I Married the President

Chapter 398: Chapter 398: Being Followed

The report concluded by pointing out how some web novel and video streaming sites unscrupulously spread bloody and violent content just to attract attention, calling for urgent action to clean up the chaos.

Teacher Hartwell’s video feature consisted mainly of interview footage. It helped more people understand the truth by weaving together the accounts of the police officers involved and the confessions of the underage offenders.

A news report like this had to be grounded in facts. Adding sensational or melodramatic elements would undermine its entire purpose.

Once the digital article and the video version were published simultaneously, they immediately captured public attention, with major media outlets quickly reposting and commenting on them.

The truth was finally revealed, and astute netizens quickly realized their mistake. The story’s true victim was Yvonne Judd—the ’homewrecker’ they had so viciously attacked. Harrison Lynch never had a mistress. It had all been a rumor fabricated by Yvonne Judd’s adoptive parents for money.

Netizens flocked to Claire Sinclair’s blog to apologize:

"Goddess, we’re so sorry! We misunderstood you!"

"Seriously, you were clearly doing the right thing. Why didn’t you explain it to everyone sooner? I can’t stand people who keep things to themselves like that!"

"Come on, the police hadn’t solved the case yet, so Claire Sinclair couldn’t just publish anything she wanted. Besides, I noticed the timestamp. She released the article right after the police announced the truth. You can tell she had it ready for a while but just couldn’t publish it yet."

"Claire Sinclair is the most beautiful, most dedicated reporter in the world. No arguments!"

"I don’t care, I’m going to go flame those shameless scumbag parents! They’re the ones who made me misunderstand my goddess!"

...

In reality, Yvonne Judd’s adoptive parents didn’t know how to use social media. Their popular, verified account had been set up and managed for them by clickbait marketing accounts.

Netizens flooded the account with comments, but even cursing them out endlessly wasn’t enough to vent their fury.

Meanwhile, the social media platform admitted its failure in moderation and subsequently banned seven or eight of the rumor-mongering marketing accounts. Only then did the controversy, which had raged for half a month, finally subside.

The people who spread the rumors were now in custody, and those who had harmed Yvonne Judd would also face punishment. Justice had finally been served for Yvonne Judd.

However, the matter wasn’t completely over. Among those arrested was Deacon Collier.

Claire Sinclair felt a vague sense of unease. ’Something is going to go wrong with this case,’ she thought.

But after two or three days passed without any news, she finally set her worries aside. ’Maybe I was just being paranoid,’ she thought.

The feature had been perfectly executed, and she had no other important work for the day. Suddenly, Claire Sinclair felt a worsening pain in her abdomen and realized she’d gotten her period. She asked Teacher Hartwell for permission to go home and rest.

Seeing how pale she looked, Henry Hartwell agreed.

On the way home, Claire Sinclair was dozing off in the car. She had been swamped with work the past few days, all while enduring the pressure of the online attacks. Right now, all she wanted was a good, long sleep.

The car entered a wide, deserted stretch of road. Landon Winston suddenly spotted a suspicious vehicle in the rearview mirror. His posture instantly grew tense. "Young Madam," he warned, "there’s a car following us."

"Huh?" Claire Sinclair instinctively looked back. Sure enough, a black sedan was tailing them closely. "What should we do?"

"Put on your seatbelt and hold on tight."

"Right!" Claire Sinclair rarely wore a seatbelt in the back seat, but now she had no choice but to buckle up.

The car accelerated, shooting forward.

Claire Sinclair thought of the watch someone had modified for her not long ago. ’I remember the user manual,’ she recalled. ’The command for danger in a vehicle is to set the time to 12:03:12...’