Chapter 54: Lily is Family
Anon 20: Somebody tell me this video is staged!!!
Anon56: @Anon20 The video is staged. I’m only telling you because that’s what you wanted to hear. But if you ask me, That’s Evie’s real colour! That girl needs some spanking!
Anon 13: I’m not even surprised! I was expecting something like this to happen for a long time! She can’t always get away with it! @Lily don’t let her get away with it this time! Get her punished!
Anon 56: She met her match this time. It’s high time someone pulled off her facade! #Remove the undeserving genius!
Anon 45: The popcorn I bought for this show is not enough. I just wanted to watch some fashion shows for my project. Who would have thought such a scene would happen? I’m not even familiar with those involved but that Evie and Bethel couple need to be properly punished!
Anon001: I’m curious: what are the Thompsons going to do about this? Lily won’t disappear from the fashion world like Penny, right? That will be sad. Someone is finally doing what others can’t do, if they disappear then, nothing is real in the fashion world! #Remove the undeserving genius.NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.
Anon 12: They won’t dare do such a thing, not when the scandal is like this in the open, if Lily suddenly disappear from the public eyes, even the Pacific Ocean will not be able to wash the Thompsons clean. They might try to intimidate Lily into submission behind the scenes, though.
Anon 67: I have insider information. Lily isn’t as simple as she looks. She’s from our school, and she has Watson’s gold card. Thompsons are the ones who should feel intimidated by her this time.
Anon09: Oh oh! They did kick an iron bucket this time. I’m looking forward to seeing how this scandal plays out. Live videos don’t lie, except they’re staged.
Fashion enthusiast: @Lily, you have my support! Please expose that scum’s evil deeds! I have evidence of what she’s truly like, and I’ll post it to support you! She needs to be brought to justice!
PrettylittleSia: +1 I worked closely with Evie previously, and I also have video evidence to post! I’ll post it to expose her hidden poisonous nature! @Lily
Penny: @Lily, you have the courage to do what most of us didn’t have the courage to do! I’m in support of you! I will come out to testify against her evil deeds and how she ruined my life with her schemes, so please don’t give up! By the way, I love your designs, and hopefully, I get to work with you sometime in the future!
Anon12: @Penny We miss you! Come back!
Unaware of the heat on the internet and how their schemes have already been exposed, Evie put a call through to one of the shrewd managers of the show and relayed her plans to him, which he readily agreed to be a part of.
The manager is known across the fashion world to be a shrewd and lustful man who always likes to prey on young talents and make them his toys. Although it was known to everyone, no one had adequate evidence to back up the claim, so not much was said about him.
However, most people avoid being around him as much as possible.
Seeing how her plans were set in stone, Evie grinned to herself and walked back towards the backstage, where the other team designers and tailors were waiting. Upon arrival, she noticed the glare and dark look thrown her way but shrugged it off casually, thinking they were all intimidated by her presence.
As the models walked the runway elegantly, with their heads raised high, the audience cheered for their favourite designs while others got into action, trying to be the first to bid for the piece.
When it got to Evie’s team, the auditorium fell silent, and then the silence was followed by echoes of ‘Boo’. Some unruly onlookers threw the spare things they had at the model to show their resentment.
They had all seen the live video, and their favorability of the team had reached rock bottom.
“Get Evie Thompson and Bethel out of the fashion industry! They don’t deserve to be here!” Someone yelled angrily, and soon the words were being echoed all through the auditorium.
“Get them out of here!”
“We don’t want vicious people like them as influencers!” The crowd echoed. Surprised by the turn of events, it took the host a few seconds to react, and when he did, he sent the team out of the stage before calming the raging onlookers.
“Please stop throwing things at the models; you may get sued for physical assault!” The host warned, and they calmed. While he was trying to calm the audience, the show organiser stepped on the stage with a schooled expression.
“Hello, good evening, everyone,” he greeted, and the audience cheered. “Due to an unforeseen circumstance, this show will be closed, and it will continue next year. However, to support your team, you can still vote online and also vote for the product; their prizes will be sent to them,” he announced.
“I understand you all are agitated by the event that ensued between the participants, but I promise, explanations and apologies will be given when this is all sorted out, and your favourite team won’t have to suffer grievances. Thank you for your continued support,” he announced, walking off the stage.
As he walked away, he breathed out in frustration and adjusted his tie with a deep crease of his brows. He pinched his nose bridge as a wave of tiredness hit him. “Did you find out who hacked into the broadcasting channel?” He asked as he walked into the control room to see that the team was still so busy trying to calm the raging netizens.
“We still haven’t found any clue. They disconnected immediately after informing the audience about the second channel where the video was broadcast and they didn’t leave a trace behind,” the technician informed.
“We are dealing with a master hacker right now, so we have to be a little cautious with the investigation,” he added.
“We can’t be. Mr. Thompson is demanding an explanation from us,” the organiser breathed out tiredly. He had her a little sceptical about taking the job to organise this show for this year after hearing the Thompsons were among the sponsors, but he had no choice since he needed exposure, and now he is in a bigger mess than his career could take.
“Where was Lily when the video was being recorded? Check all the security cameras all around the area and tell me what she was doing,” he instructed.
“We already did, and she was in the cafeteria eating alone when the whole thing happened, and after the confrontation, she went to the dressing room. There’s no camera in the dressing rooms.”
“Dammit! Why are we always hitting a wall?” He cursed, and his phone rang. Checking the caller ID, his back went cold in fear.
“Young Master…”
“You can stop investigating the cause of the broadcasting.” The other person on the phone instructed carefully, and the organiser frowned.
“We can’t do that. The Thompsons…”
“I am the biggest sponsor of the show, aren’t I? And I’m telling you to close the investigation. If the Thompsons are troubling you, tell them to come see me themselves,” the cold voice of the caller instructed.
“I’ll do as you have instructed, sir. But may I ask why you are protecting the person? Are they shepherds among your people?” The organiser asked, and the man hummed.
“Lily is family. A family that can’t be touched.