Chapter 245
245 Cleared Out
245 Cleared Out
Within minutes, the courtyard emptied of cameras and microphones.
Silence returned.
Irene stared at Alice like she wanted to burn her alive. “Are you satisfied now?”
She couldn’t understand it. Yvette had always been proud, yet today she had humbled herself for a man She had gone so far as to ask Alice to step aside.
And now, all of it was ruined–because of Alice.
If she could get away with it, Irene would’ve strangled her.
Alice smiled faintly. “Very satisfied. Why? Feeling bitter?”
Irene’s face tightened. “You’re nothing but a peasant. What makes you think you belong in the Nolans? You should leave before you embarrass yourself any further.”
Alice shrugged without concern.
“I don’t want to be here either. The air stinks.
“But I didn’t just show up to enjoy the drama. I came to settle something with you, Irene. So no, I’m not leaving yet.”
Irene’s voice cracked with anger.
“What do you want now?”
Alice’s tone didn’t change. “I’m talking about the mess online. All those rumors about me and Risa. You know exactly how they started. Probably better than anyone.”
Irene’s eyelids twitched. The guilt on her face was too fast to hide.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, really?” Alice smiled a little.
“That’s fine. I like tracking IP addresses. Once I find the source, I’ll be happy to show the internet what really happened.”
She spoke without raising her voice: She didn’t need to. “And I’m sure you’re okay with that, right, Irene?”
Irene’s whole body tensed.
This wasn’t a warning.
It was a promise.
She clenched her fists and drew in a shaky breath.”
Then Alice added, just as calmly, “But if you apologize live, I won’t make a fuss.”
111
1/4
245 Cleared Out
Irene’s skin turned pale.
There was no way out of it anymore.
Alice could see right away that Irene wasn’t planning to apologize.
So she turned, walked over to the table, and picked up a laptop.
She held it in her arms, then smiled.
“I haven’t had a reason to use my skills in a while,” she said casually. “Let’s see if I’m still sharp .
Irene froze. Her eyes darted toward Eric, silently asking for help.
But Eric didn’t even glance at her.
He looked at Alice and said, “Then get started.”
Alice’s smile grew. “You sound like you’ve got a personal grudge. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’ve been waiting for this.”
Eric spoke without emotion.
“Maybe I have.”
Irene’s chest tightened.
Her shoulders trembled. She could barely stay in her seat.
No one had seen this coming.
“Alice!” Irene snapped, her voice shaking.
“Fine. I’ll apologize.”
Alice paused and looked at her..
“But only if you let Matt and Josh’s guys go,” Irene added quickly.
Alice stayed calm.
Her voice was light.
“Irene, that’s where you got it wrong, I didn’t come here because forgiveness is the only option.
“It’s just the easiest one.”
Irene’s face darkened.
After a few seconds of silent struggle, she sighed in defeat.
“Fine. I’ll do it.”
She pulled
out her phone and opened her social media account. She started a livestream .
2/4
245 Cleared Out
Though she couldn’t get Matt and Josh out, what choice did she have? She was backed to a corner
Her only move was to deal with the matter first.
She didn’t expect much traffic.
Her followers weren’t many.
But as soon as the feed went live, people started pouring in.
Within seconds, 10,000 viewers had joined.
“Hi, everyone. I’m Irene Nolan.”
Before she could even finish the sentence , the number shot past 100,000.
She clenched her jaw. She knew Alice was behind the sudden spike.
The traffic was too fast to be natural. But there was nothing she could do about it now.
Even if she was being played, she couldn’t afford to lose her temper here.
So she forced herself to speak.
She told the audience her phone had gone missing. That someone had used it to frame Alice.
“After I lost my phone, everyone helped me search for it. I even thought about filing a police report.
“Then the phone got returned out of nowhere. I still don’t know who took it, but I hope everyone can think for themselves that I’m not the one behind this.
“Alice is a good person. She and Risa are just close friends. I hope you all continue to support them.”
And with that, she ended the stream. No comments. No questions. Nothing.
Then she looked at Alice, her face full of anger.
“Satisfied now?”
Alice smiled sweetly. “More or less.”
Irene felt like her chest was about to explode.
Alice turned to leave. “Since you’ve been so helpful, Irene, we’ll let you rest. Bye now.”
The moment they stepped outside the Nolans‘ residence, Irene snapped.
She grabbed a vase from the table and smashed it to the floor. Then she kr the wall.
Her breath came fast. Her face turned white. And then her knees gave out. She collapsed. The family doctor rushed over and started emergency care.
d’over a chair and kicked
3/4
245 Cleared Out
But Ruby never showed up. She was in another room, calmly speaking with Michrach,
“Mike,” she said with a steady voice, “what are you going to do about this ? ”
She meant Yvette.
As a top executive of Nolan Group, Ruby already knew the Martinezes were falling apart.