CHAPTER 496: BACKSTABBERS COLLIDE

The reporters’ expressions shifted subtly.

Selina watched Amelia’s smug look and suddenly understood—

Amelia didn’t know about the livestream.

Normally, a shareholders’ meeting like this wouldn’t be broadcast live. Reporters would simply gather footage to edit later, deleting anything unfit to air. So as long as you bought off the reporters, the rest was handled.

But...

Selina blinked. "Mrs. Perry, are you sure that buying off the reporters is really all it takes?"

Amelia frowned. Who else was there? The Morris family, embarrassed after mistaking their daughter, wouldn’t publicize it. The Reid Group board and shareholders? A bigger scandal would only hurt them. As for actor Damien and Aiden? They listened to Selina—she could talk them down if needed.

The more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Just the reporters needed silencing.

Selina shook her head with a trace of mystery. "Mrs. Perry, you’re thinking too small. Reporters aren’t the only ones who know."

Owen suddenly realized something. Cold sweat beaded down his face, and his lips began to tremble.

He—he might have...

"Who else? Say it clearly!" Amelia snapped. But she noticed something wrong with Owen’s face. "Owen, what’s wrong with you?"

"Mom, I—I..."

"Owen, don’t be afraid! It’s just a minor thing—give those reporters some money. Ten thousand isn’t enough? Try fifty thousand. And Logan, this mess hurts your reputation too, doesn’t it? Be a good brother and help cover it."

Amelia sounded casual. In her mind, reputation was everything—of course Logan wouldn’t object.

But before Logan could say anything, Selina sighed with mock regret. "The problem is, there are just too many people to pay off."

"Selina, you’re doing this just to spite me!"

Amelia’s temper flared. "There are only a few dozen reporters! How is that too many? Logan, don’t tell me you won’t even do this for Owen!"

Selina let out a cold laugh. "Even if Logan was willing, and even if he had the money—he still couldn’t buy them all off."

She glanced at her phone. "Ninety million people. That’s the current livestream view count. Even Logan can’t buy off ninety million people."

Ninety million... what?

Amelia’s mind snapped to the one explanation. She shrieked, "Selina, what did you do?!"

Selina blinked innocently. "Why ask me, when you could ask Owen?"

Owen... what did this have to do with him?

Amelia clung to hope. "Owen, she’s bluffing, right? That whole ’ninety million viewers’ thing—she made it up, right?"

But Owen looked away.

A chill shot down Amelia’s spine. Her mind spun back over everything that had happened today.

She tried to buy off the board and force her son into power—but Logan was still elected.

She supported the fake Selina in smearing Logan—only for the imposter to be exposed.

And now... all of it had been watched by the public?

Ninety million?

Only one explanation made sense: a livestream. Damien’s massive fanbase must have brought in the numbers. It was all part of Selina’s plan.

Amelia screamed, "Who gave you permission to stream this?! Shareholder meetings are private! You broke the rules! You don’t deserve your shares!"

Logan’s voice turned cold. "If you’re going to throw a tantrum, Mrs. Perry, try aiming it at the right person."

Selina added sweetly, "The livestream wasn’t my idea. Like I said—if you’ve got time to blame me, maybe ask your darling son."

Owen hung his head and said nothing. "I didn’t, Mom... I didn’t..."

Amelia froze, her whole body rigid. A mix of frustration, anger, and betrayal flickered across her face. "Owen, you... you... you started a livestream and didn’t tell me?!"

If she’d known, she wouldn’t have been humiliated like this!

Panicked, Owen blurted out the first excuse that came to mind: "It was the fake Selina! She told me to! It was her idea!"

Amelia instantly lunged at the imposter. "You bitch! I’ll kill you!"

The fake Selina shrank back behind Joe, playing the weak and terrified victim. Joe instinctively stepped forward. "Mrs. Perry, enough already! You’re the one who tried to frame your own son, and now you’re blaming everyone else? What kind of mother does that?"

Amelia snapped. Her voice rose. "Joe, you’ve got a lot of nerve judging me! Weren’t you the one who believed in that imposter so blindly that you helped frame your real daughter? You’re in no position to look down on me!"

Joe flushed deep red. "I— I was tricked..."

The two of them quickly started yelling and clawing at each other, looking absolutely ridiculous.

Logan looked away in disgust and gave Jack a subtle signal. Jack nodded and motioned to the security team. Soon, uniformed guards stepped in.

"All unrelated individuals, please leave the premises."

Amelia and the entire Morris family were thrown out. What had started as a carefully orchestrated conspiracy collapsed into farce. Amelia and Owen’s attempted coup turned into a public joke, and the imposter had been exposed.

The chaos dominated headlines across entertainment, finance, and news platforms for three straight days.

...

Thirty minutes later, the Reid Group building had finally quieted. Reporters had dispersed.

Someone sighed in relief. "It’s finally over."

Logan gave a nod. "Thanks, everyone. You can go now."

Once the room had cleared out, Selina looked over, curious. "What happened to the imposter?"

Logan’s gaze was unreadable. "She left with the Morris family."

Selina was genuinely shocked. Joe had been humiliated—yet he still took the imposter back with him?

She puffed out her cheeks. "What if she pretends to be me again someday?"

They couldn’t go around proving her identity over and over.

Logan’s eyes glinted, tone layered. "She’ll probably have a new identity soon."

Selina blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Why else do you think Joe took her back?"

Selina went quiet. "It’s not what I think it is, right..."

"It’s exactly what you think," Logan said. Then he changed the subject. "We’re not going back to Sapphire Valley Villa tonight."

"Huh?" Selina was caught off guard. "Why not? Then where are we going?"

Logan explained calmly, "The villa’s under renovation."

Every item the imposter had touched, every room she’d stayed in—he’d ordered it all gutted. Even the master bedroom was being redone.

He paused, then looked at her meaningfully. "So, Mrs. Reid... I’m technically homeless. Mind taking me in?"

Selina blinked, her tone teasing. "Homeless, huh?"

"Yup. Can’t go to the villa. Can’t go back to the Reid estate. You’re all I’ve got."

She was about to remind him of his dozens of other properties... but then a thought struck her.