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Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Summer smiled contemptuously.
After seeing all those reporters at the front gate, the first thing that came to her mind was Annie’s group. So, she used her phone to create something fun through coding right away. Then, she sent her creation, which was disguised as an email about a luxury brand’s latest products, to those girls.
The first person who clicked and opened the email was Becca.
Summer did not try to go through Becca’s stuff to dig up her secrets. She simply wanted to confirm that these girls were responsible for the reporters stopping her at school that day.
After that, Summer copied several videos saved on Becca’s phone and sent them to dozens of media agencies by using an anonymous email address.
By the time she had finished doing all of that, the car was slowly entering the Hartford residence’s garage.
“Thanks for your hard work, Mr. Cohen. I’ll call Grandpa and tell him I won’t be going over tonight. You can get some rest now.”
Summer got out of the car and waved at Robin cheerfully.
Robin nodded absentmindedly. He was still muttering inwardly about how fascinating the changes that came along when one turned 18 years old were.
At Hartford Manor, Rose was waiting anxiously for Summer to return.
It felt like her WhatsApp account was about to explode at any moment that day. Countless people sent her messages, but they were not asking about that incident anymore.
“Rose, has Summer gone mad? She got rough with Annie in the classroom today!”
“Rose, are there two Summer Hartfords living in your house? A completely different Summer came to school today and thoroughly punished Annie and her gang!”
!
“Are you feeling better these days, Rose? Well… I just wanted to know where Summer got her plastic surgery done. Her facial features were impeccable. Moreover, there aren’t any visible signs of plastic surgery.
“Can you tell me,
me, please? It’s almost summer break, and a friend of mine wants to get her. plastic surgery done at the same clinic.”
As compared to those who sent her private messages, their class‘ group chat, which was usually lively, was eerily silent today. Other than the teachers leaving their homework links in the group chat, no one else tried to initiate a conversation.
Chapter 30
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Rose was momentarily stunned.
Putting aside the stories of Summer looking prettier now, how could she possibly dare stand up against Annie at school? Hearing Annie’s name used to scare her endlessly, after all.
It was about time Summer reached the manor. Rose decided to wait for her in the living room as she was running out of patience.
Just as she came downstairs, Rose heard Kristen’s voice.
“She’s not coming to the manor tonight? Will she be alright staying home by herself?”
“Phoebe is heading there now,” Henry replied. “Kristen, I keep getting this feeling that Summer is keeping certain things to herself.”
“She does… seem a little different recently,” Kristen responded in a low voice.
At that moment, Luke came rushing into the room. He seldom acted this way since he was usually a slow person.
“What’s wrong?” Kristen felt a little nervous.
Luke fumbled to turn on the TV and said, “Robin said Summer accepted an interview at her school’s front gates. They’re playing the clip on the news right now!”
“What?” Henry’s eyes rounded in shock.
“Since you claim that the public needs a proper response, I’ll offer one officially, then.
“There’s something I want to tell the so–called public you’ve brought up. For those going through something awful like that, your act of spreading the materials and making derisive comments about them would be equivalent to you hurting the victim a second time.
“Please remember. No matter the circumstances and who they may be, the victims are definitely not the ones at fault.”
By the time they turned on the TV, the clip had been playing for quite some time. They happened to see the part where Summer gave her final response.
Henry, Luke, and Kristen were extremely worried and agitated at first. Yet, they were all stunned as they watched Summer, who had a clear, determined look in her eyes, speak some very powerful words on the screen.
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Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Rose stood on the steps and gaped at the TV screen, on which the clip had been paused. Summer looked beautiful, poised, and commanding on screen, but it was such an unfamiliar sight to Rose.
How could this be the same Summer she’d always manipulated and toyed with?
After a brief moment of dazedness, anger and terror washed over her. She was in such a dire situation, yet Summer was stomping all over her suffering and putting on such a show before the reporters.
No wonder she hadn’t had the nerve to return to Hartford Manor last night–she didn’t have the nerve to face Rose after the things she’d done!
“Rewind the clip now. I want to see what happened earlier!” Henry urged after returning to his senses.
Luke also snapped to his senses and grabbed the remote, rewinding the clip.
Henry, Luke, and Kristen were thoroughly stunned after seeing how Summer had spoken to the reporters.
“Am I seeing things, Dad? Was that Summer who rebuked the reporters with the cameras rolling?” Luke asked dazedlý.
“Of course! Would anyone else be as pretty and adorable as her?” Henry cried. He sounded beyond proud of Summer.
Even Kristen, who rarely reacted to anything that had to do with Summer, couldn’t help smiling faintly at the sight of Summer rebuking the reporters emotionlessly.
The Hartfords‘ reactions further aggravated Rose. She clenched her jaw tightly before turning and heading back upstairs.
Rose’s video had garnered a lot of attention online, so Summer’s interview soon shot to the top of several websites‘ trending topics.
She hadn’t said much during the interview, and there were many media outlets present. Aside from the few that constantly criticized her, there were also reputable ones. And so, after the interview footage was shared online, the public mostly got to see the full interview. Only a small portion saw videos that had been taken out of context.
Once the interview footage went live, the online community got into a heated discussion over the secondary victimization of victims.
That was just what humans were like. Everyone instinctively shied away from being grouped with those who bullied the weak. Naturally, the public opinion was overwhelmingly in Summer’s favor.
“Why didn’t I ever notice how cool Ms. Hartford is?”
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“She looks really refreshing and easy on the eyes today. You should stop dressing like a fashion terrorist, little lady!”
“That second reporter’s question is hilarious. Ms. Hartford did a good job rebuking him!” “Protect the victim’s privacy. Preventing secondary dissemination starts with ourselves!” Anthony had also seen the videos of Summer’s interview. He’d already realized that she was no longer the same coward she used to be after their brief encounter yesterday. She’d looked classy and beautiful–she was the perfect embodiment of what he expected the heiress of an affluent family to be like.
He was even more delighted after watching the videos. He felt like the Summer he’d gotten to know from Rose’s descriptions had been overly vilified–she was the perfect wife he’d always looked forward to having! On the contrary, Rose was becoming increasingly despicable after revealing her true colors.
Anthony’s resolution to win Summer over was initially due to his experience of the luxuries a genuinely affluent family could afford. But now, after getting insight into what Summer was really like, he was even more determined to have her.
