Free Web NovelChapter 466: Chapter 466: Vicious Slander
For the past few days, Melody Summers had been running back and forth between the villa and their high-rise apartment. With her family about to move back into the villa, Melody was diligently opening the windows to air the place out and warming the blankets.
Hugging the toasty warm blankets, Melody Summers thought with some regret, ’It’s a shame it’s been raining this whole time. Otherwise, sunning the blankets would have made them even more comfortable to sleep under.’
Melody had just finished making the bed and was about to flop down and roll around on it when she got a call from Sophie Thorne.
Sophie Thorne had also come down with a fever from the virus a few days ago and had only just recovered. Her voice was still a bit hoarse. "Hey, Melody, I just sent you a link. Did you see it?"
Melody Summers answered honestly, "No, I was busy just now. I haven’t had a chance to look."
On the other end of the line, Sophie Thorne immediately said, "Stop what you’re doing and watch the video I sent."
Melody Summers replied, "Okay, I’ll watch it now."
Sophie’s tone was obviously urgent, so Melody didn’t dare delay. She immediately opened her chat app and clicked the link Sophie had sent.
After she clicked the link, it automatically redirected to a short-form video platform.
Melody Summers stared at the screen in confusion, only to see two familiar, large faces—
It was that bizarre couple from 4-1504, Chloe Sharp and Frank York.
On screen, Frank York had a solemn expression as he spoke to the camera, "Hey everyone, Finn and Bonbon here. Today, we were planning to continue filming our ’Temporary Shelter Series,’ but we never expected to accidentally record a murder!"
"Here’s what happened. There’s a female staff member at our community’s emergency management office. She’s an absolute demon. Taking advantage of the fact that the police can’t be dispatched right now, she’s become completely lawless, killing innocents and shooting a young boy and an old man to death..."
The next second, the camera cut to show Winnie Summers. She was holding a pistol, her lips pressed tightly together, her expression grim as she pulled the trigger.
In the next cut, the scene switched again to Quinn’s body lying on the ground, bleeding profusely. Quinn’s four older sisters were throwing themselves over his body, wailing loudly. The camera cut between close-ups of their four grief-stricken faces, making the scene look utterly tragic.
A moment later, the screen cut back to Frank York’s large face.
Frank’s eyes were red-rimmed and brimming with tears, his face filled with indignation at having witnessed society’s darkness.
He spoke in a choked voice, "The old man she killed was a truly good person! After he died, everyone there was crying their hearts out... I also regret that I couldn’t save him, but that woman had a gun, so I didn’t dare try to stop her..."
"As righteous independent journalists, Finn and Bonbon must expose this, even at the risk of our own lives! Things have come to this point, and we have nowhere left to retreat. The victim was so innocent, and the murderer must be brought to justice!"
"Our only hope now is to survive until the internet and power are restored so we can release this evidence to the public..."
Watching this, Melody Summers almost laughed out of sheer anger.
’This Frank York really knows how to control the narrative!’
If Melody hadn’t been there herself, she might have been fooled by Frank’s manipulative camerawork and editing into thinking the person who was killed was some poor, innocent soul.
Although the video had just been posted, Frank’s account had a million followers, and the video already had over ten thousand views.
Melody frowned and opened the comment section. The comments inside were simply vile:
"UserXXX: Holy crap, can something this dark really happen? Is there any justice left in the world?!"
"UserXXX: This isn’t the first time there’s been no justice. Our community doesn’t even have the centralized heating they show in the video. The relief supplies from the government were all embezzled by officials! A lot of people froze to death!"
"UserXXX: Support Finn and Bonbon! Finn and Bonbon are so positive!"
"UserXXX: Oh my god, this is a huge deal. I admire Finn and Bonbon for daring to expose this. You guys have to protect yourselves! Stay safe!"
"UserXXX: That woman’s expression is terrifying. Does she think she’s some kind of empress? Daring to just shoot and kill people whenever she wants. Investigate her immediately!"
"UserXXX: Holy shit, I’m so pissed after watching this! That poor old man! Investigate now!!! @CathaysiaDaily @NewsAgency @CathaysiaPress @NewsRelease @NewsFrontline."
"UserXXX: LMAO at the person above me. What’s the point of tagging a bunch of loudspeakers?"
"UserXXX: The person two comments up, you’d be better off tagging me than them. At least I could give you a like."
"UserXXX: A female staffer, and pretty good-looking too. Still got it goin’ on. We all know how she got her position, if you know what I mean."
"UserXXX: Haha, I get it, I get it. Like they say, ’If you want to live the high life, you gotta pay the price behind the scenes.’ We all know what’s up!"
"UserXXX: Know what? Sounds like there’s a story here. Person above, spill the tea."
"UserXXX: The old guy backing her is too powerful, can’t go into detail. But I’ve got the goods."
"UserXXX: Person above, link pls!"
"UserXXX: Link pls! This woman is totally my type!"
"..."
Reading those last few disgusting comments, Melody Summers’s hand holding the phone slowly tightened. She felt as if the blood in her veins had frozen, and a fire of rage and hatred began to burn in her eyes.
If her space had an item that could make these foul-mouthed animals in the comment section die without leaving a corpse, Melody would have redeemed and used it without a moment’s hesitation.
Just then, her phone rang again. It was Sophie Thorne.
Melody suppressed her rage and answered the call. She heard Sophie say on the other end, "Don’t be angry yet. The moment I saw this video, I had my people start doing PR. The video’s traffic is already being restricted, and it’ll be taken down from all platforms soon."
"I’m calling to ask if you know the vlogger who posted this. What exactly happened? Was the content in his video spliced together or something?"
Of course, Sophie Thorne trusted Winnie Summers’s character, but she needed to understand the full situation to find the best way to handle it.
Hearing this, Melody took a deep breath, barely managing to suppress the surging fury in her heart. She carefully recounted the friction between herself, Chloe Sharp, and Frank York, as well as the events that had unfolded at the temporary shelter that day, to Sophie.
After listening, Sophie Thorne found it completely unbelievable. She asked in astonishment, "Just because of that? They dared to post a slanderous video over something so trivial?"
Melody Summers sighed slowly and replied, "Mhm... We didn’t know them at all before that... Manipulating public opinion for clicks is one thing, but they probably also posted this video to get revenge on us."
Frank York and Chloe Sharp were influencers with a million followers. They thought they controlled the narrative, that they were a cut above the rest and could smear others as they pleased.
Being publicly humiliated by Melody and Winnie Summers that day, they couldn’t swallow their pride, which is why they came up with this method of revenge.
’A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.’ Even if Winnie came forward to clarify things now, all Frank had to do was incite his mindless followers, and it would still be a world of hurt for her.
Thinking of those vile comments, Melody was consumed with hatred, wishing she could tear Frank York to shreds right that instant!
She said in a cold voice, "Just deleting the video isn’t enough. They dared to frame my mom. I’m going to make them pay!"
And as for the people in the comments section, Melody didn’t want to let a single one of them off the hook either.
