Ariel froze at those words. With people nearby, she stayed silent and followed Chad upstairs to their floor.

    By the time they got to her office, Janice had hurried over after hearing the news. She panted heavily as she looked at Ariel. “What’s going on? How did they suddenly publish an article like that?”

    Ariel was looking down at the article disyed on the tablet.

    Chad’s face was tight with frustration. “It came out of nowhere. We had no idea this article wasing.

    Who else knows what really happened back then?”

    Ariel scanned the article carefully. It used her of using underhanded tactics to seduce Jayson and imed she had staged a scandal by inviting reporters into their room to photograph them together.

    In short, it painted her as a shameless woman who had trapped Jayson into marriage.

    “There were quite a few people,” Ariel murmured, brows knitted.

    Back then, for the Sanderson Group’s benefit, Morgan had taken advantage of the Larkins‘ long–standing friendship with the Walkers. His eagerness for profit had driven him to extremes.

    He had arranged for several reporters to be present, then immediately informed Betty and pressured the Larkins to take responsibility. Because Jeffrey and Timothy were once warrades, Betty had begun urging Jayson to marry Ariel.

    Morgan’s intention was clear–he wanted to back Jayson into a corner, leaving him no way to refuse.

    The situation at the time had beenplicated. Ariel, who was one of the pawns in the setup, had remainedrgely in the dark about the full truth.

    If she thought about it carefully, only a select few knew what had really happened that day. Besides, Jayson had managed to contain the fallout. The reporters involved had all disappeared afterward, and

    the details were buried.

    “Who would do something like this? They’re vile!” Janice fumed. “That was years ago, and you two are already divorced. What’s their goal? How shameless can someone get?”

    Ariel had just begun to enjoy recognition for her work. People admired the rare genius who excelled in her field. Whoever leaked this information clearly intended to destroy her reputation. How would the public see her now?

    Those who once respected her might turn against her. She was being cast as an ambitious schemer willing to do anything to achieve her goals.

    Ariel furrowed her brows. She and Jayson were divorced, and she could simply ignore the gossip. But this rumor would likely spread beyond control.

    What was more, she was scheduled to begin her research at the military base next month. The timing of this scandal felt deliberate. 1

    “I think you should talk to Jayson about how to handle this,” Chad said. After all, they were the ones being discussed in the article.

    Ariel shared his opinion. She then tapped the tablet and opened thements section.

    “They’ve been married for years, yet they were childless. Now we know why. Under those circumstances, it’d be a miracle if Mr. Larkin ever let her carry his child.” (1

    “She did that? I’m starting to question if they’ve been exaggerating her talents. Did she use dirty tricks to get ahead too?”

    “Her aplishments are fabricated. She’spletely immoral.”

    Those were the first fewments.

    The first one stood out sharply, cutting deeper than the rest. Even Ariel found herself unable to ignore it.

    Noticing Ariel’s grim expression, Janice moved closer. She nced at the tablet before yanking it from

    Ariel’s hands and shutting it off.

    “What do these people even know? They should really watch what they’re saying!”

    Ariel noticed that many people werementing on that issue. People criticized her for not having

    children during her marriage to Jayson, despite their years of marriage, which they twisted into further

    proof” of the rumor.

    The timing of this leak was almost too perfect.

    With Ariel under the public spotlight, the criticism was only going to intensify.

    b“/bYou need to figure out how to solve this,” Chad advised grimly. “There are plenty of people jealous of your sess. And not everyone in the research or academicmunity ys fair. Some will stab you in

    the back the first chance they get.”

    Chad understood that all too well.