Chapter 291: No Way Out

Lucas’s voice was warm and steady, trying to ease her nerves. “I know this is hitting Stewart Group hard, but whatever it is—just say the word. I’ll help you.”

After hanging up, Summer tried calling Fraser again. The mechanical voice on the other end was cold and indifferent. “The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later.” She tightened her grip on the phone. Then she remembered—she had Mike’s number, Fraser’s assistant. She found it and dialed again. Busy signal. No answer.

All the tension she’d been holding in all day started to crack. Right then, the door to her office opened. Julia stepped in, clearly in a rush. “Summer, what the hell is going on online?” “Who’s that Philip guy? Why were you in a photo with him at some hotel?”

Summer stood up. “Mom, it’s a misunderstanding.” Julia looked at her, her face full of worry. “The whole city’s talking about this, and your reputation is basically ruined—what are we going to do?”

“I’ll handle it. I promise. You don’t need to worry.”

“What about Fraser? Shouldn’t he be stepping in to explain things?”

“He’s…on a business trip.”

“A business trip! Now!”

After she finally talked Julia down and got her to leave, Summer went right back to managing the chaos. No matter how hard the PR team worked to clarify things, the online heat kept growing—fueled by something bigger. It just kept climbing the charts, all the way to the top trending topics. The company felt like it was caught in a firestorm.

Once she wrapped up work for the evening, Summer tried Fraser’s number again. Still no answer. Then her phone on the desk started ringing. Her eyes lit up. But when she saw the name on the screen, a flicker of disappointment crossed her face. She picked up. Yvette’s furious voice burst through. “Summer, I saw all that garbage online—was it Sienna?”

Summer twirled a pen between her fingers and answered casually. “Yeah.” Yvette practically exploded. “That bitch! She really went that far! If I ever see her again, I’ll end her!”

“Are you okay? I’m coming back right now.”

“You don’t need to. You’re filming—coming back won’t help.”

“I don’t care. I need to be there for you!”

Summer smiled faintly. “Once I’ve dealt with this, you can stick to me all you want.”

Yvette paused. “Where the hell is Fraser? Shouldn’t he be the one shutting this down?”

She didn’t know yet that the mastermind behind it all was Madam Graham. “Don’t worry. I’m already trying to reach him.”

Chapter 291: No Way Out

“Ms. Summer—bad news!” Winston rushed into the office again. Summer looked up from her files. He was out of breath. “The former chairman’s remaining shares—Jasper and the rest—got sold to a foreign consortium. That group teamed up with Stewart Group’s senior board members. They say the scandal’s too damaging. They want you to step down. If not, they’ll block the company from continuing operations.”

Summer’s brows furrowed sharply. Haynes followed him in. “Ms. Summer, we need to move forward with the press conference. This isn’t just an attack on the company anymore—they’re targeting you.”

Summer clenched her pen. “Fine. Get the media ready. We’ll hold the press conference tomorrow.”

Haynes hesitated. “And your boyfriend…will he be attending?”

Summer looked down, eyelashes brushing her cheeks. She hadn’t been able to reach Fraser at all. “No. I’ll handle it alone.”

Haynes looked worried. Words alone wouldn’t be enough. Not when the whole internet was already drowning her in hate. But she still followed instructions and made the arrangements.

A little while later, Summer left her office and headed to the parking garage. She got into a black Maybach. Inside, Lucas sat waiting, his expression calm and kind. “Mr. Lucas,” she said softly. He handed her a folder with audio recordings and a USB drive. She accepted them carefully.

11:32 AM

Chapter 291: No Way Out

Lucas smiled, casual as ever. “Took a little effort, that’s all.” The truth was, his team had combed every inch of the hotel. The footage had, as expected, already been taken. But after staking the place out for almost two days, they finally found a lead.