"Let everyone see how the Lin family bullies and oppresses people. Now, everyone online is defending them. Let's show them the truth and see if their faces hurt." Luis said fiercely.
"Listening to Junsheng is the right thing to do." Mrs. Liu nodded in agreement.
Rhea, however, felt uneasy, "What if we push them too hard? Maybe we should..."
Before she could finish, Luis interrupted, "What are you blabbering about? Are you scared?"
Mrs. Liu glared at Rhea with dissatisfaction, "Listen to your brother. He's smart."
Rhea couldn't argue against her mother and brother, nor could she stop Luis from posting the video online. In less than five minutes, the video had been shared over ten thousand times.
Lin Family
Zuri reclined on a lounge chair in the courtyard, holding a coconut, sipping the sweet juice, her fingers lightly swiping through social media. When she saw the video Luis posted, she smiled.
As expected, they couldn't hold back!
The director of the PR department stood cautiously at Zuri's door and asked, "Second Miss, we did as you said. Now that they've exposed the video, it not only tarnishes the image of the Lin family but also implicates the companies that spoke up for you. If we don't do something soon, it won't be easy to explain to those companies."
Offending so many companies and executives at once, the Lin family was nearing its end.
Zuri took another sip of coconut juice, looked up, and with a cold gaze, said, "Wait."
"But..." The PR director hesitated, finally unable to hold back, "This might not be a good idea!"
Zuri sneered, "Not a good idea? Look at what your people have said and done here. That's what's not good! I'm curious, how did such a 'talent' get into the PR department and get sent out?"
The PR director felt his mouth dry and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"That employee has been dealt with seriously and put on unpaid leave."
Unpaid leave?!
Such a "talent" made such a grave mistake, and was only put on unpaid leave. It was evident that the Lin Corporation was already starting to rot from within.
No wonder in the past life, Aaron did whatever it took to push her out for financing, just to keep the Lin Corporation alive.
Zuri snorted coldly but said nothing more about the matter.
The PR director secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw she didn't object. For some reason, facing the Second Miss made him feel more pressured than facing the President Lin.
Every time he looked into her eyes, it felt like she could see through him, a feeling that was immensely stressful.
FX Venture Capital Headquarters
Nolan was reading one message after another, all from business partners and friends in the industry. Without even looking, he knew what they were after.
"These people are too impatient." Brayden laughed, "Your little friend is something else, clever and sharp. The people who crossed her this time are going to have a hard time."
"No matter how sharp, she's still young. As her lawyer, is it appropriate for you to be lounging here in the air conditioning?" Nolan said.
Brayden was taken aback, then laughed heartily, "Hearing that from you sounds so odd. Nineteen isn't that young. At that age, you were already preparing to start a company."
Nolan gave him a look, "If you have nothing to do, I have a few friends who are looking for you."
Brayden quickly stood up, "No, thanks! I'm going to check on that little girl right now."
As a professional translation team specializing in novel translation with 20 years of experience, fluency in both Chinese and English, and strong literary skills, our goal is to provide a draft that is faithful to the original text while reading smoothly and naturally in English. We pay particular attention to maintaining the original style and tone.
Here is the translated draft:
Just as he reached the doorway, Brayden suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at him with a suspicious and inquisitive gaze, "You seem to be paying an unusual amount of attention to that girl."
This was entirely out of character for him.
"Don't you think her eyes are beautiful?" Nolan suddenly asked.
They gave him a familiar feeling, as if there had been a pair of similar eyes watching him in the past.
Brayden's eyes widened, "You can't possibly be interested in her, can you? Don't forget, she's someone your brother has his eyes on."
Nolan shot him a cold glance and picked up his phone, his intentions clear.
Today, Brayden was being rather tactless and a bit of an eyesore.
Brayden quickly took his leave.
Hospital
Luis boasted, "See, listening to me was the right move. In just a short time, more and more people are donating. In an hour, we've received over a hundred thousand. Soon, I'll upload the sob story video, and the money will come pouring in."
Mrs. Liu followed with delight, "My son is so smart."
