Chapter 30
Liz nodded. “Yeah, Naomi. I have a court hearing this afternoon, so I’m going to prep my materials now.”
“Alright. Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
All morning, news of Zac’s affair with Xena continued to dominate social media. Aside from the wave of insults aimed at them, another topic was starting to trend-rumors that Zac might actually be the illegitimate son of the Lincoln Corporation’s CEO.
Despite the buzz, most of the theories were based on vague clues and guesswork. No one had come forward with any real
evidence.
At the law firm, a colleague couldn’t resist asking Liz if the rumor was true. Liz calmly replied that she wasn’t sure. If the colleague was that curious, she could ask Zac herself.
After that cold reply, no one mentioned Zac around her again.
Right before lunch, all online discussions about Zac being the Lincoln Corporation’s CEO’s illegitimate son suddenly disappeared. Even direct searches brought up unrelated content.
Meanwhile, the cheating scandal with Xena exploded with even more details. Public outrage shifted back in full force toward Zac and Xena, and the topic began trending even higher.
In the Lincoln Corporation CEO’s office, the secretary knocked and stepped inside.
“Mr. Lincoln, all online chatter about the company and your personal connection to Mr. Zac Lincoln has been removed. With the platform’s help, the public’s focus is back on the affair.”
The man behind the desk wore a navy suit. His features bore a clear resemblance to Zac’s-roughly 60 to 70 percent. Though he was well into his fifties and fine lines creased the corners of his eyes, traces of the striking looks from his youth still remained.
He gave a calm nod, his expression unreadable. “What’s the update from the hospital?”
“Ms. Green has regained consciousness,” the secretary replied. “The doctors say it was a fainting spell brought on by emotional stress. She should be able to go home in a few days with some rest.”
“Good. I don’t want any of this mess tying Lincoln Corporation or me to it.”
“Understood, Mr. Lincoln.”
The secretary nodded and wisely kept her mouth shut about whether they should also suppress the Zac and Xena scandal.
After all, in David Lincoln’s eyes, Zac had never truly been his son. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have allowed details of the affair to leak just to bury the rumors about Zac being his illegitimate son.
*
Meanwhile, at the far end of the hospital corridor, Zac stood by the window with his phone in hand, silently staring out at the city.
“Mr. Lincoln,” Chase said carefully, “the Lincoln Corporation released a bunch of details about your relationship with Xena to shift focus away from the rumors about your father being their CEO. They even leaked photos of you two kissing. Now the internet’s exploding, and our company’s reputation is taking a serious hit.”
Zac let out a cold, humorless laugh. None of it surprised him.
1/2
Chapter 30
“Understood.”
“What do you want us to do next?”
“Pay to have the story buried. If he can throw money at it to make it disappear, so can 1.”
Scandals like this never lasted. Give it a month, and no one would even remember.
“Got it. I’ll handle it. Also, after you left last night, things got chaotic at the office. A few shareholders have already asked when you’re coming back.”
Zac’s expression remained unmoved. “Let them wait. I could use the time off.”
Those shareholders were always hovering, ready to criticize every decision he made. This was the perfect moment to remind them who really held the company together. Without him, it was nothing but a scattered mess, incapable of getting anything
done.
Over the next few days, Voyager Tech poured significant resources into scrubbing the internet clean. Even Liz’s viral post was eventually taken down by the platform.
2/2
