Betrayed by the Father Reborn in His Rival's Arms novel Chapter 505

The comments online were growing increasingly vicious, but Madeline only saw the news after stepping out of her third project meeting of the day.

"Director Monroe, the board of directors just sent an email. They're demanding an emergency meeting this afternoon for you to provide a reasonable explanation regarding the recent negative press."

Her assistant's voice was hushed, heavily laced with concern.

A PR crisis of this magnitude was disastrous for someone who had just taken the reins.

Eleanor Prescott was highly likely the mastermind pulling the strings for this impromptu board meeting, looking for any excuse to strip Madeline of her position.

Her assistant continued.

"Also, our partners for The Med-Tech Robotics Initiative called to ask if the online drama is going to affect the project's timeline."

Madeline handed the phone back to her assistant, closed her eyes, and took two deep breaths.

Penelope moved faster than she had anticipated.

She had assumed the York family would wait at least a few days after the divorce was finalized before making their next move. She hadn't expected Penelope to lack even a single day's patience.

No, it wasn't just Penelope—it was the overwhelming flood of bot accounts.

Those anonymous profiles picking apart her resume couldn't possibly have been orchestrated without the York family's resources backing them.

Penelope was just the mouthpiece standing in the spotlight; the real force fanning the flames was the Yorks.

They were using public opinion to send her a message—if she took the York family's resources, she had to endure their wrath.

"Director Monroe?" her assistant called out tentatively.

Madeline opened her eyes. Her voice was remarkably steady for someone who had just spent hours being crucified on the trending charts.

"Call the medical robotics team back yourself. Tell them the project won't be affected in the slightest, and everything is moving forward as scheduled. Have the board prep a summary report and send it to me."

"But what about everything online..."

"Ignore it." Madeline stood up, efficiently gathering the loose documents on her desk into a folder without a hint of panic.

"Responding now will only give Penelope the attention she wants. The more you defend yourself, the more ammunition you hand them. Ignore her and let her put on a one-woman show."

Her assistant nodded and turned to make the arrangements.

Madeline picked up her phone, opened Spark again, and read Penelope's post tagging her from start to finish. She swiped through a few screenshots of the expose threads.

It wasn't that she didn't care. It was simply that now was not the time to care.

She was pregnant. She couldn't afford to get angry, anxious, or let her emotions affect the baby.

Penelope wanted her to break down, wanted her to lose her footing in the eye of the media storm—so she absolutely would not give her the satisfaction.

But some things couldn't just be brushed off.

The meeting convened that afternoon.

Silas Hayden, acting as Chairman and CEO, sat at the head of the table. The other shareholders were seated along the sides, leaving a chair at the very end for her, as if she were there to face a tribunal.

Most of the senior shareholders couldn't stomach Madeline parachuting into power. Previously, Quentin had been shielding her, and picking a fight with her meant picking a fight with Quentin.