Luis smiled proudly.
Half an hour later, seeing the donations decreasing, Luis couldn't wait any longer and uploaded the sob story video. As expected, the money started flowing in.
The mother and son were overjoyed, but Rhea was unhappy. All the money was going into her brother's pocket, and she wasn't getting a cent.
"Son, look at this amount," Mrs. Liu was shocked by a sudden large donation.
Luis looked at the long string of zeros and excitedly counted, "Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousand, hundred thousand, two million."
Both Rhea and Mr. Liu on the bed widened their eyes.
"Let me see," Rhea rushed forward, squeezed between the mother and son, and looked at the donation amount, gasping in shock before her face lit up with joy.
The whole family was ecstatic.
"We're rich, we're rich. Son, we're rich, we're wealthy now," Mrs. Liu muttered excitedly.
Lin Family
The PR director carefully said, "As per your instructions, we transferred two million to them using an unrelated account."
"Yes."
Zuri responded, pressing the send button on her phone, sending out a prepared document and video evidence to social media.
"Buy trending spots for this post, keep it in the top three."
"Understood."
The PR director, already prepared, immediately got to work.
Five minutes after her post, Zuri's social media update soared to the top, becoming the headline of the day.
The public was waiting for the business tycoon to explain, but instead, they got Zuri dropping bombshells. In her post, the evidence chain was clear, with a complete video as proof and surveillance footage as supplementary evidence. It proved Nolan's statements were true and that Li Le was present throughout, deliberately twisting the facts and misleading everyone.
Moreover, Zuri released old receipts for school fees paid on behalf of the siblings, along with interviews from teachers, neighbors, and classmates as supporting evidence.
From disinterested bystanders to close neighbors and friends, combined with recordings of the Liu family's extortion, Zuri thoroughly exposed the Liu family as ingrates, manipulators, and fraudsters.
"Call the police in ten minutes and report the Liu family for fraud."
With over three million in funds and extortion charges, who knows how many years they would serve.
At the same time, the door to the hospital room was knocked, and a nurse walked in, handing a letter to the Liu family.
"What is this?" Mrs. Liu asked.
Luis opened the envelope, revealing a court summons.
"What does it say?" Mrs. Liu, who was illiterate, leaned in to look but couldn't understand a word.
"It's a court summons. Zuri is really suing us."
"She really sued us?" Mrs. Liu's eyes widened in disbelief.
Rhea cried out, "Mom, we're in trouble. Zuri presented evidence, we're done for."
The video and the chain of evidence were enough to utterly crush them, leaving them with no chance of winning.
Mother and son moved forward, watching the video together, hearing the neighbors' interviews, and seeing the receipts and other evidence.
The online support they had gained by playing the victim instantly vanished. The support they had once enjoyed turned into overwhelming hatred for their deceit.
[The Liu family is shameless. People like them should go to hell.]
[I can't believe it! How can anyone be so shameless? It was just a bowl of noodles, yet they repaid with servitude and then accused the benefactor of being ungrateful. This is infuriating.]
[Who's the ungrateful one here? Isn't it the Liu family? How thick-skinned must they be to say such things and play the victim in front of everyone?]
[If I were Zuri, I wouldn't give them a penny either. Do they think she's an ATM?]
[Greed will be their downfall. I used to feel sorry for them, but now I realize I was just naive and blind.]
[Gross, gross, gross... This is disgusting. How can such people exist? Heaven, take them away! They're polluting the air.]
[The saying "those who are pitiful must have something detestable about them" is spot on.]
The entire internet turned against the Liu family, their reputation completely ruined.
Social media influencers, eager to ride the wave, started digging into the Liu family's history. It was soon revealed that Mrs. Liu was an uneducated woman, Mr. Liu was an alcoholic and a gambler with no skills.
Of their two children, one was a studious and obedient child but adept at deception, and the other was spoiled by their parents, having dropped out of school early and doing nothing at home.
This time, the Liu family was truly panicking, even Mr. Liu, who could hardly speak on his hospital bed, was worried.
Mrs. Liu said, "What are we afraid of? We have money. As long as we have money, they can't do anything to us."
