Chapter 94: Why Am I So Unconvinced?
Pauline Shaw was so angry the rims of her eyes turned red. How had this suddenly become her making a scene?
What friendship was there between Jane Lancaster and Willow Summers? They were obviously just using each other!
"So what if you tried to talk to her? It was just for show. You knew perfectly well that Beverly Lynch wouldn’t listen, so how could that possibly help Jay?"
Jane Lancaster’s expression turned stern. "Pauline Shaw!"
She rarely called Pauline by her full name.
In Pauline’s memory, Jane had always been more mature and composed than others their age, and she usually spoke to Pauline with a mix of coaxing and gentle deception.
When Pauline had first been sent to the Lancaster family as a child, she had been furious about her parents’ arrangements. She’d thrown a tantrum and struck the servant who brought her, leaving them with a bloody head. Jane had called her by her full name back then, too.
That time, Jane had rapped her on the palm. Pauline had cried and screamed that she was going to hit Jane, but Jane had subdued her completely.
It was that incident that had Jane putting her firmly in her place. Afterward, she never again dared to lose her temper and strike the servants at the drop of a hat.
The long-buried memory suddenly came flooding back, and an embarrassed Pauline turned her head away.
"Forget it. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t be getting so worked up on someone else’s behalf." She shot to her feet and grabbed her purse.
"I also shouldn’t have told my cousin the second I saw the news and asked him to help think of a solution."
But what was the reality? She had done so much for Jane, yet she hadn’t earned a single bit of gratitude.
Willow Summers just put on a show, and Jane was already deeply grateful.
Her phone suddenly vibrated with a new push notification.
Pauline glanced at the headline, then thought for a moment before turning back to remind Jane, "My cousin already had the company issue a statement to clear your name."
Willow Summers was looking down at her phone. She refreshed the page and said, a little bewildered, "I don’t see anything."
Pauline flared up instantly. "It’s already trending. Would I lie about that?"
Jane said, "But the trending post is a clarification from the Lynch Group."
Pauline froze, quickly tapping on the trending topic. She saw it was indeed linked to the Lynch Group’s official social media account. Not giving up, she backed out and checked the Lowell Group’s official page, only to find no recent activity.
The Lynch Group’s clarification was very formal. It stated that the Lynch family had never entered into a marriage alliance with anyone, that all recent rumors were false, and it advised the public not to believe or spread them. The statement concluded by saying they would not rule out legal action against those who intentionally disseminated these rumors.
Pauline calmed down a little. ’This matter has nothing to do with the Lynch Group,’ she thought. ’There was no reason for them to jump in and release a statement like this.’
’Unless... someone spoke to the head of the Lynch Group and asked him to release it as a favor.’
"Jay, my cousin must have asked Uncle Lynch for help!" Pauline’s mind was racing. "After all, he knows that a clarification from just the Lowell family wouldn’t do much. Persuading Uncle Lynch to make a statement is the only way to truly put those homewrecker rumors to rest."
Jane’s reaction was lukewarm. "Is that so?"
’Caleb Lowell went out of his way to persuade the Lynch family to help clear my name? For some reason, I find that hard to believe.’
Pauline grew anxious. "Besides my cousin, who else would defend you so selflessly?"
"The Lynch and Lowell families are still business partners. My cousin must have sacrificed significant interests to persuade the Lynch family to make a statement."
In the comment section, plenty of people shared her opinion.
"[This has to be Caleb Lowell’s doing, right? He really cherishes Jane Lancaster. Where else can you find a man that devoted?]"
"[Caleb Lowell, wake up! Your fiancée is a total green-tea bitch. Don’t let her fool you!]"
"[Insider info: President Lynch had the PR department release this directly. Miss Lynch didn’t know about it beforehand. She’s probably losing her mind right now.]"
"[Aren’t all capitalists like this? Profits come first. What’s a little humiliation for his daughter? The partnership between the two families must be preserved.]"
"[President Lynch really dotes on his daughter. He lets her go on shopping sprees without batting an eye. For him to do this means Caleb Lowell must have given up a lot! It also proves just how rich Caleb Lowell really is!]"
"[Actually, I think it might have been Lancaster’s older brother. That guy is obsessed with doting on his sister.]"
"[Wait, who’s Lancaster’s older brother?]"
"[It’s from a cropped photo from a business news site. The one circled is her brother. He’s such a gentle and refined young master from a wealthy family. He’s totally my type.]"
"[OMG, her brother is so handsome! He’s the very picture of a rich, aristocratic heir!]"
"[How is Lancaster so lucky? She’s got an amazing brother doting on her and a handsome fiancé protecting her. No wonder she’s so brazen.]"
The comments that followed quickly went off-topic, devolving into a debate over who was more handsome: Julian Lancaster or Caleb Lowell.
Even though no one really believed the Lynch Group’s statement, the tide of public opinion was much better than the previous, one-sided "homewrecker" witch hunt.
Pauline felt that this was a good resolution. With the Lynch Group’s official clarification, it would be difficult for anyone to claim that Jane’s marriage was illegitimate.
But when she thought about how much her cousin must have sacrificed, she felt it was unfair to him.
Jane hadn’t offered a single word of gratitude; instead, her first reaction was suspicion.
Mama Knight thought for a moment before speaking. "Young Master Lowell is very kind, but I’m sure our own Young Master Lancaster helped out too! He would never allow anyone to slander the young miss!"
’Why is everyone acting as if the Lowell family paid some huge price?’ Mama Knight thought. ’The young miss has people in the Lancaster family who cherish her, too!’
Pauline was taken aback. "I never said Julian didn’t help!"
’He probably didn’t. My brother still hasn’t replied to my message.’
Pauline: "..."
’How can she not even trust her own brother?’
Gordon Dawson’s eyes glinted as he said with a smile, "If Young Master Lancaster was also involved, then it’s no surprise. You’re very lucky, Miss Lancaster, to have a brother who loves you so much."
Jane replied, "I don’t think we should speculate like that. The Lynch Group issued the statement, so we shouldn’t try to pin the credit on someone else."
Gordon Dawson assumed she was just being modest. "The Lynch family certainly gained a lot from this statement, though."
He knew the marriage alliance between the Lynch and Lowell families had been real. Caleb Lowell must have made significant concessions when he broke off the engagement back then. The Lynch family had swallowed their pride and kept quiet, mostly because they found the situation humiliating.
This time, the Lynches could have used the public outcry to get revenge. Instead, they chose to step forward and issue a clarification. To get them to do that, the benefits offered must have been far greater than what they received before.
But doing so would inevitably mean humiliating Beverly Lynch.
But in the face of such interests, a daughter’s small humiliation truly meant nothing.
Pauline, however, understood what Jane was getting at. A few minutes earlier, she had sent a voice message to Caleb Lowell.
"Cousin, did you have them post the statement on the Lynch family’s official page?"
Just then, her phone vibrated. Caleb had replied with a voice message of his own.
Pauline deliberately played it on speaker. "I’m the one who had them post it," Caleb’s voice said. "You saw it already?"
Seeing everyone look over, she raised an eyebrow. "I just confirmed it with my cousin. It would be embarrassing to claim credit for something someone else did, after all."
Jane stared at her own phone screen. A moment ago, she had sent a message to Jasper Sterling, asking if he was the one who had intervened.
After a moment’s thought, she unsent the message.
’That thought was completely baseless,’ she mused. ’He hasn’t sent a single message to check on me today.’
’So it really was Caleb who helped, after all.’
Pauline smiled. "Jay, you look surprised."
She gloated inwardly. ’Guess that’s a slap in the face for you,’ she thought.