Chapter 46

Seeing Brinley's post, Hannah understood now. No wonder Vincent hadn't responded to her message. He had been with Brinley in the hospital all along. No surprise there. The instant his precious first love ran into trouble, the legendary CEO turned into her savior. He dropped everything to rush to her side,taking care of every little detail himself.

Then, Hannah's mind shifted to her own miscarriage. Back when she lost their baby, Vincent hadn't visited her in the hospital even once. She could taste the bitterness, but she forced herself to swallow it. It was fine.She didn't want a man like him anymore anyway. A smirk, sharp and icy, flickered across her lips.

Just then, Felix sent over several documents.

Hannah steadied herself and threw all her focus into the task in front of her. The hours passed without making a sound. When she finally glanced up, her screen lit up with call after call she hadn't noticed until now. All of them were from Vincent. Predictable. Any threat to Brinley sent him spiraling.

Her ringtone cut through the silence. She answered, taking her time,"Well? Have you made up your mind?"

She kept her tone steady as she continued, "I want Miss Gilbert's public apology at eight o'clock tonight.Don't be late."

A faint,pleading voice drifted through the speaker. Brinley's. "Vincent..."

So they were still together. Hannah's finger hovered over the hang-up button, but then Vincent's voice interrupted, low and edged with warning. "Hannah."

Hannah let out an impatient sigh. "What is it now?"

"Brinley has a heart condition. Don't provoke her again."

Rolling her eyes, Hannah let out a chuckle. "Vincent, maybe you should save your advice for your precious Brinley. If she's truly unwell, she'd do better focusing on her health instead of popping up in my life."

Then, she ended the call, not giving him a chance to respond. She lamented that she should have hung up the second he uttered her name.

After reviewing Felix's documents, inspiration struck Hannah. If they were moving forward with a smart bracelet for women, why not center it around hormone monitoring? Giving women the tools to trulyknow their own bodies felt like the right direction. She immediately shared this idea to Felix.

Not pausing for a moment, Hannah turned her attention to planning Sharon's upcoming birthday bash.

From the way the estate would be arranged, to the playlist for the string quartet, to the color of the invitation borders and the style of each floral brooch, Hannah's eye made sure every last detail was flawless. There were just twelve days left before she walked away from Vincent's life altogether. In these final days at the Jones estate, she.was determined to give Sharon a birthday she'd never forget.

Right on the dot at 8 p.m., Brinley's public apology went live on every platform, reaching Hannah.

Since the law couldn't hold Brinley accountable, Hannah decided to let public opinion take over.

Brinley's so-called apology barely qualified. She tagged Hannah and wrote, "Sorry." She didn't bother with an explanation, skipped any context, and refused to admit to anything. That single word seemed to be all she felt was required.

Feeling triumphant, Brinley dropped a message into Hannah's inbox. "Hannah, do you really think you've won?"

Hannah didn't reply. She took a screenshot and reposted Brinley's apology with it attached. The caption read,"?"

Vincent chimed in almost immediately underneath, posting the same cryptic symbol,"?".

Vincent was obviously jumping in to shield Brinley, but Hannah paid him no mind.

Before long, their little showdown lit a fire under social media, and #JonesGroup climbed straight into the trending charts.

Nothing drew attention quite like a scandal among the rich, and people everywhere were hooked.

Word spread like wildfire once people began poking around. Suddenly, everyone was caught up in the chaos -Vincent's first love and his current"mistress" were apparently locked in a public tug-of-war over him. The gossip mill couldn't get enough, spinning tales about his tangled relationships and the drama swirling between these two women.

Yet, sharper eyes quickly pieced together what was really going on. As it turned out, Vincent's first love had gone so far as to fake a harassment scene and aimed to throw the blame on his "mistress."

And that "mistress" wasn't one to take things lying down. The moment trouble surfaced, she'd marched right over to the police and filed a report.

As a result, the first love had been forced into the awkward spotlight, making a public apology. There was no real remorse,though. She'd typed out a single"sorry" and left it at that. The "mistress" had decisively decided to share the smug private message she'd received for every netizen to see.

Before long, the internet erupted. Brinley's apology post exploded, racking up over half a million comments,and the vast majority were scathing.

Faced with a flood of backlash, Brinley disabled the comments in frustration.

On the flip side, Hannah's repost turned into a rallying cry. Support poured in from every corner. People called hertotal inspiration" and "the queen who never settles for less." Her follower count skyrocketed by more than half a million.

One comment shot to the top: "Ditch Vincent already! Come to me instead. I've got energy, looks, and I'll never let you down in any way."

That comment had Hannah cracking up, so she dropped a like on it.

Meanwhile, sitting inside the Bentley, Derek scrolled through the flood of comments, a grin tugging at his lips.

Vincent slid into the car just then. The grin on Derek's face did not go unnoticed. "What's so funny?"Vincent asked, keeping his tone even.

"You have to see this. The comment section of your wife's repost is something else today," Derek said,holding his phone out with a little flourish.

With just one glance, Vincent immediately caught the comment that Hannah had just liked.

Before Vincent could really focus on it, Derek's finger kept flicking the screen, moving past that top comment.

"Go back," Vincent said, his words sharp,

Flustered, Derek nodded. "Right away."

Hannah's like had pushed that comment to the top, making it impossible to miss.

Vincent's eyes narrowed, his whole expression turning cold in an instant.

Sensing the shift, Derek slipped his phone away and scrambled to buckle up. He cleared his throat and asked with caution, "Should we go see Miss Gilbert at the hospital now?"