Although the phone screen was small, Ava was close enough to see clearly. On Oscar’s phone was indeed a photo of her and him together. She couldn’t believe it. Before breaking up with him, she had formatted his phone and computer, ensuring no trace of her left. How did he still have these photos?
As Oscar displayed the photos, he explained as if afraid others wouldn’t understand: “See this? This is a photo of Miss Ava and me at the beach. Look how happy she is leaning in my arms! This is a photo of us eating out together; Miss Ava even personally fed me! And this one… this one is wild; this is a photo of Ava after she went ice skating…”
As soon as he finished speaking, a wave of murmurs erupted from the crowd. Many understood what “ice skating” implied. The first few photos were about the private lives of stars, which could be gossiped about, but the last one… In the corner of the photo, there was indeed a powdery substance resembling drugs, and there were also tools for ice skating on the bed. If she really had gone ice skating, that would be a crime.
In the photo, Ava looked as if she were drunk, her entire being in a frenzied state, her clothes tattered, making bizarre gestures at the camera.
Ava felt as if she had been struck by lightning, staring at the photos being exposed, watching the media continuously taking pictures with their phones, and seeing the people around her pointing and whispering. For a long time, she couldn’t react.
Susan was anxious for her, rushing to the people around and saying, “These photos are all fake, don’t be fooled!”
Ava took a step back, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over Thelma, only to see her laughing with her head down. While she was being humiliated, Thelma was reveling in her misfortune.
In that moment, Ava suddenly realized that all of this must have been orchestrated by Thelma.
How could someone like Oscar possibly appear here? She didn’t believe he really had relatives in Sam Group. Everything was arranged by Thelma; she had set him up here to expose her flaws. She didn’t have the time to consider how Thelma knew about her connection with Oscar, or how she knew that Oscar and she had once had a past.
But she was certain that the mastermind behind this conspiracy was definitely her!
She couldn’t stand to see her doing well. When she saw Ava getting the endorsement from Sam Group, she wanted to crush her completely. Wasn’t it the same back then? She couldn’t bear to see her going abroad for further studies, couldn’t stand her becoming an excellent student, so she exposed her dark secrets, even ruining her looks. The scar on her forehead became an eternal mark that could never be erased; she would never be able to show her forehead again, and even in the heat of summer, she could only keep her thick bangs.
Because she couldn’t show her forehead, her image was restricted, and her path to stardom was affected.
All of this was caused by her.
But she probably didn’t know that she still had one last trump card, one that she hadn’t used yet.
She had been contemplating whether to use it. Before this, she had developed better than Thelma; she had become a star while Thelma had achieved nothing. This trump card seemed like overkill, but later she discovered that Thelma had actually married Sam Noah. Given Sam Noah’s status, she didn’t dare to use it recklessly.
However, the last time she tested the waters with a photo of Thelma and Eric, Sam Noah not only didn’t blame her but also gave her the endorsement for Sam Group’s new product. This meant that, compared to his affection for Thelma, his face and dignity were more important.
Since Thelma wanted to play her like this, then she wouldn’t mind making her suffer a little more.
Ava took a deep breath, temporarily ignoring Oscar’s provocation on the table, and disregarding the gazes of the people around her, as if everything happening around her had nothing to do with her. She smiled meaningfully at Sam Noah and said, “Mr. Sam, may I ask if the young Tyler has a birthday in February?”
Sam Noah replied, “Yes, his birthday is in February. Why do you ask?”
Ava shot a cold glance at Thelma and continued, “Mr. Sam, please don’t blame me for being presumptuous, but I want to know if you are really sure that Tyler is your biological son. My stepsister has always been quite sentimental.”
Chris was also puzzled by Ava’s sudden shift to this topic. He was still worried about her situation, wondering how she could suddenly turn the conversation to Thelma. When he heard the word “sentimental,” he frowned. He had been happy that the two sisters could finally help each other, so he tried to pull Ava back to remind her.
But at this moment, all of Ava’s attention was on exposing Thelma. When Chris came over to pull her, she violently shook him off. She had always been obedient, understanding, gentle, and polite in front of him, never this rude, so Chris was momentarily stunned when she pushed him away.
