmate. We became closer than sisters after that.

We made a bet once that Rachel lost, and she had to call me "sister"and come with me to my off-campus jobs. But she kept seeing me as her sister long after the bet was over...

I took a deep breath. Rachel's disappearance was my first real experience with loss-just the beginning of what was to come.

I typed: *"Won't that affect your future opportunities in this line of work?If it would cause problems, I can handle this another way."*

A voice message came through. Ethan sounded urgent:

"Don't worry about it! It's just a part-time job. I do all kinds of side gigs.this is just one of many."

I relaxed and sent a voice message: "Alright then,collect as much evidence as you can. When this is over,I'll take you out for dinner."

His reply: *"Great! I'll look forward to that dinner!"*

**Ethan's POV**

I sat on my chair with earbuds in, barely listening to my roommate explain how to make money as an online troll. My focus was on Audrey's

voice message.

Her voice was gentle, composed, with a slight musical quality that made even simple words sound elegant.

"Who are you messaging? You're smiling like an idiot," my roommate said.

I quickly looked up, feeling my face heat up. I hadn't realized I was smiling.

"Nobody."

"Got a girlfriend?" he asked with a knowing smirk.

"Not that status yet."

"No wonder you've been hustling for side gigs lately. Trying to impress a girl. huh?" He laughed and turned back to his laptop. "But seriously, the drama in these wealthy families is nuts..."

He scrolled through news sites featuring the Blake Parker scandal.

"Don't you think this woman is hotter than Laurel Rose?" he asked,pointing to a photo of Auadrey at some event.

"Why would she mess up her cushy life as arich socialite by hooking up with someone else and getting pregnant?" he continued, reading through the comments.

"Now her husband can openly cheat, and she's getting destroyed online..."

I hesitated before carefully suggesting: "Maybe what we're seeing isn't the whole truth. Maybe... the baby was actually her husband's."

My roommate frowned. "If she was carrying her husband's child and had

a miscarriage, while her husband was out finding a mistress... that would make Blake Parker a real bastard."

Without thinking, I nodded.′′Of course he's a bastard!"