Alpha's Discarded Luna (Talia) novel Chapter 197

Chapter 192

Talia’s POV

This time, the police treat me much better than before. No

harsh lights. No aggressive questioning. Just a table, two

officers, and a calm voice asking for clarification.

I lay out the allegations Nick made. “Here is the situation.

Aires and I were still married at the time. I visited their mall

to study the strengths and weaknesses of their products.

There was no leaking of trade secrets.”

I meet the officer’s eyes. “Moreover, I paid for all the items

I purchased at their mall. You can check Aires’s account

records. The payments should all have come from his

account.”

The officer nods and sends a colleague to verify. A few

minutes pass. Then the colleague returns with records in

hand.

“Ms. Jackson is correct,” he says. “She did pay for the items, and the payments came from Aires’s account.”

hagd, “Aires was here earlier. If you do not believe me, you:25

< Chapter 192

can call him in to confirm. He made the payments and knows

where the money went.”

The officer thinks for a moment, then sends someone to

check if Aires is still outside. When they confirm he is there,

they call him in.

Nick’s POV

I frown. “Waiting for my order? For what? I told you to spread

dirt on Talia, not promote her!”

The assistant says, “The PR department said it was your order, and they even called to confirm. I just found out and

thought something was off, so I called to double–check.”

I growl, frustration boiling over. “When did I ever tell you to post positive news about Talia? You are all idiots!” I pace back and forth. “Get rid of all the positive news about Talia

right now and start spreading her scandals. True or false, I

do not care. Hire more trolls to steer the narrative.” I spit the

words. “Damn it, I have to take her down!”

The assistant hesitates. “But Talia’s massive donation of a

billion dollars has won her a lot of fans. Even the official

media praised her for it.” He lowers his voice. “Mr. Thorne, 2/6

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< Chapter 192

going against the official media… is not that unwise?”

My face twists in anger. I clench my teeth. “Didn’t I make myself clear? Spread all her dirty laundry!”

The assistant sighs helplessly. I can hear the reluctance in his voice. “Mr. Thorne, given Talia’s current online reputation, these scandals will not do much. They will only make people

hate us more.”

He continues, his tone cautious. “Before, we could still use

her billion–dollar donation and the alleged crime to stir up

trouble. But that reporter’s tricky question during the live stream actually gave Talia a chance to explain herself. If that reporter had not asked that question, we would still have

room to maneuver. But now we have hit a dead end.” He pauses. “Mr. Thorne, I suggest we take a step back and think this through carefully.”

I freeze. I was the one who instructed the reporters to tear Talia apart during the live stream. I wanted to bring her down. Who would have thought I would end up shooting myself in the foot and helping her instead? I could kick

myself.

“First, pull back all the posts the influencers and big accounts 3/6

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< Chapter 192

were about to publish,” I say, my voice tight.

The assistant finally relaxes. “Understood. I will handle it

right away.”

Less than two minutes later, my phone rings again. It is the

PR manager.

“Mr. Thorne, your notice came too late.” His voice is panicked.

“The press release clearing Talia’s name was already sent

out… ten minutes ago.”

“Damn it!” I curse furiously. “Are you out of your mind? I

told you to smear Talia, not promote her!” I feel the vein

throbbing in my forehead. “Did a horse kick you in the head?”

The PR manager sounds like he is on the verge of tears.

“Mr. Thorne, I was just following your instructions! Not long ago, when Talia’s donation hit the trending list, I called

you immediately. You said it was your doing and told me

to cooperate.” His voice cracks. “I thought it was a new PR

strategy you came up with. First make her infamous, then

highlight her good deeds. After all, it was your account that

promoted Talia’s live stream in the first place.”

Author’s POV

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< Chapter 192

Nick’s constant smearing of Talia had convinced him that

Nick had a grudge and genuinely wanted to ruin her. But the recent call with Nick made him doubt everything.

They had done the smear–then–clear tactic before. But

this time, it was the most successful PR stunt in history.

Unparalleled. Impossible to replicate. He had thought Nick

received some masterful advice and came up with this

brilliant strategy.

He had even kept an eye on the live stream, afraid he had

misunderstood. When he saw the reporter challenge Talia,

only for her to effortlessly turn it around, he knew he had not

misread the situation.

The Thorne family had built their fortune on media. The

industry’s unspoken rules were well–known. Some reporters

seemed aggressive, but they were actually giving the

subject a perfect chance to clarify. Plus, Talia had been

well–prepared. The evidence she released had clearly been

prepared in advance.

After this clarification, Talia’s online reputation flipped

almost instantly. He had thought Nick was a genius boss. But

now…

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<Chapter 192

He exhaled slowly. He had overthought it. Nick was still

the same clueless Nick. Working for a boss like this, there

probably was not much of a future. It might even lead to

disaster.

Would it be better to resign before it affected his career

badly?

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