Sean tilted his head slightly, his gaze as sharp as a de. “That didn’t sound like a sincere apology.”

Tears instantly welled up in Carmen’s eyes. Cryingb, /bshe turned to Charlotte. “I was wrong, Miss Riley. I’m truly sorry. Please, I’m begging you. Let me make things right. I never should’ve ndered you or humiliated you in public. Please give me a chance to bfix /bthis.”

Charlotte’s eyes stayed cold. “Post a three–thousand–word publicpology on all your social media ounts. Pin it for one month. And pay me one hundred thousand dors for emotional damages.b” /b

Carmen’s face went pale, and her expression turned reluctant. “Miss Rileyb, /bI’ve got hundreds of thousands of followers. My entire iees from sponsorships and brand deals. If I post something like that, it’ll destroy everything I’ve built.”

“So you’re saying no?” Charlotte asked, her tone icy.

Carmen bit her lip, trying to look pitiful. “It’s not that I don’t want to. bIt’s /bjust… an apology like that would ruin meb. /bbYou’re /bbasically asking me to throw away my career.”

Someone in the crowd spoke up. “Miss Riley, her whole image online is that of a rich, educated woman who studied overseas.”

Charlotte didn’t even flinch. b“/bIf you don’t want to apologize that way, that’s fine.”

A flicker of hope shed in Carmen’s eyes. “Thank you, Miss Riley, I knew you’d-”

Before she could finish, Charlotte cut her off. “Then we’ll go through the legal systemb./bb” /b

Carmen froze on the spot.

Whispers broke out in the crowd.

“Miss Riley is actually being kind. If it were me, I’d humiliate her just like she did.”

“Kind?” someone else scoffed. “That was savage. She’s not just demanding an apology. She’s taking her entire career down with it.”

“Come on, that’s not permanent. You clearly don’t know how the inte works. People forget everything in a few days. And Carmen? She’s shameless. Once the drama dies downb, /bshe’ll be back online like nothing ever happened.”

“Exactly. The inte has no memory.”

Carmen’s eyes darted around nervously as she weighed her options. If this really went to court, and both the Jasper and Riley families got involved, it wouldn’t end with just an apology or some money. She might actually face jail time.

She had heard of ba /bcase where an influencer named Wendy Cooper ended up behind bars for defamation.

Compared to that, losing her online reputation didn’t seem so bad.

After a brief pause, she gritted her teeth. “Fine, Miss Riley. I’ll do it your way.”

Seeing that Charlotte seemed more reasonable than Sean, Thomas quickly stepped forward to apologize. “Miss Riley, I was wrong too. I’ll post a public apology on all my social media ounts and pay you two hundred thousand dors for emotional damages.”

Charlotte gave him a cold nce. “You?”

She hadn’t forgotten the outrageous things he said at the mall that day.

Just then, someone from Thomas’s own circle spoke up, clearly trying to win favor with Sean and Charlotte. “Miss Riley, Mr. Yasper, you really shouldn’t let Thomas off so easily. Just a few days ago, he was trying to track Miss Riley down. He even said

he’d ruin her once he found her.”

Sean’s expression darkened immediately.

Two bodyguards stepped forward without hesitation and pinned Tomas to the ground.

“I didn’t! This is all a misunderstanding!” Thomas shouted, his face pressed to the floor. “Miss Riley, Mr. Jasper, I swear–1 didn’t know who you were. If I’d known you were from the Riley family, I never would’ve said anything like that!”

Charlotte’s voice turned cold. “So what you’re saying is, it’s fine to insult people as long as they’re not from a powerful family?”

“No, that’s not what I meant!”

Someone in the crowd called out, “Yes, it is! Everyone in Sterling City knows Thomas is a spoiled brat who bullies people. Plenty of girls have suffered because of him.”

“Exactly. He only goes after people who can’t fight back. Don’t let him off easy.”

Charlotte looked down at him, her tone icy cold. “Is that true?”

“It’s not! They’re lying! They’re just trying to throw me under the bus!” Thomas shouted,pletely panicked.

Charlotte gave a faint smirk. “I’ll have someone look into it.”

At that moment, Sean’s phone rang. He nced at the screen and picked up the call.

“Sir,” said the voice on the other end, low and tense. “We just confirmed that Thomas Turner has been investigating Miss Riley. He even reached out to some very dangerous people. He gave them her photo and offered arge sum of money to have them‘ take care of her.‘ One of the gang leaders recognized her and immediately contacted us to warn you.”

There was a long pause. The man on the line seemed hesitant to continue.

Sean’s voice grew sharper. “Speak.”

The voice dropped to barely a whisper. “The gang leader said… Thomas asked for ten men topletely destroy her… then dump her into the sea… to feed the sharks.”

He only dared to mention a few key words, his tone shaking with fear. He knew if he repeated the full message, Sean might lose

all control.

Sean’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the phone tighter. His eyes locked onto Thomas, his stare cold and lethal like he was already looking at a dead man.

Thomas could feel the murderous intent radiating from Sean. A cold sweat broke out across his back, and his face turned even

paler.

Sean ended the call and barked an order to the bodyguards. “Throw him in.”

Those three words were enough to make Thomas’s legs buckle. His body went limp, drenched in sweat.

“Please, Mr. Jasper! I’m begging you!” he cried out.

A wave of gasps swept through the crowd.

The bodyguards didn’t hesitate. They grabbed Thomas and dragged him toward the deck.

Charlotte frowned and turned to Sean. “Who was on the phone just now?”

Sean gently pulled her into his arms. “It’s nothing. You’re safe now. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Meanwhile, out on the deck, the bodyguards reached the railing and tossed Thomas overboard like a piece of garbage.

His scream echoed across the open sea.

The noise was so loud that Megan heard it from upstairs. She rushed down in a panic.

Outside, a crowd had gathered by the railing, watching as Thomas iled in the water.

Megan pushed through the bystanders, her voice filled with concem. “What happened?”