Chapter 290: Firestorm

After saying that, Summer walked out of the conference room. The executives looked around at each other.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Why didn’t Ms. Summer deny it?”

“Does that mean the pregnancy is real? And the stuff about her and that married man, Philip, is true too? Are we even supposed to keep running Stewart Group’s stores after this?”

“She said she’d give us an explanation. Don’t jump to conclusions.”

All across the Stewart Group offices, whispers filled the halls.

“Ms. Summer’s really pregnant? Must be three or four months by now, but her figure’s still so slim—can’t even tell.”

“That’s not the point. The point is: who’s the father? People online are saying it’s Philip. That guy’s in his forties, looks creepy as hell, and he’s married with kids. He doesn’t deserve someone like Ms. Summer.”

“If that’s true, and she really broke up someone’s family? Our whole company’s reputation is toast.”

Just then, the conference room door opened. Everyone immediately stopped gossiping and returned to their desks like nothing had happened. Summer walked past, but then paused. She turned around and looked at them.

“If gossip helps boost your performance, be my guest. If not, then starting today, I don’t want to hear a single rumor in this company.”

Back in her office, Summer sat down with her brows tightly furrowed. Haynes, the PR director, was someone she’d worked closely with back when they were both just employees. They’d been good colleagues, and now Haynes was the company’s crisis-handling expert. That’s why Summer had asked her to come in.

Haynes gave Summer a brief glance—just a flick toward her stomach before looking away.

“Ms. Summer, I need to ask you two things. You have to be honest, or I can’t manage this crisis properly.”

Summer didn’t even let her finish the question.

“I’m pregnant,” she said calmly. “But the baby has nothing to do with Philip.”

Haynes steadied herself and immediately started thinking through the situation.

“This kind of massive public attack—it had to come from someone with real power. Someone influential, someone ruthless. I think you already know who it might be.”

Summer said nothing.

“But for now,” Haynes continued, “our top priority is dealing with this scandal. If we don’t, public pressure will bury Stewart Group.”

Summer leaned back in her chair and looked out the window, her expression sharp and focused.

“I know.”

She glanced at her phone. Fraser was out of the country. And someone had taken the chance to make their move. That prenatal report had gone missing the day she ran into Sienna. And the hotel incident—Sienna had set it up, tried to send her right into Philip’s hands. So Sienna was definitely behind this. But Sienna didn’t have the money or the influence to pull off something this massive. Which meant she’d found someone who did. There was only one person who made sense: Helen Graham.

Haynes, meanwhile, was quietly relieved. She’d been bracing for the worst—that the baby really was Philip’s. If that had been true, there’d be no salvaging Summer’s image. She would’ve been branded a homewrecker for life, and nothing could’ve spun that clean.

“Since it’s not Philip,” Haynes said, “then here’s the best option: hold a press conference. Announce the engagement. Let the child’s father speak for you publicly.”

She looked at Summer.

Summer thought for a moment.

“Set up the press conference. I’ll take care of the rest.”

After Haynes left, Summer moved to the sofa and sat down, feeling suddenly tired. She picked up her phone, hesitated for a second, then got ready to call Fraser. Before she could, Lucas’s name lit up on the screen.

She answered. “Mr. Lucas.”

Lucas’s voice came through the line, calm and warm as ever.

“I saw the rumors online. Is there anything I can do?”

“I can handle it myself,” she said.

“I was there at the hotel that night. If you need a witness, I can testify.”

Summer didn’t respond. He would be a strong witness. But ever since she found out how he felt about her, she didn’t want to lean on him too much.

“Please don’t shut me out,” Lucas said gently. “Let me help. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Summer paused.

“Then I’ll ask you this. Can you check if the hotel surveillance still has footage from that night? I know there’s a good chance it’s already been wiped.”

“I’ll take care of it,” he said.

She was about to hang up when Lucas added, “Summer?”

“Yeah?”