Chapter 315
“That’s absolute nonsense!” Mara snapped. “I just arrived in Aethelgard last night. When would I have possibly been with Owen p>
Honestly, if she actually had the chance to get close to Owen, would she have waited this long to come to the city? She would have replaced Mira ages ago.
Everyone in the room was momentarily stunned by Quinn’s outburst. Before they could even process it, Quinn pressed her attack.
“She’s a liar, Lawrence! I saw her with my own two eyes the day before yesterday. She was with Owen, and they were acting extremely intimate p>
Lawrence frowned, thoroughly confused. He turned to the assistant who had handled Mara’s travel arrangements.
“Did you arrange her pickup straight from Melvion City p>
“Yes, Mr. Lance,” the assistant confirmed, looking bewildered. “I’m absolutely certain. I booked her flight myself p>
Lawrence’s cold gaze snapped back to Quinn.
“When and where exactly did you see her with Owen p>
He needed to get to the bottom of this. If Owen was secretly maneuvering against
him, he couldn’t afford to be caught off guard.
“The evening before last,” Quinn answered, her eyes darting nervously.
“In the courtyard of The Grand Sovereign p>
She lowered her head, suddenly looking sheepish. She didn’t want to admit that she had been stalking Owen at the time.
“She’s talking completely out of her mind. We were still in Melvion City the day before yesterday,” Mara defended herself hotly.
Who was this crazy woman anyway? Mara had literally just arrived, and some stranger was already aggressively trying to frame her.
Norman immediately stepped forward. “Mr. Lance, I am the Mercer family butler. We did indeed just arrive. Miss Mercer has never set foot in Aethelgard before this p>
Desperate, Quinn latched onto Lawrence’s arm, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. “Lawrence, I swear I’m not lying to you p>
Looking at the woman clinging to him, Mara finally realized exactly why she was being targeted.
“You’re just jealous that Mr. Lance invited me here, so you’re making up these insane lies to sabotage me!” Mara accused.
Mara recognized the tactic immediately—it was the exact same playbook she had used for years to sabotage Mira out of pure, venomous jealousy.
Lawrence watched the exchange, the pieces finally falling into place. These two women were viciously fighting over him. A wave of smug satisfaction washed over him.
*Good,* he thought. *Women blinded by jealousy are infinitely easier to control.* But he still needed the facts straight.
“The woman you saw at The Grand Sovereign,” he directed at Quinn. “What was her name p>
“Well, isn’t it her?” Quinn pointed an accusatory finger at Mara. “I distinctly heard someone call her Mira p>
“Get out. Just get out,” Lawrence sighed, waving a dismissive hand at Quinn.
“Why am I the one being kicked out?!” Quinn shrieked, glaring at Mara. “Why does she get to stay p>
Lawrence couldn’t even be bothered to answer her. He shot a look at Zachary, silently ordering him to explain reality to this idiot.
“This is Mara Mercer,” Zachary stated flatly. “Not Mira. You have the wrong person.” Quinn’s eyes widened in sheer horror.
Norman stepped in to clarify. “They are biological sisters. There is a strong
resemblance. Owen Lance is Mira’s senior from her university days, but Mara here does not know him at all p>
Thoroughly humiliated, Quinn was finally dragged out of the room by her frantic assistants.
With the distraction gone, Mara settled onto the sofa, ready to strategize with Lawrence on exactly how to destroy Owen and Mira.
Within hours, gossip forums and private chat groups across
Aethelgard were exploding with vile rumors about Mira. The fabricated
stories detailed how vicious and cruel she was, how she sadistically bullied her sweet sister, and how her own parents were forced to kick her out of the house.
Mara played the role of the tragic, abused victim flawlessly. With a small army of paid trolls amplifying the narrative with gross exaggerations, the rumors spread like wildfire.
The trolls also tried to push a
narrative that Owen had been kicked out of the Lance family in disgrace But the cute circles of Aethelgard already knew the truth: Owen had walked away on his own terms, refusing to associate with their
corruption.
Their ultimate goal was to completely annihilate Mira’s character, thereby tanking Solflare Entertainment’s highly anticipated concert.
Sitting in the Solflare office, Mira scrolled through her phone and sighed. “I really thought they would have come up with a new strategy by now. But nope, same tired old playbook p>
Owen shook his head, a look of utter contempt crossing his face. “My half-brother has never been capable of anything more than this p>
Lawrence had had absolutely zero vision. He didn’t understand how to actually run a tech empire or steer a company’s macro strategy. Instead, he spent all his time orchestrating petty, vindictive smear campaigns like a reality TV villain.
They both decided to completely ignore the noise, letting the rumors fester and
reach a boiling point online for a full twenty-four hours.
People everywhere loved scandalous gossip. It gave them a twisted sense of moral superiority to jump into the comments, pass judgment, and hurl vicious insults at strangers.