Free Web NovelChapter 207: Chapter 207 Gone Viral
Hudson’s POV
"Only the people in this room knew I’d be here tonight." My voice cut through the tension. "So which one of you thought you were smart enough to pull this off?"
Someone blurted out, voice cracking with panic, "It wasn’t me!"
"I swear, I didn’t even know you were coming until you showed up!" another executive said quickly.
"I didn’t have time to call anyone! I just got here—"
"It wasn’t me either!"
Their voices crashed into each other, rushed and desperate.
Lycaon stirred inside me, growling low at their pathetic scrambling.
My eyes moved past the group and landed on Cassian.
He threw up both hands, looking offended. "Don’t look at me. I busted my ass getting you here. Why would I screw it up with some photographer? What do you think I am, stupid?"
Everyone had spoken now.
Except Rowan.
She straightened up, forcing a tight smile. "It definitely wasn’t me. I just got back to Highrise City. I don’t even know how to find someone like that. And I wouldn’t do something this sneaky."
"Looks like no one wants to confess," I said calmly, letting my Alpha presence flood the room.
"Fine. I’ll send him to the Sabreridge interrogation cells. My pack’s specialists will get the truth out of him."
"She’s hiding something," Lycaon whispered in my mind. "Her heartbeat just jumped."
Rowan let out a forced laugh. "Right. Yeah. That makes sense." freēwebnovel.com
The youngest executive slowly raised his phone. "Uh, the post is trending."
"What? That can’t be right." Cassian stared. "I told the PR team to kill the post."
He was already calling, putting it on speaker.
Someone from PR rushed to explain they were burying the content, but someone else had to be feeding the algorithm, keeping it alive.
Cassian hung up, then looked at his screen. His shoulders sagged. "They figured out who Hudson is."
Everyone turned to me as I scrolled through the comments.
[That’s Hudson Laurent from the LGH. He runs their whole business empire now.]
[Media’s been trying to get photos of him for years. He never does interviews. No pictures anywhere. Why’s he hiding if he looks like that?]
[Didn’t think he’d be this young.]
[Perfect age for Rowan.]
[Rowan just got back and she’s already having dinner with him? That’s not just friends.]
[Maybe he’s why she came back.]
[They were spotted going into a hotel together last week. Late night.]
[Is that real? Are they dating?]
[They might be getting married soon.]
[No! Rowan’s my queen! She can’t get married this young!]
[They look good together though. Can’t deny it.]
The room went quiet except for the soft hum of the air conditioning.
Cassian was sweating. "Don’t worry. It won’t get worse. We’re already pushing it down. Trending will be gone in an hour."
"Find the agency behind the fake comments," I ordered. "Start with the ones about hotel sightings."
"Leave it to me," Cassian promised.
Rowan sighed dramatically. "What a disaster. All this over dinner? I’ve already posted a statement to clear things up. People will stop speculating. Hopefully."
I didn’t respond, my thoughts already racing to Christina. She must have seen these posts by now.
Rowan paused, then added quickly, "I made it clear there’s nothing between us. Just friends. That’s it. My team’s handling it."
She tapped her phone and showed me the screen.
Her latest post read:
[I have no romantic involvement with Hudson Laurent. We’re friends. Please stop spreading false rumors. My legal team has already begun collecting evidence for defamation.]
The tone was ice-cold, business-like.
She’d tagged her lawyers, posted it on both Instagram and Twitter, and turned off comments.
Cassian checked his phone, then nodded at me. "It’s working. Buzz is dying down. Trending’s already dropped two spots. Should be gone completely within an hour."
I stared at Rowan’s post for another second, then turned and walked out without a word. My wolf was restless, wanting to howl for our mate.
"We need to find Christina, " Lycaon urged. "Now."
The night air hit me hard—cold, sharp, a relief from the suffocating room I’d just left.
Footsteps pounded behind me.
"You know it wasn’t me, right?" Cassian called out. "You know I’m not that stupid. I wouldn’t trash our friendship over something like this."
I didn’t slow down. freēwēbnovel.com
Cassian jogged to catch up, breathing hard. "I swear I had nothing to do with this. The leak, the photo, none of it."
I sent a mind-link to my Beta.
"Dominic," I said when my Beta answered. "Contact the organizers of the Constellation Gem & Jade Forum. Find Christina. Her phone’s off. I want to know where she is and why."
"On it, Alpha," Dominic replied, steady and calm.
"Anything from the investigation team?"
"No new updates. Police are still working it. Nothing fresh yet."
I hung up without another word, my mind spinning with possibilities. Where was Christina? Why was her phone off? The timing was too convenient to be coincidence.
"Are you pissed at me?" Cassian asked, breaking into my thoughts.
I kept walking, taking long strides toward my car.
"Come on, Hudson. Talk to me."
"I’m not pissed at you," I said finally. "But I’m done with dinners you set up."
Cassian winced. "You’re the one who said you wanted to meet media people."
"Is Rowan a media person?"
"No, but you know how it works. I needed someone, a pretty face, to keep the conversation going. She just happened to be available."
"Are you dating her?" I asked bluntly.
"What? No."
"Sleeping with her?"
"Hell no. You just asked the same thing."
My eyes flicked sideways. "It’s not the same thing, not to you."
"She’s just a singer. New signing with my company. She wanted to network, I gave her a seat at the table. That’s it. What’s the big deal?"
I stopped. Turned to face him completely, letting my Alpha presence roll over him.
"That’s always been your problem. You can’t say no to women. You’re too scared they’ll stop liking you. Ysolde was right to dump you."
Cassian’s face crumpled. "Ouch."
I kept walking, my thoughts returning to Christina. Something was wrong. I needed to find her.
"Are we still friends?" Cassian called out.
"Depends," I replied coldly.
"On what?"
"On whether you make any more stupid mistakes like tonight."
