James' scandal spread like wildfire on the Internet. He was soon the name on everyone's lips as the gossip surrounding him was juicy. The head office and branch companies of ZL Group were swamped with calls. Carlos' fans and many media outlets were to blame.
All those calls were to petition the board to remove James and reinstate Carlos as the rightful CEO.
Those who knew what was really going on criticized James for snatching Carlos' position while he was in a coma. Carlos had been back to work for some time, but James still held onto the reins of power.
The PR department of ZL Group was having a hell of a time protecting the company's good name. The video of James' affair was already all over the Internet. X-rated material was strictly prohibited on the Internet. Good thing, or the person behind it would have uploaded the whole video. And they wouldn't bother pixelating it, either.
By the time Carlos got wind of it, it had already been shared to several different media sites. It had been online a whole five minutes. The scandal was spreading.
Carlos knew this wasn't normal, and someone had to be behind it. And that person's purpose was obvious—to ruin James.
After glancing over the news, he ordered Frankie in a calm voice, "Tear those articles down. I want that scandal quashed. Give fair warning to those online gossip rags. Whoever posts this again will have their credentials yanked and be banned from the Internet."
"Yes, Mr. Huo. But there's another issue. The phone lines are jammed with callers demanding an explanation. They want one from Mr. James Huo," Frankie reported honestly.
Carlos thought about it for a bit. Then, he said, "I see. I'll take care of it. In the meantime, find out who's behind this."
"Yes, Mr. Huo!" Frankie nodded and left to carry out Carlos' orders.
At the CEO's office
Bang! A teacup was thrown against the wall. It shattered, the shards skittering across the floor.
"That bitch! It must be Debbie Nian! Damn you! The arrogance?! You dare set me up?" James snarled in a fit of rage. At this point, he finally understood the woman came on to him that night was a trap, and Debbie was the one behind it. And he walked right into her clutches.
The assistant next to James was frightened, his face pale. He unbuttoned the top button, loosened his tie, and gulped. But he managed to collect himself and continued reporting to his boss, "Mr. Huo's already issued takedown notices. As soon as he got involved, it's started to die down. We haven't seen anyone ballsy enough to repost it. But the phone lines are still jammed. They want you to… give an explanation in person." 'Or more precisely, admit to the affair, ' the assistant thought to himself.
'Carlos has it handled?' James mused.
A few minutes later, he hurried to the general manager's office.
Carlos was talking on the phone with Tabitha. "Don't worry, Mom. We're all good here."
James entered hurriedly, knocking as he opened the door.
Carlos looked at him. The old man had worry written all over his face.
As soon as Carlos ended the call, James immediately launched into his spiel. "Carlos, I can explain. It was a trap—"
"So the news is true? You had an affair?" Carlos inquired in an icy-cold voice.
James plopped onto the sofa and scratched his hair with an anguished look. "Look, I was wrong. A moment of weakness, I admit. But…" He raised his head, his eyes bloodshot. "But I didn't mean to do it. Someone set me up. The woman in the video was hired by someone. I was drunk and that woman drugged me. Help me out, and help the company…"
His grief choked out his unfinished words. He looked really remorseful and helpless now.
Carlos moved his eyes away and asked, "You know her?"
"Who? The woman in the video? I never saw her before that night. Now I know why she was coming on to me. She was hired to ruin me! I think Debbie's behind it."
'Debbie?' Carlos frowned deeply.
"Yeah, it's got to be her! Three years ago, that vicious woman threw our family into turmoil. I kept warning you away from her, so she always resented me. Now she's taking her revenge," James said affirmatively.
"There's someone behind the scenes alright. But we don't know whether it's Debbie or not. At least not yet."
"Don't you trust me?"
.
"I only trust evidence and facts!"
His cold words made James' heart skip a beat. He wiped off the tears from his face, in a vain attempt to hide the panic in his eyes. "Carlos, I apologize to you and your mom. I've disgraced you. I'm holding an emergency meeting now and returning control of the company to you. Congrats, CEO. I don't deserve the title!"
As he finished speaking, he shot to his feet and made his way to the door.
"Dad!" Carlos stopped him.
James turned around to look at the calm man in the chair.
Feeling the overbearing aura from Carlos, James was suddenly terrified. Compared to his cries and agitated emotions, Carlos had been cool and composed the whole time. He now felt a huge gap between him and his so-called son. Carlos was able to keep a level head no matter what.
No wonder ZL Group was the top international enterprise under Carlos' leadership. He had the power and charisma to make it happen.
"Grow a spine, and admit what you did wrong. And I don't need you to return the CEO title to me. If I want it, I'll take it," Carlos said. He hadn't fully recovered yet, so he didn't want to put too much pressure on himself. Not before he was ready.
James replied with trembling lips, "I know you will. And I'll keep my end of it. But promise me, Carlos. Don't go easy on whoever put all this together." After a pause, he added, "Not for me, but for ZL Group. You know the stock price of our company has dropped sharply in the last hour. The loss is immense. Not just the loss of money, but also our image, reputation…"
James deliberately shifted the key points to the loss of the company. He knew Carlos, and the handsome businessman wouldn't be so willing to help now that James had hurt his mother.
But he knew Carlos wouldn't sit by and watch if the company was threatened.
Carlos didn't respond but lit a cigarette. After taking a drag, he said flatly, "I see."
James wanted to remind Carlos not to be cheated by Debbie again. He sensed the cold man had no interest in any more words, so James had no choice but to leave the general manager's office. He didn't want to annoy Carlos any further at this crucial time.
Left alone in the office, Carlos took out his cellphone and focused on a news article.
He kept reading and re-reading the final sentence of the article. "Carlos has nothing to do with James' scandal. A DNA report reveals they are not blood relatives."
Carlos clutched his phone tightly in anger. He had never taken such a DNA test. It must be Debbie who had done this secretly.
Even though she told him James wasn't his biological father, Carlos had never thought of taking a DNA test to prove it.
She crossed the line. She set a trap for James and exposed the Huo family's secret.
'She keeps messing with my life. I need to give her a good talking to, ' he thought.
The truth was, it was indeed Debbie who had the DNA test done. They hugged and slept a night at her bedroom last time, so it wasn't difficult to get a few strands of his hair.
