Chapter 43
Isabella woke up naturally, only to find dozens of missed calls and messages on her phone.
She rubbed her eyes, thinking she must be seeing things.
There were calls from Olivia, Thomas, and even her eldest uncle, Atticus Wilson, who hadn't returned to the country in years.
Before she could decide which call to return, her subordinate Jesse called her on a video call. "Ms. Taylor, something bad has happened."
"What is it?" Isabella asked.
Jesse was in a panic, "Last night, the incident where you argued with the Taylor Family at the hospital was posted online, and it was live-streamed. Now, news about you is everywhere on the internet. You mustn't go out these days."
Isabella didn't think much of it. She knew Bianca had live-streamed it.
She didn't think she was in the wrong. "She's the one who ruined my family. Why should I hide?"
"Public opinion doesn't care about that. People will just follow the trend, and that's how rumors start." Jesse was extremely nervous, "If it really gets out of hand, I can have the company's PR department suppress it for a few days until the heat dies down."
"No need to involve the company. Since it's already out there, let the public opinion ferment for a while." Isabella said calmly.
She didn't need to think to know that Bianca had deliberately posted the live stream online.
Since Bianca liked to post her business online, Isabella would help her out and make her go viral.
Jesse was on the verge of a breakdown, but Isabella wasn't worried at all.
He couldn't understand why Isabella, who could easily get rid of the Taylor Family with a word, insisted on keeping them around to oppose her.
Before Jesse could speak, Atticus's call came in.
"Atticus, aren't you currently on a confidential mission? Thomas and I didn't dare disturb you. How come you suddenly have time to call me?" Isabella said playfully.
Atticus had joined the military at a young age and was later recruited into a special unit.
Not only was he rarely seen, but he also couldn't talk about where he went or what he did.
He had dedicated everything to the country and had no plans to marry or have children.
Besides feeling guilty towards Daniel, he only cared deeply for Isabella.
When Isabella was brought back to the Wilson Family, she was still young. Over the years, Atticus had treated her like his own child.
If anything happened to Isabella, he would be heartbroken.
He said, "I see you're causing trouble again while I'm away. What's going on with the stuff online? Who did it?"
Atticus was very good to his family.
If someone dared to bully Isabella, there was no way he would ignore it.
"It's nothing, Atticus. Those are just rumors. Don't worry about it." Anyone falsely accused like that wouldn't ignore it. Isabella wasn't pretending not to see; she had more important things to do.
She would endure for now and take revenge when the time was right.
Atticus said, "Nonsense! How can you ignore this? The company wants to intervene, why are you stopping them?"
Chris had already called Isabella for instructions the first time the incident occurred, which was last night before she went to sleep.
"Atticus, I finally get a call from you, and all you do is scold me? Don't forget I'm married and an adult now."
Hearing Isabella say this, Atticus softened his tone, "I know you always have a plan. I'm not around, and I don't want you to get hurt. Daniel is sick now; you can't afford to get into trouble."
"Oh, stop worrying about me. I'm fine, and so is Grandpa. Focus on your mission. It would be great if you could bring back a girlfriend." Isabella lightened the mood and ended the call after a few more words with Atticus.
She then returned calls to everyone she knew who had called her.
She told them she was fine and not to worry about her.
The whole process took her nearly an hour, leaving her exhausted.
Logically, she was the one being talked about online and should be the one comforted, but in the end, she had to comfort everyone else.
Finally, her phone quieted down. Isabella opened her long-unused Facebook and saw over a million unread messages.
She couldn't help but widen her eyes.
How did these netizens even find this?
Most of the private messages were telling her to apologize to Bianca in person, with many cursing and condemning her.
She skimmed through them, seeing some people praising her for being sexy, beautiful, and having a great figure, and she liked those comments.
She replied: [Good taste.]
Indeed, there were still sharp-eyed people among the crowd.
There were also many posts about her.
Isabella was impressed by these netizens, who even dug up her childhood stories.
They found out that her mother, Grace, died when she was seven, that she was withdrawn at school, fought with other kids, and even stole fruit from the school's back hill.
She remembered that after Grace died, Indigo brought Harper and Bianca back home.
Then her status dropped.
She fought with other kids because they spoke ill of Grace, and she stole fruit because Harper wouldn't give her any. Even the snacks the servant secretly gave her were taken by Bianca.
She was hungry for so long that she had to find food herself.
Thinking of this, Isabella's lips curled into a cold smile.
She would make that mother and daughter pay for what they did to her.
At this time, Bianca was still complaining online, talking about how Isabella had oppressed and bullied her over the years, and even brought up that she knew Michael first.
She implied that it wasn't her who ruined Isabella and Michael's relationship, but that Isabella had forcefully taken her place.
Bianca ended by asking netizens not to bully Isabella too much, saying that as Isabella's sister, she still valued their family bond and wanted to give Isabella another chance.
She pushed all the blame onto Isabella.
A bunch of netizens followed suit, feeling sorry for Bianca's magnanimity and grievances.
They demanded she apologize to Bianca.
Isabella almost felt sick reading it.
She directly posted on Facebook.
[I am Isabella. My mom only gave birth to me. I don't have any sisters. If you have a problem, come at me. I'll take it. But if you want an apology, maybe in the next life. Also, have you packed up the Taylor Family's stuff? I'm coming to collect the house tomorrow. Don't think you can leave any trash behind.]
Isabella's words were harsh and direct, immediately sparking another wave of comments online.
[Oh my God, she's so cool. I love her. I support Isabella.]
[This is a twisted. Bianca stole Isabella's boyfriend and now acts all righteous. Does she have any morals?]
[Isabella bullies Bianca because she's easygoing, huh? Watch me expose her identity online and avenge Bianca.]
The online comments kept coming, but Isabella couldn't be bothered to read them in detail.
These rumors couldn't hurt her.