A few minutes later, some netizens had figured out the identity of the man in the bedroom pic. After that, a video of an interview with the man was shared on social media. At the start, he kept denying it, but finally broke down and admitted it. He said he worked in a club, and he had been in an intimate relationship with Mrs. Huo for two months.
And the last bit of evidence came from James himself. In an interview, he told the media, "Yeah, those pics were taken at the same time my son was fighting for his life." He changed his tone to sound sad. "And I saw Debbie sign the divorce papers with my own eyes... I tried to stop her, but she insisted on it. She said it was hard to tell whether Carlos would live, so she... Dammit! I feel sorry for my son. Why did he choose such a fickle bitch..."
Then the reporters also asked him if Debbie had really gotten an abortion. As a sly fox, James answered tactfully, "I don't know. I didn't see it myself. I hope she wouldn't be so cruel to the baby..."
Debbie closed the video and turned off the screen. She curled up in the back seat of Jared's car, her whole body trembling. 'James is trying hard to ruin me...'
Jared gripped his phone tightly and yelled angrily, "I'll have somebody kill that fucking old fart!"
No sooner had he said this than he started dialing a number to contact his men.
Debbie put a hand on his phone to stop him. With her lips quivering, she muttered weakly, "It's useless. We'll figure something out. Don't do something stupid..." 'Okay, calm down. Don't panic...' she comforted herself in her mind, trying to sort out the chaos of the past days.
She wasn't sure whether or not Carlos was alive. She had to look after herself and the baby.
These rumors went viral within two hours. Debbie had become the target of cyber-bullying. She got death and **** threats, and someone released the address of both the manor and the villa, to aid in tracking her down. Her reputation was being dragged through the mud.
Everyone now thought of her as a scheming little gold digger. Those who heard about it cussed her out with all the foul words they could think of.
Jared and Sebastian spent a fortune trying to have all those rumors and negative news posts on the Internet taken down, but to no avail. Every time they had managed to block one news story, another one would spring up and spread again. Obviously, someone was manipulating everything behind the scenes in an attempt to completely ruin Debbie's rep.
It was already seven o'clock in the evening when Curtis touched down in Y City. Things had already gone from bad to worse.
Curtis got a hold of Debbie through Jared. She had been staying in Jared's car this whole time. They hadn't gone anywhere, not even driven around. And where could they go? After discovering Debbie's location, Curtis came along with Colleen to pick her up and drove her to his apartment.
On the way there, Curtis asked a chef to prepare some food for the foursome. When they arrived at his apartment and escorted Debbie inside, he asked her to eat something first before getting her side of things.
Jared was impatient, and sat there without taking a single bite. He was on pins and needles waiting to know more about the matter. But Debbie ate silently opposite him. Curtis and Colleen were also eating quietly without uttering a single word. The atmosphere was grave. Jared had no choice but to shut his mouth for now, occasionally picking up a slice of food to eat.
Eventually, dinner was polished off and the four of them walked into the living room. With a sympathetic look on her face,
Colleen made Debbie lean over her shoulder. Curtis broke the silence and stated, "I went straight to the hospital after I got off the plane today. When I got there, I couldn't find Carlos anywhere. I heard that Carlos already...and the Huo family members had taken his...body back home."
Silence filled the room, and you could hear a pin drop. Everyone understood what he meant to say.
When nobody said a word, Curtis continued, "Then I went to the manor, hoping to find out the truth. But the security guards stopped me at the gate. They wouldn't let me in, saying that the Huo family was in mourning and no visitors were allowed."
Curtis called Tabitha, but the call didn't go through. Finally, he had been able to get through James' phone. On the phone, James had told him in tears that he was very sad. He wanted to let Carlos spend his last moments at home.
Curtis tried to argue that he wanted to see Carlos, but James shut him down.
"Damon and I asked someone to look into the car accident. But the truck driver died at the scene, just like Emmett. So we have no more clues now. I've arranged for more men to investigate. There will be some cops coming by. Don't be scared or worried. Just tell the police everything you know. Got it?" Curtis asked the pale girl in a concerned voice. It hurt his heart to see Debbie in such a sad and heartbroken state.
She nodded and pleaded, "Mr. Lu, Carlos isn't dead! Please, please be thorough."
"I know. Will do. Carlos and I go back twenty years. We'll get to the bottom of this. I can't get a hold of Wesley yet. But once he gets involved, then we'll find out what's going on."
She trusted Curtis, so his reassurances felt nice, like a light at the end of the tunnel.
But it wasn't without its downside. "There are a lot of rumors about you, and people want to track you down. Stay at my place and don't go out. And if something happens, call me."
"Okay..." Debbie nodded.
She settled down in Curtis' apartment and tried to relax. However, after waiting uneasily for some time, she got the worst news from Curtis. He told her Carlos' funeral was two days away.
Losing her last hope, Debbie was on the verge of collapse. Unable to wait two more days, she desperately begged Curtis to take her to the manor.
In East District Manor
Debbie left Curtis' car when they arrived at the manor gate. Tears welled up in her eyes at the sight of the familiar and magnificent gate.
Memories flooded her brain. She remembered the time when Carlos took her here for the first time and told her that was their home now. But everything changed in the blink of an eye.
A row of bodyguards stood in front of the gate, halting Curtis' car. There was no way he was going to get in without running them over. One of the bodyguards told him, "Sorry, Mr. Lu. Mr. James Huo told us that if Miss Nian is along, she comes in alone. The Huo family would like to have a word with her."
Debbie remembered how James forced her to sign the divorce agreement, so she thought going in alone was a terrible idea. She wouldn't be able to stop him from doing anything like that on her own. Shaking her head, she declared defiantly, "No way!"
"Miss Nian, this can go one of two ways. If you work with us, then you'll be able to say your last goodbyes to Mr. Huo. If not..." the bodyguard said.
Debbie panicked.
Known for his mild and gentle personality, Curtis rarely showed his anger. But now, he shot a cold glance at all these bodyguards and said firmly, "I'm going with her. Try and stop me!"
The bodyguard was baffled. His boss's orders didn't cover this situation. Rather than make the wrong choice, he hastily contacted James.
After ending the call, the bodyguard returned to them and said, "Begging your pardon, Mr. Lu. They want to see her alone. If she does that, she gets to see Mr. Huo one last time before the funeral. Otherwise, go away, and come back the day of the funeral."
James had become too bold. He even barred Curtis from going in.
Just then, the phone rang. It was Wesley. At last! Curtis let Wesley know what was going on, and he gathered a force together to meet them at the manor.
Less than thirty minutes later, a dozen military vehicles arrived at the manor gate.
Wesley quickly jumped out of the lead vehicle and ran up to Curtis. "So what the hell is going on? What happened to Carlos?"
Dozens of armed soldiers in uniforms disembarked from the other vehicles and lined up in three orderly rows, waiting for their leader's instructions.
"Carlos had a car accident. The Huo family has announced his death. But they want to talk to Debbie alone and won't let me go inside. Something's not right," Curtis explained simply. He looked at the bodyguards. They were visibly nervous, being confronted with armed soldiers.
Clenching his fists, Wesley ordered in a loud voice, "Ten-hut!"
"Sir!" all the soldiers behind him said in unison. They stiffened to attention, saluting their superior officer. When he saluted back, they dropped their hands to their sides.
"We're going to take this manor as ours! You have permission to engage!" Following Wesley's orders, the soldiers all dashed towards the bodyguards.