Taken By My Fiancé's Uncle - Chapter 148: Chapter 148

The three girls stepped into the palatial stone manor.
Shirin was like a kid in a candy store, touching everything in sight. She exclaimed, "This place is an oasis of tranquility right in the city. Who knew such luxury existed here!"
In recent years, property prices in Auretian had soared. Most people's yearly salary could barely buy 11 square feet of a home. This palatial stone manor was truly grand; the small garden outside alone spanned over 2,000 square feet.
"This is Eugene's villa," Sheila said, stopping Shirin from touching anything.
Shirin asked, "Must've cost a fortune, huh? A place like this would easily go for nine figures these days."
"Money is the last thing Eugene would ever worry about," Sheila said dismissively.
Lorraine was busy cooking alone in the kitchen. She peeked out, showing half her face, and called, "Help yourselves to whatever you want. There's fruit on the coffee table and ice cream in the freezer." Then she returned to cooking.
Shirin winked playfully and teased, "Look at Lorraine. Doesn't she just have that perfect lady-of-the-house vibe?"
Sheila said, "Just wait till her dishes are served. Don't go crying and begging her to let you off before you've even tried them. Taste first, then give your verdict."
Shirin turned her head, her round cheeks flushing pink. She said, "I'll eat anything!"
Sheila shot Shirin a glare and thought, 'I hate people who can eat like a horse and never gain a pound.'
Suddenly, Shirin said, "What's that noise?" She bent down, looking around. Then, she exclaimed, "Oh, it's my phone."
Sheila was speechless.
Shirin casually pulled her phone from her pocket and tapped open the class group chat on WhatsApp. The next moment, her face abruptly paled. She stammered, "Sheila, you, come look at this."
"Don't be so jumpy," Sheila said as she walked over and took Shirin's phone. After reading the link, Sheila also lost her composure.
It was a Twitter link, packed with photos and explicitly naming Lorraine. The post read: [Auretian University student allegedly raped during internship, rumored to have become a rich man's plaything and mistress.]
The post blew up on the university forum, instantly becoming the hottest topic on campus.
Sheila's mind went blank with shock. She checked the post again and found it rocketed to the top of Twitter's trending list. She also noticed that the tweet was posted by Woody.
"What should we do, Sheila?" Shirin asked. She was completely at a loss. She'd led a sheltered, privileged life. She had never possibly been prepared for something like this.
Twitter was flooded with internet trolls stirring up drama, saying things like: [These days, all female college students are morally corrupt, just selling themselves for money.]
Someone even unearthed Lorraine's student ID photo online. It was hard proof that she was an Auretian University student.
Neither Sheila nor Shirin could stay calm. They paced anxiously back and forth across the room, their nerves stretched to the breaking point.
Shirin lowered her voice anxiously and asked, "What should we do? Should we tell Lorraine about this?"
Sheila retorted, "How could we possibly keep something this big under wraps? This is about Lorraine's reputation. The university probably already knows. How could we possibly hide it? And keeping this from her will only make things worse."
Before they could come up with a solution, Lorraine's phone on the table suddenly rang. It was Ethan calling.
Sheila glanced toward the kitchen and answered the phone. She said, "This is Sheila."
Ethan was aback to hear Sheila answer the phone. He asked politely, "Sheila, is Lorraine available?"
Sheila replied, "She's occupied at the moment and can't take your call. I'll have her call you back later."
Ethan said, "Alright, tell her to call me back immediately. This can't wait. It's an urgent matter concerning her."
He thought, 'If this drags on any longer, the university board will hold me accountable for incompetence. My position will be in serious jeopardy.'
"Alright," Sheila said dismissively, though inwardly she sneered. She hung up abruptly. She said to Shirin with a pale face, "The university already knows about the Twitter scandal now."
Shirin was fuming as she clicked into the university forum again. She snapped, "So what if they know? Lorraine never did anything like that. Bring it on. Why is the whole forum already flooded with internet trolls?"
Sheila couldn't decide if Shirin was hopelessly naive or just plain clueless. She thought, 'What does the truth even matter in something like this?
'The internet has already erupted into chaos. Hiding behind their screens and anonymous accounts, people spew the most vile comments imaginable. As an Auretian University student, Lorraine, in the eyes of the university, is simply dragging their name through the mud.
'When public outrage becomes unstoppable, not even the combined influence of the Moore family and the Stuard family may be enough to save Lorraine.'
Sheila raked her fingers through her hair in frustration and slumped onto the couch, feeling utterly defeated. Her mind raced, desperately searching for a solution.
Shirin glanced nervously at Sheila and said, "Sheila, why did Ethan call? Do you think the school is going to get Lorraine in trouble?"
Sheila sneered, "Trouble? After all this, Lorraine is the victim here. What right do they have to give her hell?"
Shirin hesitated and asked, "So, what will they do?"
Sheila said, "They'll just hypocritically summon Lorraine back for a sham investigation. Even if none of it is true, to protect those pedantic scholars' so-called reputation, they'll make sure Lorraine gets quietly expunged from Auretian University's rolls."
Shirin gasped, "Is it really that scary?"
