Chapter 37: The Photo on the Big Screen
"Shelly is my daughter. If only I hadn’t been so careless back then..."
Sharon Galahad began to tell Shelly Lowell’s life story. It was a very moving and convoluted tale about a mother’s longing for her child, and her joy upon Shelly’s return.
She spoke of her desire to make it up to Shelly, how Shelly would inherit the Lowell Family business, and even marry into the Grant Family.
After saying all this, Sharon Galahad was choked with sobs and embraced Shelly Lowell.
After crying out "Mom," Shelly Lowell also burst into a blubbering mess, playing along with Sharon Galahad.
In the audience, many people were moved to tears.
Vivian Lowell glanced around. Some people were genuinely moved, while others were just dabbing their eyes with handkerchiefs, feigning tears.
Clearly, they were just trying to show the Lowell Family some respect.
BUZZ BUZZ.
Just then, Vivian Lowell’s phone vibrated. A WhatsApp message had come in from her hacker friend.
The message was simple, reading—Countdown, 10...
Vivian Lowell counted the seconds in her head.
On the stage before her, the large screen behind Sharon Galahad, which had been dark, suddenly lit up.
An intimate photo of David Dawson and Shelly Lowell kissing appeared for all to see.
"This..."
The crowd was in an uproar, stunned by what had just appeared before them.
The Shelly Lowell in the photo was a bit unpolished, wearing a very common T-shirt and jeans. She looked quite innocent, and the photo was likely taken when she was still in college.
She was a bit tanner back then, a far cry from the meticulously styled woman she was now, thanks to her makeup artist.
In the audience, someone with sharp eyes immediately recognized her.
"Is that Shelly Lowell? She used to look like that? So plain!"
"Shh, don’t say that! But who’s that guy getting so close to Shelly? Tsk, he’s a far cry from the one from the Grant Family."
"Of course! Mr. Grant is a famous playboy in Aethelburg! But aren’t Shelly and Mason Grant about to get engaged? Don’t tell me Shelly is two-timing him?"
"I don’t think so! Those look like old photos of Shelly! I never would’ve guessed her taste was so poor back then! Well, what do you expect from someone who grew up on the outside, haha!"
"Keep your voice down, or The Lowells will hear you!"
The murmurs rose and fell just behind Vivian Lowell’s ears.
Vivian Lowell heard them but paid them no mind. She just watched the stage as Sharon Galahad’s face turned ashen after glancing back at the photo. She then shot Shelly a questioning look.
Shelly Lowell quickly whispered some explanation into Sharon Galahad’s ear, obviously panicked.
Although Sharon Galahad was furious, now wasn’t the time to scold Shelly. She could only take out her phone to call someone in and have the screen shut off immediately.
"Security, security!"
Sharon Galahad shouted.
But at that moment, the image on the screen behind her changed.
The next image to appear was a photo of Shelly Lowell by herself.
In this photo, Shelly was wearing only a semi-transparent camisole, striking a very seductive pose for the camera.
With her flirtatious gaze, the Shelly in the photo looked just like one of those escorts.
The crowd below erupted even louder.
Some of the wealthy men in the audience, who had likely encountered such things before, let their minds wander as they looked at the photo. They began to stare at Shelly with a peculiar expression.
Shelly recognized that look instantly!
’Back in college, she’d encountered her fair share of rich old men who wanted her to be their mistress and offered to spend money on her.’
’She would never agree!’
’She wasn’t an idiot. What was the point of being a mistress?’
’She’d have to live in the shadows for the rest of her life, always risking being discovered and having all the assets reclaimed. She wouldn’t do something so brainless!’
’Someone foolish like David Dawson was perfect.’
’He didn’t interfere with her dating other people at school, she could get some money out of him, and he was very respectful of her.’
’As long as she said no, David would never dare touch her.’
’Those old men... they were looking at her with that exact same gaze!’
Shelly panicked. She turned to face the massive screen, but it was useless to try and cover it with her body.
Next,
As Sharon Galahad shouted for security and Shelly Lowell stood there, at a complete loss, the screen continued to scroll through photos of Shelly, all of different kinds.
Of course, none of them were explicit, but their suggestive, hazy nature left even more to the imagination.
"Vivian, this..."
Eleanor Rhodes was completely stunned.
She never imagined that she, who had only come tonight because Julian Faulkner had insisted, would witness something so explosive!
Vivian Lowell’s reaction, however, was calm. She simply said, "If you don’t want anyone to know, don’t do it in the first place. Shelly Lowell is rotten to the core. Does she really think she deserves all these benefits?"
’She’d have to see if I, Vivian Lowell, would allow it.’
After hearing this, Eleanor Rhodes blinked.
’I think I get it.’
’This all seems to be related to Vivian. Vivian is amazing!’
Just as she was thinking this, Eleanor Rhodes’s phone rang. It was a doctor from the pet hospital, calling to say that a kitten was sick and needed a blood transfusion.
But they didn’t have a suitable blood match and wanted to ask Eleanor if she could figure something out.
"What?!"
Hearing this, Eleanor thought for a moment and quickly replied, "Take care of the kitten first, and in the meantime, see if any of the cats we’ve rescued that haven’t been adopted yet are a suitable match!"
"If there is, and the kitten is healthy enough for a transfusion, start the treatment! If not, I’ll think of something else!"
"You get started. Don’t worry, I’m on my way back right now!"
Eleanor Rhodes, in a flurry, hung up and turned to leave. Then she suddenly remembered something and said to Vivian Lowell, "Vivian, there’s an emergency at the pet hospital. I have to go!"
"Tanya!"
Vivian Lowell quickly stopped Eleanor Rhodes, frowning. "You just had two glasses of wine. You definitely can’t drive back yourself. Why don’t you get a designated driver?"
’A designated driver?’
Eleanor was in a rush and wanted to get back as soon as possible. Realizing this was probably the only option, she couldn’t help but feel a little anxious.
"I’ll take you."
Just then, Henry Sterling returned from outside the banquet hall.
He seemed as gentle as ever, but he gave off the impression that he wasn’t in a very good mood.
Seeing Henry Sterling return, Vivian Lowell froze for a second.
’Didn’t Eleanor just say that Henry took a dizzy Wendy Wynn home?’
’How could a woman as scheming as Wendy Wynn be willing to let Henry come back?’