Chapter 209
“Dad, what’s wrong?” Carmen asked nervously.
Ronald shot her a disapproving look. “Where are you going? I told everyone to stay home unless necessary.”
The family had planned a Christmas getaway to a hot spring island, but with the Rosepoly crisis, they needed to wrap up loose ends first.
After the Rosepoly Group incident, Alice, Daxton, and Trevor were all away from home, having been advised to stay out for a while longer to avoid being hounded by reporters upon their return.
At home, both Carmen and the household staff had been warned to be wary of reporters’ persistent questioning.
“MindDrift has…” Carmen bit her tongue. She’d been about to mention the death of a MindDrift streamer, but stopped herself. With Ronald already swamped by Rosepoly’s collapse, adding her crisis would be pouring gasoline on the fire. She quickly changed her tone. “A financial publication invited me for an interview.”
Ronald, too distracted to question it, waved a hand. “Take bodyguards. And come straight back. The last thing we need is more media trouble.”
Ronald snapped, “Don’t dawdle–just come straight back. If reporters spot you, it’ll only stir up more trouble.”
Carmen felt deeply wronged, but she really didn’t dare to speak up.
She kept her eyes down, afraid her panic might betray her. “Understood,” she murmured.
Ronald paid her no mind. To Ronald, Carmen’s only use now was not making things worse.
Outside, Carmen’s face was pale, her thoughts in turmoil. Her claim about going for an interview wasn’t entirely false. A financial publication had noticed the buzz around her and Aubree’s adoptive sister relationship and wanted to capitalize on it by creating a “genius sisters” narrative.
But her immediate dread was that there’d been a death on MindDrift!
A MindDrift host with preexisting health issues had collapsed after an extreme punishment during a livestream PK. Though they’d logged off immediately, it was too late.
But the streamer was still gone.
For now, the fans hadn’t noticed, but sooner or later, that streamer’s fans would notice something’s wrong.
Carmen thought anxiously, “What if it gets out? I’m totally screwed! What should I do?”
“Miss Miller, thank you for your time. That concludes today’s interview.”
Aubree nodded politely. “You’ve worked hard.”
“Miss Miller, you may rest backstage for now. We’ll arrange for a staff member to escort you out shortly.
“I’d appreciate that.”
This was Aubree’s last task before Christmas.
Aubree stretched lazily as she followed the staff member. The Rosepoly Group situation was on the brink, just one final push remained. As for Carmen well, let her enjoy her little moment for now.
Carmen had some tricks up her sleeve in her previous life. She was still a bit green in high school, but college had polished her into a cunning operator.
But this time, Carmen hadn’t had the same smooth ride. And Aubree wasn’t the same pushover she’d been.
Carmen was clearly getting desperate now. After suffering repeated setbacks, instead of laying low and rebuilding her image, she was stubbornly fighting in areas she had no expertise in.
Without the Wilson family’s backing, she wouldn’t even have succeeded in launching MindDrift in the first place. God knows where she got the audacity to think she could make it on her own.
After removing her makeup and resting backstage, Aubree was about to leave when she overheard another interview in progress. She remarked casually, “Wow, you guys are still this busy with Christmas coming up.”
Aubree casually made small talk, and the staff member assigned to her, not thinking much of it, replied, “It’s year-end, so we’re all scrambling to hit our targets. The person being interviewed up front right now is probably Miss Wilson.”
‘Miss Wilson?’
Aubree froze. This financial magazine’s main feature was on rising entrepreneurs. Given the recent buzz in Rithol City, and with the surname Wilson… the only person she could think of was Carmen–
“Carmen,” Aubree murmured.
The staff member suddenly realized their blunder and fumbled, “Uh Miss Miller–”
“Relax, I was just asking,” Aubree said with a nonchalant smile.