Chapter 295 We Won!

• Tears streamed down Olivia Thomas’s face as she bit her red lips hard. A surge of bitter resentment swelled, like a tidal wave crashing over her. She’d staked her reputation, betting everything to take down Edward Raine in one shot. She wanted to vent her grandmother’s anger and win justice for the whole Raine family. And of course, that triumph would be a huge bargaining chip in her bid for the family head. But she never expected the grandmother who’d always spoiled her to say something like that. Her big-star identity, the entertainment clout she prided herself on—turns out, in her grandmother’s eyes, it wasn’t worth a dime. She was just another lowly actress. She also hadn’t expected Edward to kick up a storm against the tide and turn the whole thing around. The trending scandals were manufactured mud-slinging, but dragging in the Raine family? That was solid proof, no dodging it. One fake, one real, and together they hammered her so hard her scalp tingled and she couldn’t fight back. The Raine family’s face was everything. With Grandma personally stepping in to shut it down, it meant she’d lost—completely and utterly. “Grandma… I’m really so unwilling to accept this.” Her voice shook, thick with tears. On the phone, the old lady’s voice was cold as steel. “If you’re unwilling, then do the work. But if you stay stubborn and make the Raine family lose face, don’t blame me for being ruthless. And don’t think I’m just talking about acting—if you tarnish our name, I’ll strip you of your status as a Raine heir too.” “Grandma, this whole mess was started by Edward. He dragged the Raine family into it. Why do I have to suffer?” Olivia sobbed, her body trembling, still refusing to give up: “You care so much about the family’s reputation—but what about the family head? As head of the family, shouldn’t he care even more about our face?” Bam! “Olivia Thomas, are you ignoring my words now? You’re arrogant because you’re favored—don’t forget, that favor came from me!” The icy voice left no room to argue. Olivia fell into complete despair. She cried under her breath, “Okay… I—I’ll do as you say, Grandma…” She hung up. Olivia collapsed face-first on the bed and broke into wailing sobs. Her personality, her past, her status—she’d never endured a grievance like this, not once in her life. She’d gone all in, ready to risk it all, but never imagined it would end like this. For the Raine family’s reputation, she had to stop. It made her feel like she’d become a bargaining chip. But she didn’t dare defy the old lady. If she did, she’d lose more than she did today. Heavenly Villas. Edward Raine leaned back in the chair, exhausted, rubbing his aching nose bridge. He didn’t care about the media’s slant anymore. It was already moving the way he expected. He could ignore the Raine family’s face, and his father could do the same for him—but the old lady couldn’t. A woman who’d lived in the Raine family for close to a century, steeped in the habits of high society—no way she’d just throw it all away. Since she couldn’t sacrifice it, the battle of public opinion was already decided. Now, all that was left was for Olivia Thomas to lay down her arms. “Master Edward… we finally won.” Mr. Murphy let out a long breath. He’d been tracking the media trends the whole time. “Yeah, we won.” Edward closed his eyes, answering with relief, “I couldn’t have done it without you guys.” Mr. Murphy chuckled, relaxed. “All thanks to you, Master Edward. Even old Master and I didn’t think of something like this.” “It’s not much of a tactic. It’s just risking your own hide to drag the emperor off his throne.” Edward gave a wry smile. Even though he beat Olivia, his own reputation took a hit too. Honestly, he didn’t care that much about that part. What he really cared about was what Sylvia Graham thought—and what she’d suffered. A million strangers are nothing compared to one person. “When this settles, I need to explain to Sylvia properly,” Edward sighed softly. “She’s taken too much for me.” Time dripped by. Later, Clara Miller called, sounding way more relaxed than before. But the Zhang and Chu families hadn’t stopped. They planned to push the situation past the point of control, so Olivia Thomas couldn’t lift her head again. That was Clara’s idea. Edward didn’t object. In fact, he agreed. When Olivia schemed against him, she never thought about mercy. He wasn’t some saint. If someone goes for the kill, he’s not going to act virtuous and say “I’ll turn over a new leaf” after he wins, then walk away. When you deal with an enemy, you deal with them like an enemy. Olivia wasn’t straightforward like Thomas Raine and Tyler Raine. Now that he’d turned the tide, making sure she couldn’t stand back up was actually a good thing. Destroying an heir’s reputation isn’t the same as killing the heir. By the family rules, the Raines had no grounds to punish him for that. Night fell. The online clamor exploded to its peak. Olivia’s background kept getting exposed, and the whole internet went wild. Even her diehard fans were stunned. Her once-inspiring persona collapsed overnight. But it didn’t stop there. Under the deliberate guidance of the two entertainment giants, Zhang and Chu, wave after wave of paid commenters flooded every media channel, whipping up a storm: “Olivia Thomas, get out of the entertainment industry.” When that headline hit the major platforms, the weight on Edward’s heart finally dropped. Olivia Thomas… could no longer survive in the entertainment world. “Master Edward, check Twitter!” After dinner, Mr. Murphy rushed into Edward’s office, all excited. Edward opened Twitter and blinked in surprise. The trending topic about Olivia’s background had somehow slipped to second place. In its spot was Olivia’s apology. He tapped in. The trending post had text and images—and a video Olivia recorded herself. The video’s content made Edward wildly happy. In the clip, Olivia tearfully apologized, saying that night was actually a misunderstanding, then choking out that she was quitting the entertainment industry for good. Her exit was something Edward expected—and exactly what he wanted. But Olivia publicly calling that night a misunderstanding? That cleaned him of all suspicion. After all, this was the person involved—the “victim”—saying it herself. Even if bad actors still lurked online, they couldn’t keep spinning that story anymore. “Whew…” Edward exhaled hard, shot to his feet, and hurried out of the study with his phone. “Master Edward, where are you going?” Mr. Murphy was baffled. He’d brought the news to cheer Edward up. But Edward looked like he was in a mad rush, not happy at all. “I’m going to explain to Sylvia. With this video, I can finally ease her mind.” Edward lit up like a kid, stretching his sore back. “Tonight I can finally get a good night’s sleep—and not on the couch.”