Free Web NovelChapter 277: Chapter 277 The Fall of the Hill Family
James was probably just as shocked.
But that was none of Rose’s concern. She had no intention of explaining anything to James or easing his shock.
The identity of "Aster" was far too high-profile.
Once known as a prodigious genius with countless patents to her name and access to Aetheris Medical AI’s vast database—while never once making a public appearance—she had only deepened people’s admiration and curiosity.
Now, she no longer had a moment of peace.
Before long, Rose received another call from Dr. Nathan’s office.
He was calling to discuss the matter of Aster’s identity. “I’ve already spoken with the president of NYU. We held a meeting to discuss your situation, Rose. My recommendation is that you keep a low profile for the time being. The fact that you’re Aster has far-reaching implications, especially...”
“You’ve been married to Ryan for years, yet you have a child with the Robinson family. Someone with the right connections could easily discover that the child was conceived during your marriage. On the surface, people will accuse you of cheating on your husband and having another man’s child, which won’t be good for you. So, it’s best to keep your identity as Aster confidential for now. It won’t affect your promotion to the National Center for Biomedical Innovation.”
After all, once a scandal like that broke out, there would inevitably be endless speculation and gossip about Rose’s private life.
At that point, it would become nothing but personal attacks.
Taking a cautious approach now would at least protect Rose’s reputation and prevent Ariel from becoming the target of criticism.
This way, no one would uncover the fact that Rose had given birth to Trevor’s daughter while she was still married to Ryan.
Once the storm passed, everything would become much easier to handle.
Rose understood Dr. Nathan’s good intentions.
Having lived such a long life, the old man naturally considered the long-term consequences more carefully.
She agreed.
Thinking it over, he was right.
Dr. Nathan continued, “NYU has already launched an investigation. But regarding the tampering, it’ll probably be very difficult to prove Samantha was responsible. There’s almost no evidence. We may have to swallow this bitter pill.”
Rose had already expected that outcome.
After all, if everything happened in private and there were no surveillance cameras or witnesses, there would be no way to prove Samantha’s involvement.
She might very well get away with it.
“We’ll take it one step at a time,” Rose said.
Finally, Dr. Nathan asked, “Has President Knight contacted you?”
Rose blinked. “No.”
Dr. Nathan let out a cold snort and hung up without another word.
Rose could only stare at her phone, lost in thought for a long while.
The fact that Ryan still hadn’t come to speak with her left her feeling strangely unsettled.
As for the decision to keep her identity as Aster confidential, Ryan had indeed done it to prevent Samantha’s incident from escalating further—but it had also benefited Rose.
In a way, she almost had to thank him for solving a potential problem for her.
All because he was trying to protect Samantha.
She had accumulated far too many missed calls.
When Rose returned to her apartment around eight o’clock that evening, she finally noticed a missed call from Diana that had come in half an hour earlier.
She was about to call Diana back.
Just then, an entertainment news alert popped up at the top of her screen.
The familiar name "Samantha" immediately caught her attention.
Rose tapped it open.
To her surprise, it was already trending.
It was a leaked recording.
The headline read: "Celebrity Doctor Samantha’s Live Broadcast Scandal! Private Conversation Leaked!"
Rose tapped the video.
Soon, the voices of Logan, Daisy, and Samantha reached her ears.
Although there was some static because of the recording distance, their conversation was still perfectly understandable.
The recording included phrases such as:
"Failed to get Rose fired."
"Target her thesis."
"Frame Rose for academic fraud."
"Shady dealings involving the antique shop."
"Forced his terminally ill ex-wife to sign and seal the transfer documents."
And much more.
Rose scrolled down.
The comment section had already exploded.
She immediately called Diana back.
The moment the call connected, Diana burst into triumphant laughter.
“Did you see the trending post?”
“I did.”
“What a pleasant surprise! I never expected this to happen today. Caleb told me what happened at the symposium, and meanwhile I was directing the Hill family’s show. They slipped away to make a phone call, but the cameras were still recording!”
“I could’ve cut the live broadcast immediately—but then I thought, why should I? Everyone deserves to see this family’s true colors!”
“And look at them now.”
“They’ve exposed exactly how heartless and rotten they really are.”
Although many details weren’t explicitly explained, anyone with common sense could piece together what had happened.
While most viewers weren’t familiar with what had happened at NYU, plenty of people knew about the Bennett family’s antique shop.
It was now practically confirmed that Logan had seized his first wife’s personal property through questionable means.
“Now Hill Corporation is under investigation too. If any internal problems are uncovered, they’re finished. I’ve already heard that countless investors have pulled their funding from Hill projects since the scandal broke.”
Diana sounded positively delighted. “I almost want to thank Ryan. He wanted to humiliate both of us, so he specifically assigned me to produce a show centered around his precious Samantha. If it had been anyone else, they would’ve immediately cut the live stream to stop the damage. But not me.”
“I poured gasoline on the fire.”
“And just like that, I helped his precious darling at exactly the right moment.”
The Hill family had fallen headfirst into disaster.
If they couldn’t recover from this, they were finished.
They had gone to great lengths to create a custom reality show built entirely around Samantha and the Hill family.
If they hadn’t been so eager to make themselves famous, they wouldn’t have suffered such a devastating downfall.
Rose hadn’t expected events to unfold like this.
Especially since the recording included Samantha admitting they had planned to "start with the thesis."
That single sentence was crucial.
It could become an important piece of evidence in the investigation.
Rose remained silent for a long time.
Listening to the choppy recording, a terrifying thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Back then...
When her mother was involved in that car accident...
Was it really an accident?
Or had it been deliberate?
Logan desperately needed money.
Her mother refused to hand over the Bennett family’s antiques.
Then she was involved in a car accident...
A chill suddenly ran down Rose’s spine.
The hand holding her phone trembled uncontrollably.
*****
At the Hill residence.
The moment Samantha heard the recording, her expression changed dramatically.
The glass of water in her hand slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor.
Logan wasn’t doing any better.
He had rushed home from the office and looked as though he had aged ten years overnight.
“What the hell happened with that recording? Our family can sue the production team over such a serious mistake!”
Daisy was equally frantic.
Several wealthy socialites had already called to ask whether she and Logan had really been involved in an extramarital affair.
“What about the company? How bad is it?” she asked anxiously.
“Seven companies have already pulled their investments. Every one of our ongoing projects has been forced to shut down halfway through. All the money we’ve invested could go down the drain. If we can’t resolve this, we’ll have to absorb every loss ourselves.”
“And the stock price...”
“It has crashed.”
Logan’s blood pressure soared with rage.
The show had originally been intended to build a positive public image for the Hill family.
After the first episode aired, they secured numerous new projects and saw business increase dramatically.
To meet demand, Logan had immediately expanded production and poured massive amounts of money into scaling operations.
He had never imagined that the very show meant to elevate the family would become the first domino to bring everything crashing down.
Daisy immediately grabbed Samantha’s phone.
“Sam,” she urged, “call President Knight.”
