Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 314

"Willa, have you considered that something is seriously wrong with this whole situation? I've been paying people to pull down the trending topics since yesterday, but they won't budge."

It wasn't that Willa hadn't thought about it.

She was still relatively new to the company. Aside from Lana's blatant hostility, she couldn't fathom who else would have the motive to pull something like this.

But the timing was far too coincidental, striking right after she had struck a deal with Julian York.

It was entirely possible that whoever was pulling the strings wasn't just targeting her.

Just like last time, this was nothing but a trap.

In a flash of clarity, Willa immediately thought of Randal Yates.

Anxious, she pulled out her phone, ready to dial his number.

Right then, a message popped up on her screen.

*[Don't worry about the media. Don't look at it, don't respond. I will handle it.]*

Staring at the text on the screen, Willa suddenly realized that she hadn't seen Randal for days.

—

When Randal received the blistering phone call from Sophie, he was standing in the top-floor office of Vanguard Properties.

Sophie ripped into him for a solid twenty minutes, tearing him apart from "you're a useless piece of trash" all the way to "if anything happens to Willa, I will ruin you." He didn't dare say a single word in return.

After hanging up, he scrolled through the online forums, reading every vicious post line by line. A suffocating wave of emotion washed over him, something far heavier and more unbearable than anger—guilt.

This was all because of him.

If he hadn't made that selfish decision at the wedding back then, Willa would never have been subjected to this living nightmare.

He dialed Scarlett Sterling's number.

She answered on the second ring, sounding surprised. "Why are you calling me? Did something happen?"

"The online posts. Did you know about them?"

The person on the other end spoke briefly. Randal gave a low hum of confirmation and ended the call.

The next morning, a bombshell statement was released across every major social platform under Randal Yates's personal name.

1. Ms. Willa Vance has never interfered in any relationship between myself and Ms. Scarlett Sterling. Ms. Sterling and I have never legally registered a marriage; there is no legal marital bond between us.

2. Ms. Vance's child is my biological son. Due to personal reasons, I previously failed to publicly acknowledge this fact. For the distress and harm this has caused Ms. Vance, I am profoundly sorry.

3. Ms. Vance has never used our child as leverage to make demands of me or the Yates family. On the contrary, it is I who have failed to fulfill my duties as a father.

4. I have instructed my legal team to initiate proceedings against the individuals responsible for fabricating and maliciously spreading these rumors.

Within half an hour of the statement going live, the entire internet exploded.

Immediately following that, Scarlett released a statement on her own personal account.

Its content was concise and to the point: *The facts stated by Mr. Randal Yates are true.*