Chapter 219
Isabella stood frozen, utterly shocked by Leo’s words.
She had always believed that Leo deeply loved her.
For that love, she even gave up on Ben, planning to spend her life with Leo.
But who could have imagined Leo’s true nature to be so horrifying?
“You…”
Slap!
Leo was expressionless and slapped Isabella again. “You what? You wretched woman, either return all the money lost in this project to me or resolve this situation. If you can’t fix this, I’ll sue you and Marc for commercial fraud!”
Leo threatened.
Commercial fraud?
The accusation of commercial fraud sent a shiver through Isabella. She almost thought Leo had discovered her secret financial dealings.
However, she calmed down, realizing it was likely just an empty threat.
Otherwise, he would have been even more enraged.
Gathering her wits, Isabella replied, “Leo, don’t panic. Just give me some time, I will turn the public opinion around.”
“You better be quick,” Leo said coldly.
Watching Leo’s behavior, Isabella regretted her decisions. She realized she had gotten in way over her head.
Clenching her teeth, she made a call to her family, who were still unaware of her marriage to Leo.
She had always planned to reveal her achievements before confessing her marriage, but now, instead of achievements, she faced a multitude of problems.
Isabella, out of options, vaguely explained to her parents about her marriage and starting a company.
“Dad, Mom, right now Storm Group has hired a bunch of trolls to falsely accuse me. I’m on the brink of utter ruin. Only you can help me now. If you don’t, I might as well be dead,” Isabella cried on the phone.
Her parents were shocked to hear about her situation.
Despite their astonishment, they couldn’t bear to see their only daughter suffer and agreed to help her this one
1/5
time.
Armed with her parents‘ funds, Isabella attempted to sway public opinion.
“There must be something fishy between Storm Group and Azure Sea, right? If the truth was that simple, why didn’t Azure Sea explain earlier and wait for days?”
She instructed the trolls to obscure the fact about the original novel and instead, spun the issue into a conspiracy
theory.
This initially had some effect.
But soon, Azure Sea responded.
[The trolls‘ comments are laughable. I didn’t reveal certain things earlier because I didn’t want to appear pitiful. But since you all clamor for the truth, here it is. A year ago, I was diagnosed with severe depression and have been struggling with it ever since. Recently, my condition worsened, I was bedridden and couldn’t even get up. When
Storm Group purchased the rights, I explicitly asked them not to promote my novel or reveal my identity. I knew
how outstanding the game would be and how much fame the novel would receive if publicized. But I wanted none of it. I just wanted peace. Ms. Miller, as known as Mrs. Landor, who handled the rights negotiation, fully respected my wishes and promised not to reveal any information about the novel or the author unless I agreed.
[Ms. Miller’s respectful attitude was a great comfort. So, I agreed to the collaboration.
[But I never imagined she would keep her promise to this extent.
[Despite the uproar online these past few days, she didn’t use the novel to clarify things. I know she was protecting
1. me.
[I am once again grateful to Ms. Miller and Storm Group for all their help.
[The game is indeed adapted from my novel, there is no doubt about that.
[As to why I am only responding now, it is due to my personal weakness.
[But now, I am willing to stand up for Ms. Miller and Storm Group.
[I am ready to take full legal responsibility for my statement.]
Azure Sea then attached a diagnosis certificate for depression, confirming it was from a year ago, as claimed.
This time, the netizens were both angry and remorseful.
The truth of the matter turned out to be so different from what they had thought.
Their anger stemmed from the fact that Leo and Isabella, as a couple, had plagiarized someone else’s work and yet had the audacity to accuse Susan of plagiarism, which was utterly shameless.
2/5
dd MMF
The remorse was because of Azure Sea, who already suffered from depression, and they almost became the final straw that broke her.
Consequently, Azure Sea’s tweet was flooded with messages of apology and encouragement.
As for Leo’s tweet….
It had become utterly unreadable.
Minutes later, Storm Group’s official account, along with Ben and Susan, shared Azure Sea’s post, offering her support and encouragement.
Azure Sea didn’t respond to anyone except for Susan, to whom she sent a smiley face.
Susan, seeing this smile, felt a warmth in her heart.
Actually, Susan hadn’t expected Azure Sea to come forward, knowing her aversion to fame when they negotiated.
From the beginning, Susan had no intention of disclosing Azure Sea’s pen name or the original novel. Content © NôvelDrama.Org.
Knowing that Isabella had the ability to foresee events, she and Ben were well–prepared.
Before initiating the game project, Susan had already started the script adaptation.
Once the script was ready, she immediately registered the patent.
The date of this registration was even earlier than when Isabella claimed to have started writing the script.
Ben and Susan had been waiting for the right moment to reveal their evidence.
Unexpectedly, Azure Sea herself stepped forward, which only made their case stronger.
This time, the effect was even better.
Leo and Isabella became utterly disgraced, akin to rats crossing the street that everyone shouts at.
From now on, it’s likely that no matter what they say, the netizens will never believe them.
Conversely, whatever negative news might arise about Ben and Susan in the future, the public probably won’t
believe it either.
“Depression?” Isabella, looking at this turnaround, murmured in a frightened tone, “Impossible, this must be a lie.”
She wanted to continue mobilizing her trolls, but to her shock, the leader of the trolls bluntly hung up her call.
“Miss Smith
“Miss Smith, you should have a conscience.”
3/5
J
JMM
Frustrated, Isabella threw her phone away, biting her lip. “There must be a way, there has to be a way to turn this around,” she thought.
But no matter how she looked at it, her future seemed bleak and dark.
Left with no other choice, she called her parents, tearfully recounting the events.
This time, however, even her parents had no solution.
Her mother even used this opportunity to urge her to divorce and return home.
Return home in such a defeated state?
The idea filled Isabella with pain.
She was not ready to give up. She couldn’t accept her fate.
At this point, she didn’t even know why she was unwilling to give up.
Was she unwilling to accept that, despite being reborn, she ended up worse off than in her previous life?
Or was it the fr
was it the frustration of not achieving anything despite her foreknowledge?
As Isabella wallowed in her despair and unwillingness to accept her fate, the door suddenly opened.
Leo entered the room, his face clouded with anger.
Isabella tried to muster a smile, “Leo, listen to me…”
Before she could finish, Leo slapped her hard across the face.
Isabella hadn’t even recovered when she was bombarded with a series of punches and kicks.
“Wretch, why did I ever marry someone like you?” Leo raged, his expression crazed. “I just went to the company to check the accounts! Marc confessed everything. What exactly is your relationship with him, joining hands to embezzle my company’s funds?”
He continued his assault.
Isabella was kicked so severely that she coughed up blood.