Luis nodded, "Mom's right. I need to transfer that money out quickly."
Rhea wasn't as optimistic. She had a feeling that Zuri's revenge had just begun, and more was yet to come.
"Damn it! Why can't I transfer the money?" Luis cursed.
"What's wrong, son?" Mrs. Liu asked anxiously.
"I can't transfer the money."
"Is there something wrong with the bank card? Try a different one," Mrs. Liu suggested.
Rhea's premonition grew stronger upon hearing this.
"Knock, knock, knock..."
The door to the hospital room was knocked again. This time, it was pushed open before anyone inside could respond. Several uniformed police officers entered the room, looking at the group.
"Who is Luis?" one of the officers asked.
Mrs. Liu instinctively stood in front of her son.
The officer's gaze accurately landed on Luis. "We received reports from the public. Luis, you are suspected of charity fraud involving a significant amount of money. We need to take you in for questioning."
Luis panicked and grabbed Mrs. Liu's hand, "It's not my fault! The charity donations were her idea. If you need to arrest someone, arrest her!" He pointed at Rhea, who was almost fuming with anger.
Mrs. Liu nodded along, "Yes, yes, our Junsheng is still young and doesn't understand these things. She did everything; it's not my son's fault."
"Mom!" Rhea couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was her mother really going to sacrifice her to save her son?
Lying in bed, Mr. Liu suddenly struggled to speak, "It's him, take... take him."
Mr. Liu pointed at Luis.
Mrs. Liu stared at her husband in shock, "Husband, what are you talking about?"
"Dad, how can you be so biased?" Luis was furious, glaring at his father.
Rhea's eyes reddened as she looked at her frail father, feeling a warm sense of gratitude.
The police officers looked at the family of four, expressionless due to their professional training.
"You both need to come with us," one officer said decisively, preparing to take both Luis and Rhea away for investigation.
Mrs. Liu blocked the officers, "If you take them away, will they be able to come back?"
"It depends on the investigation results. If found guilty, they will be detained," an officer replied.
"How long will they be detained?" Mrs. Liu asked.
"For an amount as large as over three million, if convicted, the sentence could be more than ten years," the officer said.
Luis's face turned pale at the thought of ten years in prison.
"My son is still so young," Mrs. Liu protested.
The officer coughed slightly, "Your son is an adult."
"Mom, I don't want to go to jail," Luis clung to Mrs. Liu's arm desperately.
Mrs. Liu, looking at the son she had doted on for over a decade, turned to the officers, "Please, let these two children go. They are still young and don't know any better. I am the one who instructed them to do everything. If you must arrest someone, arrest me."
Rhea spoke up, "This is your fault to begin with. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be in this situation. You went to the reporters and caused all this trouble. If anyone deserves to go to jail, it's you."
Luis nodded in agreement, "That's right. We only did what Mom told us to."
Hearing her daughter speak so harshly didn't hurt Mrs. Liu as much as her son's immediate betrayal, which left her heartbroken, though she couldn't blame him.
In the end, the police took all three of them away. Due to the unified statements from the three and Mr. Liu's agreement, all the charges were pinned on Mrs. Liu, leaving her to bear the brunt of the punishment alone.
Given the siblings' ages, they were released after a few days of detention. However, all the money they had was confiscated. Mr. Liu, unable to afford his hospital bills, was discharged and sent home. The family returned to their shabby residence in the western suburbs, dejected.
Upon arriving, they were greeted by the pointing fingers and disdainful comments of their neighbors.
Facing their poverty-stricken home, her brother's curses, her father's frail condition, and the hefty medical bills, Rhea saw nothing but darkness in her future.
"Ding dong..."
Her phone beeped, signaling a message from Windsor Academy.
[Due to Rhea's poor conduct and lack of virtue, which are incompatible with our school's standards, she is hereby expelled.]
With a clatter, her phone fell to the ground.
Rhea felt darkness encroaching on her vision.
This was Zuri's revenge, her relentless revenge.
She wanted to destroy them, to destroy her completely!
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