Chapter 320
At that moment, the entire narrative surrounding Sharon shifted-so did the public’s perception of Carter. Completely.
However, some fans who shipped Carter and Kelly previously were stubborn as ever. They refused to back down.
“Carter being cold to Sharon just proves how deeply he loves Kelly! Would you rather him be one of those guys who’s nice to everyone?” (1
Someone shot back immediately, “Are you serious? Sharon isn’t just some random person. She’s his wife. The mother of his child. He needs permission from his mistress to treat his own wife decently? Is your brain broken?” 1
“Our goddess Kelly is not the mistress! Sharon’s the one who forced her way into this relationship!”
“Oh, right, right. Sure. Your ‘pure and innocent’ goddess isn’t a mistress-she’s just the woman walking around in public with a married man. How saintly of her.” 1
When Kelly’s fans realized they were losing ground, they scrambled to shift the narrative.
“Fine! Carter being trash has nothing to do with Kelly! She’s a victim too, okay? He tricked her just like everyone else.”
Meanwhile, the entertainment reporters who’d been circling Sharon like vultures earlier were now pale, practically choking on their own words.
The instructions they’d received were simple: bring Sharon down-fast. No one told them there was this much buried under the
surface.
This… this was a disaster.
One of the more stubborn tabloid reporters, desperate to salvage something, snapped, “Even if your money’s legit, you’re still under investigation. If you’re innocent, why are the police here?”
Off to the side, the officers, who’d been quietly watching this circus unfold, exchanged uneasy looks. They were starting to piece together the bigger picture from the surrounding chatter, and none of it was looking good.
“Captain McGarrett,” one of them muttered, “Sharon already donated every cent in her accounts to charity. Freezing them now … seems kinda pointless, doesn’t it?”
Another chimed in, “And the auction items have already been donated to the National Museum. If we try to confiscate those… well, the museum’s definitely not handing them over.”
A third officer added, “Publicly announcing donations like this… if it turns out to be fraud, yeah, that’s a crime. But she’s already proven the funds are clean. Going after the donations now would piss off the charities and the national museum.”
“And the public won’t stand for it…” someone else murmured.
The tension among the officers was palpable.
On paper, they had a formal complaint-Sharon allegedly leaked trade secrets and committed financial crimes. Which meant her assets should be frozen. Standard procedure. 1
But she’d moved faster than anyone expected. The money was already gone-donated. The items, too.
So now what? Stand on the wrong side of a woman who’d just become a public hero? Go against the entire crowd watching this
unfold live?
They’d be eaten alive.
Sharon turned her gaze toward the reporter who’d just spoken.
Chapter 320
Her lips curved into a quiet, almost imperceptible smile.
Something about the way her eyes settled on him made the man’s stomach flip. A bad feeling lodged itself in his chest.
His mind raced back, realizing with growing dread that from the moment this all started, Sharon had calmly deflected every question, every attack. And each time, she’d backed her answers with undeniable proof-proof a thousand times more convincing than their baseless accusations.
Proof that would’ve never survived online-any hint of it would’ve been wiped out in seconds.
But this wasn’t the internet. There were still cameras rolling. Livestreams running.
And suddenly, the reporter felt it-this wasn’t just some spontaneous media scrum.
This was a press conference.
No. It was worse than that.
A press conference could be suppressed, censored, and wiped clean.
This? This was happening live.
