Chapter 78

Rodger drew Violet close, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Forgive me. I didn't mean to sound harsh.I only worry about you too much," he murmured.

"I understand. I don't blame you," Violet whispered back, her voice trembling with emotion.

A shadow passed through Rodger's eyes, sharpening with a glint of cruelty. "I'll see to it that Emilia pays for this."

Inside, Violet's heart fluttered with quiet triumph. With just a handful of carefully chosen words, she could steer the Mitchell brothers into doing her bidding.

Her lips curved into a mask of tenderness as she said softly,"It's really not Emilia's fault..."

Before she could say another word, Rodger silenced her with a kiss, swallowing her protest.

The following morning, Emilia was awakened by urgent pounding on her door.

Half-asleep, she stumbled to open it, only to hear Sloane's frantic voice spill out before she could even focus.

"We've got a serious problem."

Rubbing her tired eyes, Emilia frowned. "And what's so dire it has you in a panic this early?"

Sloane tugged her by the arm and pulled her out onto the balcony, then pointed below. "Take a look."

Blinking against the morning light, Emilia peered down-then the sleep drained right out of her.

Good grief. The street was packed with people, a restless sea of faces, and several of them were holding cameras.

One of the crowd caught sight of her and shouted,"Upothere! That's her!" Emilia jerked Sloane back inside and yanked the curtains shut with a snap.

Had her secret as Cloudstrider-the undefeated figure of online gaming-been exposed? Or had someone discovered she was the viral singing sensation blowing up the internet?

How had the apartment building suddenly become so crowded overnight? And judging by the way they kept looking around, there was no doubt-they were here because of her.

"What's happening? Did someone uncover my hidden identity?" Emilia asked, turning wide-eyed to Sloane.

"Not even close," Sloane groaned, rolling her eyes with exasperation. "They're not here to cheer you on.They came to cause trouble."

"All these people, just to come after me? What crime could I possibly have committed?" Emilia racked her brain, bewildered, trying to recall anything that might warrant this madness.

Whenever disaster struck, Emilia was always one of the first to send help and organize relief. She had also put her money into building several schools.

"Someone filmed you schooling Violet yesterday without your knowledge and uploaded it," Sloane said."The clip went viral, and once people started fanning those flames, everything blew up."

Sloane scrolled through the trending searches and news headlines to show her. "This is insane. Trash-talking you online wasn't enough, so they tracked you down. Someone even leaked your address,and now they're all gathered to confront you."

With each sentence, Sloane grew more furious, itching to drag the hidden instigator into the open and give them a piece of her mind. "Do not read the comments. They are vicious and cruel, and they are dragging your family into it."

The attacks did not stop at Emilia; her family was being smeared, and Sloane herself faced harsh criticism simply for being associated.

They claimed that anyone close to Emilia was guilty by association and deserved to be pulled down with her.

Online mobs were being rallied to unmask whoever backed Emilia, hungry for the spectacle of a public downfall.

Because Emilia had acted so brazenly in their eyes, the crowd insisted she should be ready to face the consequences.