Sheila said, "There are things far worse than this."
Although Sheila had been well-sheltered by her parents since childhood, the steady stream of guests at family dinners and her daily interactions with friends inevitably let her in on a thing or two about the realities of the world.
She understood that some things might look glamorous on the surface, but behind the scenes, the dirty secrets were beyond counting.
"What should we do now?" Shirin asked. She had just tried reaching out to have some of the rumors down, but the incident had already gone viral. There was no stopping it now.
Since the tweet used Lorraine's real name and included photos, the internet mob went berserk, making her their punching bag to vent all their pent-up frustrations about society.
They didn't care whether Lorraine was innocent or not. They only believed in the so-called "facts" they had conjured up in their minds. The waves of abuse just kept coming. They were impossible to delete, impossible to stop.
Just as the two were deep in worry, Lorraine came out carrying a bowl of soup. "What's going on with you two? Come eat," she called.
Shirin jumped off the couch and threw her arms around Lorraine. She said, "You gotta stay strong, Lorraine."
Lorraine quickly set the soup down on the table, looking utterly bewildered. "But I am strong," she said. She thought, 'If I hadn't been strong, I would've been beaten to death by the Shaw family long ago. How could I have survived till now?'
Sheila gave Shirin an exasperated look, barely suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. She stepped forward, pulled Shirin aside, and handed Lorraine her phone. She said, "See for yourself."
Sheila thought, 'There's no hiding this from her. She should find out sooner rather than later. At least she'll be prepared.'
Looking puzzled, Lorraine took back her phone and swiped to unlock the screen. By the time she finished reading, she swayed slightly, pressing her lips together as her eyes glazed over.
Shirin called out anxiously, "Lorraine? Please, say something!"
Lorraine didn't know what to say. She stared at those photos and captions, feeling bewildered. She thought, 'They made everything sound so real, as if every word was backed by irrefutable proof. How could people be this cruel?'
Lorraine recalled Sheila mentioning Woody a couple of times back on the mountain, but she never imagined that after three years as classmates, Woody would go this far to smear her. The thought sent a chill down her heart.
Lorraine slowly sat down, clutching her phone. She muttered, "Does being weak just make you an easy target?"
She recalled the time when she was with the Shaw family. She endured Elsie's bullying, Raquel's verbal abuse, and Zackery's physical beatings. In the Moore family, Stephen always looked down on her, and his parents just used her for their gain.
At school, few of her classmates truly respected her, which was why people now feel free to shamelessly smear her name.
Sheila knelt before Lorraine and gripped her hands tightly. She said, "Weak? What nonsense! You used to be alone, but look at you now, you've got me right here!"
"Me too!" Shirin exclaimed as she threw herself forward and grabbed both their hands.
"And don't forget, Eugene's got your back now," Sheila said, her tone full of encouragement.
Lorraine's hands ached slightly from their tight grip as she gazed at them, dazed and lost. She thought, 'Do I have Eugene now? And I have them.' A faint sense of comfort washed over her.
Lorraine's hands gradually tightened around theirs in return, though she still seemed lost. "Then, what should we do?" she asked softly.
Feeling Lorraine squeezed her hand back, Sheila was a bit relieved. She stood up, grabbed her bag from the couch, and slung it over her shoulder. She looked at Shirin and said firmly, "Shirin, stay here with Lorraine. I'm heading home to get help."
Sheila planned to ask Matthew for help. She thought, 'If that doesn't work, I will swallow my pride and beg anyone who could help. All those social connections I have cultivated over the years aren't for nothing.'
At this critical moment, for Lorraine's sake, Sheila was ready to go all out. She'd spare no effort.
Shirin also stood up and wrapped her arms around Lorraine. She said, "Lorraine, why don't you grab a bite first? You'll need your strength to figure this out. Food first. Even if the sky falls, you need a full stomach to be a hero, right?"
Shirin ran to the kitchen and dished out two servings of pasta. She thrust one plate into Lorraine's hand and said, "Eat!"
Lorraine held the plate and said, "Let me make a call first."
"Okay," Shirin replied.
Lorraine immediately called Eugene. But his phone was off. Lorraine frowned, clutching her phone in a daze. She muttered, "Why would his phone be off?"
Shirin said, "Maybe his battery died? Didn't you say he was super busy this morning? Don't overthink it."
Then, she fished out the plumpest chicken leg, the one she'd been eyeing, and dropped it onto Lorraine's plate. She said, "Eat first. After this, I'll go with you to find him, okay?"
Meanwhile, at a five-star hotel in Auretian, inside the presidential suite, Ian sliced into the medium-rare steak before him with practiced elegance. The meat glistened with a hint of pink, looking exquisitely tender and mouthwatering.
The assistant hovered nervously at the door, torn about whether to enter. He thought, 'Everyone knows that disturbing Mr. Pedler during meals or private time is forbidden. But this time, things are different.' He hesitated, unable to make up his mind.
Ian tossed his fork aside and snapped, "Come in. What are you hovering by the door for? You're ruining my appetite!"
The assistant trembled as he presented the iPad with both hands, stammering, "It's about Ms. Shaw. Something happened to her. It's quite serious."