CHAPTER 484: CHAPTER 484: PREMIUM HEAD PAT ATTACK

"At the time, my sister tried to plead not guilty to her murder charges by claiming she had a mental illness. I didn’t know if anyone would consider familial ties and say something about forgiveness. I’m not that saintly, so I hired the best lawyer to make sure she faced the consequences of her actions. But I never expected that my father would kidnap my two precious children at such a time."

After Ruby Sullivan said this, her eyes grew slightly warm, and at the same time, an audio clip played in the venue. It was Brandon Sullivan admitting to kidnapping the children as leverage. The recording also contained Ruby Sullivan’s screams, agreeing to relinquish her shares in The Sullivan Group and agreeing to drop the lawsuit, while demanding to sever her father-daughter relationship with Brandon.

"You did the right thing!" Someone shouted from below, and then a series of supportive voices for Ruby Sullivan echoed, eventually resulting in a burst of encouraging applause in the venue.

"Thank you." Although Ruby Sullivan expected to stun the reporters below, she hadn’t anticipated receiving so many kind voices. She took a deep breath, made a heart gesture beside the microphone, and said, "Thank you, everyone."

She paused and continued, "Actually, when I agreed to drop the lawsuit and transfer the shares unconditionally, I had already found the children and confirmed they were safe. I did it purely out of consideration for my father, for his guilt toward my sister, and for gratitude for raising me. But I must say, the shares I held at the time were not given to me by my dad; they were bought back by me. Rhonda Sullivan couldn’t stabilize the morale, and The Sullivan Group was in turmoil. To prevent my dad from waking up to find the company in disarray, Mr. Sterling secretly bought some shareholders’ stakes under his personal name and gave them to me as his second marriage proposal gift."

She tilted her head and looked at Ethan Sterling, "I couldn’t keep the gift you gave me, sorry."

Ethan Sterling smiled and raised his hand to gently stroke her head.

In such a setting, Mr. Sterling actually did a head patting gesture to his wife. Oh my, the reporters below couldn’t remain calm; they were eager for more of this unexpected public display of affection!

"At this point, I think everyone should understand why I’m unwilling to see my father anymore. Because I really can’t accept a father who would kidnap my children to force me. Even so, after learning that his Alzheimer’s was worsening, I did visit him last year during New Year’s. At that time, Rhonda was traveling in Gallia, dating her current husband. All the household servants were on leave. The house was filled with garbage and hadn’t been cleaned for more than half a month. My dad lived alone in the villa, eating takeout every day. Frankly, I was heartbroken when I saw it, so I took the old man away, but after Rhonda returned, I sent him back. I still felt I had no obligation. I admit this is my unfilial conduct; let everyone take this as a lesson."

"Lastly, regarding my dad’s death, it was indeed his caretaker, Cece, who called us to the hospital because my dad suddenly collapsed and was rushed to the emergency room. She couldn’t sign the guarantee papers, and when she couldn’t reach Rhonda Sullivan, she found my number on my dad’s phone. That day, I happened to be drinking with friends; it was Mr. Sterling who answered the call. He thought I couldn’t help at the time and didn’t even notify me. He went to the hospital himself, stayed the whole night, signed all the risk-taking papers, and paid for my dad’s massive surgery expenses. It was only the next day that he let me know I should go to the hospital."

"When we finally contacted Rhonda Sullivan, she arrived at the hospital reeking of alcohol. She even initially refused to go to the hospital on the phone. As for the subsequent funeral, we couldn’t contact her at all. I guess she drank too much whiskey, leading her to imagine me as utterly evil and telling the media so."

"Finally, she accused me of burglary. I admit, I did go to the old house to take some things. If pursued, those items should be considered part of her inheritance, but they were old photos of my mom and me, some jewelry we used to wear, and some things not particularly valuable. Honestly, I didn’t expect anyone would take this to court and even beat the house workers badly."

Then the screen showed photos of Cece’s injuries and the police report, "Because another worker in the house didn’t want to cause trouble and refused to provide testimony for Cece, she ended up like this without even an apology, and the case couldn’t proceed."

"I have documented all recent remarks made by Ms. Rhonda Sullivan and reserve the right to take legal action to protect my rights. That is all." Ruby Sullivan finished all her words succinctly.

Then she stood up, and with Ethan Sterling hand in hand, they walked out of the venue.

Indeed, they intended to display their affection, knowing it would particularly annoy some people!

Before the press conference, many had predicted a turnaround and were puzzled by the silence from Nirvana and The Sterling Group, but no one expected Mr. and Mrs. Sterling to unveil such significant revelations.

However, upon reflection, it wasn’t surprising.

In such large families, it’s usually the elders who cannot let go of their pride, but the elder Mrs. Sterling had long passed away, and it’s said that Mrs. Sterling had spent many years living in Caelus, being a very open-minded person, who surely cared more about avoiding misunderstanding towards her children than saving face.

When face didn’t need to be considered, these truths really shouldn’t remain hidden anymore.

Subsequently, reports overwhelmingly turned supportive of Mr. and Mrs. Sterling. Some people dug out past interviews with the two of them, as well as previous personal interviews Ruby Sullivan had given, where ambiguous responses were now clarified!

If it were all fabricated, it would mean Mr. and Mrs. Sterling put too much groundwork into the lie; even if it’s false, one couldn’t help but believe it!

Afterward, journalists clogged the entrance of The Sullivan Group’s company building, Miss’s office building, and the entrance of The Sullivan Estate neighborhood, even at Ruby Sullivan’s previously photographed community. They all wanted to hear how she would respond, but no one could locate Rhonda Sullivan.

She was in the old estate, but she no longer had the face to step outside.

She didn’t know she had so many weaknesses in their hands, nor did she know her father had done such extreme things to save her.

The day after the press conference, Nirvana’s official website released screenshots of Miss’s responsible party purchasing internet trolls to slander Nirvana, accompanied by a powerful statement: ’Subpoena on the way.’

This time, everyone who had bought Miss’s perfume was furious. It was bad enough the fragrance was a rip-off, but letting someone as despicable as Rhonda Sullivan profit from it was truly disgusting, so for a month straight, Miss received mailed blades from different people daily. Although they reported it, senders came from all over the country, and the police couldn’t do much more than catch anyone in the act.

That day, as Rhonda Sullivan was zoning out in her room, she heard Mrs. Jewel say, "Miss Rhonda, there’s a man named Jack standing outside wanting to see you. Should I let him in?"