Chapter 126
Evelyn’s POV
I clicked on the photo. It showed me at some corporate party, cornered in a hallway by a middle-aged man with his back to the camera. The guy had a big belly and expensive clothes, clearly meant to look wealthy and powerful. I couldn’t see his face, but mine was completely visible. I noticed right away that someone had digitally made my chin sharper, so my face looked weird and unnatural.
“Amateur photoshop job,” I said to myself, scrolling through the comments. As expected, they were horrible. People calling me disgusting, plastic-faced, a disgrace to women.
More comments showed up, each one carefully written to make people angry.
“I need to expose a family scandal! Three years ago, my former uncle was seduced by this woman. He left his wife who had built their business with him from nothing, and even ignored their two kids without paying any child support! This woman took ALL his money, everything my aunt and he had worked for together! It’s so cruel p>
“My father is almost sixty, practically dying, but she didn’t spare him either! She stole his retirement savings, hundreds of thousands of dollars! Don’t you have any shame p>
“I was her college classmate. Her family was poor, and she started going after other girls’ boyfriends in college. All her tuition and expenses came from using men p>
I kept scrolling, my jaw getting tighter as I found photos of me from when I was Calvin’s mate. Pictures from charity events and social gatherings I’d gone to as his wife, though I was never officially introduced as Luna in the all the pack. Our marriage had been kept pretty private, but every wolf in Bloodbane territory knew I was their Luna.
In those photos, while other wives were chatting and laughing together, I stood alone at the edge, looking isolated.
The comments section had blown up with people calling me slutty, shameless, a disgrace to women everywhere. Hundreds, then thousands of comments like that piled up within minutes.
I stared at my phone screen, jaw clenched tight. These people were making wild accusations based on a few edited photos. The vicious comments and unhinged attacks left me feeling both furious and cold inside. How could they jump on this hate train without questioning anything or investigating the truth?
Just then, Liri suddenly deleted her previous video and posted a new photo of herself with tearstained eyes. It was like pouring a gallon of gasoline on an already raging fire. The online mob went completely berserk.
“What happened to Liri? Was she threatened?” someone commented.
Liri didn’t explain anything, but within minutes, she’d liked that particular comment.
The trolls online had found what they were looking for. They furiously typed their curses and threats with renewed vigor.
“My friend works at the coffee shop across from the police station. She saw Liri leaving in tears this afternoon while her fiancé was comforting that homewrecker p>
“This is outrageous! Ladies, let’s go all out! We need to find this bitch’s home address and workplace! Don’t let her have a moment’s peace p>
These so-called “justice warriors” were creeping around the edges of the law, trying to dig up any dirt they could find on me. But weirdly, besides those few gala photos from anonymous accounts, they couldn’t find any other pictures of me anywhere.
Even my personal info seemed to have some kind of protection. Comments with nasty stuff, personal attacks, or death threats against my family got deleted by the platform before they could even go live.
This just made the mob angrier.
They blamed it on my supposed “connections,” saying I was part of some criminal network. They kept tagging official accounts everywhere, demanding they investigate my background.
Just as my anger hit its peak, tiny footsteps came into my study.
Alexis stood there, holding her favorite blanket against her chest. Her curls were messy around her sleepy face.
“Mom, it’s bedtime,” she said softly, rubbing her eyes.
Looking at my daughter’s innocent face, I felt my rage cool down. My kids mattered more than any online hate.
I took a deep breath and closed my laptop.
“You’re right, sweetie. Let’s get you back to bed p>
I woke up early the next morning and reached for my phone to check the time.
When I unlocked the screen, I noticed something weird. The hateful posts I’d been reading before bed were gone.
I backed out and searched again. Every single negative post about me had completely disappeared from the internet.
Jackson. It had to be him.
I opened our chat and saw his messages waiting for me.
“Boss, I’ve sent everything to your email p>
“BTW, this Liri and her father are real scumbags. I’ve given them a little taste of their own medicine p>
So it was Jackson after all. I’d asked him to look into Summit Industries and Liri’s background yesterday. I opened my email and found a goldmine of dirt on Summit Industries. Tax evasion, fake safety reports, offshore accounts. When I got to the part about Liri’s own dirty deeds, I frowned in disgust.
The evidence was brutal. Cyberstalking ex-boyfriends, filing fake police reports against rivals, even blackmailing a college professor. She was way worse than I’d thought.
I typed a quick message to Jackson.”Contact those people p>
After making sure Liri Johnson would be dealt with properly, I decided to keep Rowan and Rhys home from school for a few days. No point in exposing them to any potential drama.
The morning sun came through as I watched my boys practice their piano. They sat at the bench, their faces focused as they carefully worked through their scales. Though they usually had a professional teacher, I enjoyed these times when I could help them myself.
“Mom, is this right?” Rowan asked, looking up from the keys.
I moved closer to listen. “Your timing is getting much better,” I said. “Just remember to keep your fingers curved p>
Rhys frowned at his sheet music. “Mine sounds awful compared to Ro’s p>
“Everyone learns at their own speed,” I told him, squeezing his shoulder. “Your technique is improving p>
Little Alexis sat at her own small table nearby, her tiny fingers hovering over her coloring books. After a few moments of thinking, she gave up and walked over to me, wrapping her arms around my legs.
“Mommy, want to color,” she said, her face lighting up with a big smile.
The light caught in her curls, making her look like a little angel. I couldn’t help but lift her into my lap as I sat down in my chair.
“Alright, sweetheart. Let’s color something pretty,” I said, helping her with her crayons.
Just as Alexis started coloring happily, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I kissed her forehead, breathing in her sweet baby smell.
“Alex, keep coloring for Mommy. I need to take this call p>
She gave me a wet kiss on my cheek before going back to her coloring with serious focus.
I stepped into the hallway and checked the message from Jackson.
“We made contact,” it read simply.
I quickly typed back. “Hold position. Wait three days and see what happens p>