Chapter 3 The Rumored Lover's Grief-Stricken Statement

"......" Being pinned down by Diana, Alex was already frustrated, and now his anger flared up even more. He had half a mind to jump out of this body and punch someone. After a long silence, Diana swept her dark eyes over him. Her profile was cold and sharp, her voice chillingly low. "You're that happy about me becoming a widow?" The atmosphere instantly turned frigid, and not even the upbeat music playing on the phone could save it. Anna swayed slightly. "Isn't it... supposed to be a good thing?" That was the head of one of the top financial groups in the US, with a net worth of over 80 billion dollars! Even just a fraction of that wealth would be enough to make Anna laugh for three days and nights like a lottery winner, living a life of luxury where even going downstairs would require an elevator ride of dozens of floors. Diana closed her eyes briefly, a flash of ice-cold sharpness passing through them. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly. "Turn off the music." It was too noisy. Startled by her gaze, Anna abandoned her playful attitude and obediently paused the music. With the sudden silence, Diana took a shallow breath, slowly closing her eyes again, visibly more relaxed. Seeing that she was about to drift off to sleep again, Anna panicked and quickly brought up the real issue. "How can you still be in the mood to sleep? That Brown family woman is about to come after you!" Diana opened her eyes in a daze. "Who?" "Maya! Alex's rumored lover!" Seeing that Diana wasn't taking it seriously, Anna became even more anxious. "As soon as the news of Alex's accident came out, she made a big scene online. She's probably on her way back to the country right now!" The Brown family was a scholarly aristocracy, with generations of ancestors serving as officials in the emperor's court. Though most of them held idle positions, it was still enough for them to boast about. Their influence wasn't vast, but due to their deep historical heritage, they had managed to squeeze into New York City's upper circles. Alex and Maya had known each other since childhood, growing up together as childhood sweethearts, their backgrounds a perfect match. They were often described as a pair of talented and beautiful individuals, a match made in heaven. But then Alex had married Diana-a daughter of a mid-tier wealthy family, raised in the countryside. When the news broke, Maya had stormed into Alex's company in distress to confront him. Yet, she had left in tears, humiliated and devastated, eventually choosing to leave the US to pursue her career abroad. Some lamented that childhood sweethearts couldn't compete with a "fated encounter." More people, however, questioned the legitimacy of this marriage. Diana was deemed unworthy of Alex. Having gone missing as a child, she had no real connection to him, and their marriage couldn't possibly be based on love. Moreover, everyone knew about the internal struggles within the Smith family. At the time, Mr. Old Smith's health was deteriorating rapidly, and he wasn't expected to last much longer. Many speculated that Alex had been forced into this marriage due to pressure from his uncles, as Diana couldn't provide him with any strategic advantage. Hearing Maya's name, Diana's already troubled mood worsened. "Doesn't she have a fashion week coming up?" Maya's expertise was in painting, and she had moved to Avalorosa, a city renowned for its artistic atmosphere and fashion influence. Within a year, she had launched her own fashion line to great success. This led to the creation of her own brand, which was currently on the rise, making brand recognition crucial. "She doesn't rely on design to survive-that's just a hobby," Anna explained. "Maya has gained considerable fame abroad, and now she's leveraging Alex's death as a hot topic. Her post trended on Twitter shortly after going live." She sent over a screenshot of Maya's tweet. It had been posted just before 1,30 AM, less than ten minutes after news of Alex's accident broke. It was a long, sentimental post, filled with expressions of grief and sorrow. Diana skimmed through it-it was basically a dramatic declaration of how deep their bond had been, how devastated she was by his passing, a flood of overly affectionate words. But one particular sentence caught Diana's attention, "When he got married, I didn't want to put him in a difficult position, so I left the country alone. I never thought that because of that, I wouldn't get to see him one last time." A subtle way of implying that Alex had been forced into the marriage. Diana turned onto her side, resting half her face against a stuffed cotton doll, squinting as she scanned the comment section. When she remained silent for too long, Anna grew impatient. "She's ruining your marriage's reputation-aren't you going to do something?" Diana let out a disdainful chuckle. "He's already dead. How exactly is she going to ruin it?" Anna warned her, "Public opinion is powerful. Alex's accident has shaken the entire US. With Maya bringing up your marriage at this time, people will blame you for breaking up a loving couple. You might even get doxxed." Before, the criticism had only circulated among the elite circles, and even then, Diana had endured two full years of slander. Now that it had reached the general public, it would be much harder to contain. "Just suppress it," Diana said casually, half-closing her eyes. "You mean..." Anna started to ask, but Diana had already hung up. After some thought, Diana called Jackson, her voice already trembling with emotion. "Secretary Jackson... Alex worked so hard to maintain our marriage, and now that he's gone, someone is trying to destroy it..." Her soft, muffled sobs came through the phone, the weak electric hum making them sound even more fragile. She wasn't outright crying but was clearly struggling to hold back tears, barely containing herself. Jackson's heart softened immediately. "Madam, don't worry. I will take care of this matter as soon as possible." After offering a few more words of comfort, he personally contacted Twitter's management to reduce the visibility of Maya's post, effectively removing it from the trending list. Not stopping there, he also woke up the PR department manager in the middle of the night and had them release two tweets. One was an official obituary, while the other was a firm warning, *"The head of our financial group has passed away, and the entire Smith family is grieving his loss. We all deeply regret and respect this young and talented leader. The spread of this news has sparked widespread discussion, but we issue this warning, The deceased deserve respect. We urge all netizens to be cautious with their words, to mourn properly, and to refrain from making personal remarks about our leader. Do not exploit his death for personal narratives. Please maintain the basic decency owed to the departed. Lastly, may our leader rest in peace!"* They didn't name names, but everyone knew exactly who this was aimed at. The replies under Maya's tweet quickly shifted from condolences and shock over her relationship with Alex to skepticism and criticism. "He's dead, and you're still saying his marriage wasn't voluntary? What kind of mindset is that?" "They looked pretty happy together. Why are you claiming he didn't want to marry her?" "Even the Smith family has stepped in to make a statement. We know what you're up to. If you don't want trouble, delete the tweet." "Sis, I'm a master at this game too. I see right through your little tricks." With the tide turning, Diana arched an eyebrow, feeling much better. Watching the Twitter drama unfold, Anna sent a single message, "Didn't expect you to go for a direct confrontation." She had assumed Diana would handle things behind the scenes, but instead, Diana had masterfully redirected the public's outrage onto Maya.