Betrayed by the Father Reborn in His Rival's Arms novel Chapter 222

Madeline calmly closed the folder in front of her and met his gaze with absolute poise. "We will discuss it when the meeting concludes."

She didn't raise her voice, but the conference room went so dead silent you could hear a pin drop.

Every single executive in the room covertly darted their eyes toward her face.

They were desperate to read something—anything—from her expression. Fury? Humiliation? Or the deeply hidden secrets of some billionaire soap opera?

But Madeline gave them absolutely nothing.

She sat at the head of the polished boardroom table, her posture impeccably straight, her hair swept up into an elegant, razor-sharp chignon.

Aside from the faint, shadowy circles under her eyes betraying a sleepless night, she displayed zero emotional turbulence.

Only Silas noticed the micro-tells.

Her manicured fingers pressed against the briefing papers just a few seconds longer than usual.

The meeting finally wrapped up at 10:30 AM.

Madeline returned to her private office and locked the heavy oak door behind her. The blinds were half-drawn, slicing a blinding shaft of sunlight across the hardwood floor.

Standing at the edge of the light, she finally unlocked her phone.

The number one trending topic globally was simply: 'Lucius Whitman Silas Hayden Brawl.'

Right next to it was a glaring red 'EXPLOSIVE' tag.

The second topic: 'Lucius Accompanies Pregnant Fiancée After Engagement.'

The third: 'Madeline Monroe Avoids Response.'

She clicked the first hashtag. The top post was still the 3:00 AM expose from the gossip blog, now sitting at well over 100,000 retweets.

The cropped angle of the photo was incredibly malicious.

It perfectly framed her standing in the center of the hallway while the two men tore each other apart, making it look as though she was arrogantly watching two billionaires duel over her, rather than a woman being saved from her ex-husband's harassment.

But the narrative in the comments had taken several sharp turns over the past few hours.

The initial wave of comments was purely people grabbing popcorn for the drama.

But soon, internet detectives began mapping out the exact timeline—specifically the legal duration of Lucius and Madeline's marriage.

—But today, nobody was blaming her. The entire world was cursing them on her behalf.

She didn't even have to say a single word.

Two soft knocks rapped against the door before Silas pushed it open, carrying a freshly brewed coffee.

He set the ceramic cup on her desk, his sharp eyes catching the rapid-fire comments still scrolling on her illuminated screen.

His tone was as steady and unhurried as always. "Drink it while it's hot. The PR team is actively mapping the sentiment data. The narrative is heavily in our favor right now. You don't need to issue any public response. I will handle everything."

Madeline took the coffee, the rich steam wrapping around her face.

She took a slow sip. As the bitter liquid rolled over her tongue, she finally felt her senses returning to her.

"I don't plan to respond," she said.

Silas held her gaze for a moment but didn't push the subject.

Madeline set her phone face-up on the desk. The screen was still unlocked, and the comments were still flying by in a blur of vindication.