Michael strode straight toward Susy.
For a brief second, Susy thought he was coming to help her up. Instead, Michael seized her by both shoulders and, with a sudden shove, sent her tumbling over the edge.
Splash!
Susy plunged into the icy ocean, surfacing just long enough to scream for help at the top of her lungs.
On deck, Niamh stood frozen in shock.
Had Michael really just pushed Susy overboard, right in front of everyone?
If Susy didn’t make it out alive, this would be blatant attempted murder.
Niamh sucked in a sharp breath, but Michael–the instigator–looked completely unfazed. In fact, he adjusted his gold–rimmed glasses and doubled over with laughter.
Within moments, the cruise ship’s rescue crew had Susy out of the water.
Soaked to the bone and shivering uncontrollably, Susy’s face was drained of all color. Her teeth chattered as she tried to catch her breath.
The commotion naturally drew a crowd of onlookers.
Peter rushed to Niamh’s side, concern written all over his face. “What happened? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. It was Susy–she fell into the sea.”
“What?!”
Peter’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Among the guests, a few recognized Susy, but instead of sympathy, their words were laced with mockery:
“Isn’t that the Fraser heiress? She got an invite, too?”
“No way… The Frasers can barely keep their own heads above water. Where’d they get the money to come to this auction?”
“I heard she only got in through the back door, begging people for loans.”
1/2
10.19
Chapter
“So what, she owed Mr. Burton money and he tossed her overboard?”
“No, no, I saw it myself–Susy tried to push Niamh first. Mr. Burton was just avenging his sweetheart!”
“So Susy got exactly what she deserved, didn’t she?”
“Absolutely! Couldn’t have happened to a nicer person.”
Susy was surrounded by the crowd, their fingers pointing and their words cutting, deep. Tears streamed down her face; she had never been humiliated like this in her entire life.
Niamh…
Susy’s reddened eyes burned with fury as she glared at Niamh.
This was all Niamh’s fault…
Niamh did this to her!
Meeting Susy’s blazing stare, Niamh simply shrugged, offered a wry little smile, and turned away.
Her next stop: the cruise ship’s security office.
The very next day, headlines all over the internet exploded with footage: “Neovista Realty Heiress Susy Attempts to Harm Rival.” The screenshots, clearly from security cameras, showed Susy reaching out to push Niamh.
The Fraser family, already teetering on the edge, was rocked by scandal. Their stock was delisted, and the banks immediately froze their credit lines.
Susy’s parents, who had pinned all their hopes on her networking at the charity gala, now watched in horror as things went from bad to worse.
“It’s not true! None of it’s true! I was the one pushed into the sea–I’m the victim!” Susy screamed into her phone, holed up in her bedroom.
But the online outrage only grew.
Digging through her past, people unearthed old scandals–like the time she’d accused Niamh of pawning off fake jewelry for her wedding.
As the president of the National Jewelers‘ Association and a famed designer, Niamh’s reputation was beyond reproach. No one was buying Susy’s story.
Now, Susy was the one being dragged through the mud by the same kind of online mob she’d once set loose on Niamh.
Chapter 445
“Wait, didn’t Susy once claim Niamh seduced her fiancé and ruined her wedding?”
“So where is her fiancé now?”
“Obviously just a business arrangement. Honestly, I bet Niamh was his true love all along. If not, why hasn’t he shown up or said a word in her defense?”
“Poetic justice, if you ask me. What goes around comes around.”
In her office, Niamh glanced at the trending topics and comments on her phone, then set it aside, unbothered.
