Chapter 202

Aubree had agreed to Bowen’s invitation. This year, she’d spend Christmas with him and Alvin in Shiyvania.

Unlike some employers, she didn’t believe in overworking her staff. Most of Bree Technology’s employees were already on holiday, leaving only a handful of executives to wrap up final tasks.

Christmas was just around the corner.

Aubree glanced at the calendar and summoned Vincent. “Any progress on the Rosepoly investigation?”

“We’ve got everything we need.” Vincent’s recent focus had been digging into Rosepoly. Just as in her previous life, the company had been embroiled in scandal, but the Wilsons had swiftly buried it, throwing money at anyone who might talk.

Vincent had gathered evidence and tracked down the victims’ families. “Emery’s managing Rosepoly now. The man who fell to his death was Logan Berry, a migrant worker who came to Rithol City with his wife, barely scraping by. After his death, his wife took the hush money and ran off with their son, leaving their teenage daughter to care for her grandparents in a poor village.”

Emery was truly calculating. He paid off Logan’s wife to keep her quiet, and the remaining family – a child and elderly grandparents – would be too poor and powerless to fight back.

Aubree knew that most of her earlier attempts had already been neutralized by the Wilson Group. She never really expected those mixed truths and rumors to inflict any real damage. Their purpose was to divert the Wilsons’ attention so she could better investigate the matter.

“One more thing,” Vincent added. “Anthony, Rosepoly’s former director, was demoted. He’s furious. He claims the Wilsons betrayed him after all his years of service.”

“Alright, got it.” Aubree dismissed him, keeping the evidence.

Aubree let out a cold chuckle as she scanned the meticulously documented incidents on the papers.

Once, she’d never have believed Emery would brush off a death so callously, punishing the responsible party with nothing more than a demotion.

In her eyes, Emery had always been principled. On the esports stage, he’d been brilliant, relentless, and authentic.

She remembered how he’d refused to leverage his family name early in his career, grinding his way from the bench to the top through sheer skill.

During her first five years with the Wilson family, she deeply admired Emery. He was the only one in the family who achieved success on his own, without relying on the family’s influence.

Back then, she looked up to Emery as her role model and vowed that one day she’d carve out a path of her own.

Now? The memory made her sick.

Maybe he’d never been the man she thought. Or maybe power had rotted him.

The moment he’d rigged matches to manipulate her, the old Emery was gone.

He had become utterly selfish, a man who would stoop to anything for his own gain.

If Rosepoly could ignore a death, what other filth lay hidden?

But Aubree wasn’t rushing to expose it. Sometimes, the best way to reveal rot was to poke a hole and let the stench out on its own.

Aubree pulled out her phone and gave the order. “Take a team to find Logan’s parents and daughter. Convince them to testify against Rosepoly, then leak everything to the press.”

This scandal would be her Christmas gift to the Wilsons.

“Aubree, I forgot to mention earlier about MindDrift. Just as you predicted, problems are starting to emerge.”

Vincent suddenly returned.

Aubree pocketed her phone and nodded.

When MindDrift first launched, she’d traced it back to Carmen. The platform’s predatory “PK battles” were a disaster waiting to happen.

After discovering that Carmen was behind it, Aubree not only didn’t stop her but even secretly encouraged the trend.

She’d wanted to see how Carmen would handle the fallout.

“The punishments for PK challenges on Mind Drift have gotten completely out of hand. Many streamers push boundaries just to get their ‘big spenders’ to support them. Some even end up in the hospital. Our team has been tracking this, and others are starting to take notice of MindDrift too.”

“They want to launder money!”

Vincent Sloan had to admit, he was almost impressed by the founder of Mind Drift. On one hand, she seemed reckless, yet she’d devised such a profitable scheme. On the other hand, how could she be so blind to the risks?

“Don’t interfere. Keep watching and wait for them to crash. Focus on the Wilson Group. If they show any interest in MindDrift, report to me immediately.” Someone like Carmen only cared about profit. As long as the money kept coming, she wouldn’t care about the consequences.

But Ronald and his people would surely recognize the dangers. There was no way she’d let MindDrift thrive.

“Also, contact Magnus. Tell him I’d like to invite him to dinner.”

The Wilson Residence.

Ever since Alice met Aubree, she hadn’t been herself.

In the living room, Carmen was the only one home, watching TV. When she noticed Alice coming downstairs, she asked, “Mom, are you feeling okay? You’ve seemed off lately.”

Alice’s eyes were unfocused, her mind wandering. When she saw Carmen, she forced a weak smile. “I’m fine, sweetheart.”

Carmen took a bite of fruit. “Oh, by the way, Mom, is Aubree coming with us for Christmas?”

The question seemed casual, but it struck a nerve. Alice suddenly grabbed Carmen’s wrist hard. Carmen winced in pain, dropping the fruit.

“Mom! That hurts!”

Alice seemed not to hear her and asked, “Carmen, how’s MindDrift been doing lately?”

Carmen pulled her hand free and immediately perked up with pride. “Don’t you trust me? Profits are soaring. Dad even said that after Christmas, once he’s discussed it with the shareholders, he’ll invest in MindDrift.”

Alice said, “Is that so? You have to prove yourself, Carmen. If you need money, just ask me. You must do better than Aubree, understand?”

As Alice spoke, she grew increasingly agitated.

Carmen didn’t notice Alice’s odd behavior. She was too busy worrying about her own problems. Lately, some of MindDrift’s earnings seemed questionable. But she didn’t want to dig deeper. She didn’t know where the money came from, so it wasn’t her responsibility, right?

Right now, her priority was making sure her father forgot about Aubree for good. The Wilson family only needed one daughter – her.

As for Bryan and Emery, she’d find a way to win them back.

And if she couldn’t? Carmen’s expression darkened. If she secured enough shares in the Wilson Group, it wouldn’t matter whether they liked her or not.