Their Punching Bag Became The Storm novel Chapter 73

Chapter 73 Brace Yourself

Chapter 73 Brace Yourself

Eric lifted his head from the tablet. “How can we sit back and let things slide? Didn’t you notice they’re starting to point fingers at Emily?”

He jumped up and hurried over to Joel. “Joel, this isn’t cutting it. See if you can dig up a few more scandals about Whitney.” Joel frowned and rubbed his sore temples. “Eric, all we’re trying to do is shift the spotlight, so people stop talking about Emily not helping, and forget about Whitney’s dramatic rescue.”

Right now, nobody is bringing up what happened out on the sea yesterday. That was good enough.

“This isn’t going to cut it.” Eric acted like he didn’t even notice Joel’s tired face, shaking him. “Joel, tons of people don’t believe the dirt we dug up. They’re pinning it all on Emily. This is nowhere near enough.

“I want Whitney to take such a crushing blow from these leaks that she won’t even dare mess with Emily again.” Joel’s headache kept getting worse.

He’d been glued to his tech work for twenty years, living a permanent night–shift schedule. He rarely saw daylight, and years of being cooped up indoors had severely worn down his health, leaving him plagued by constant migraines.

After Whitney moved back in with the Anderson family, she wouldn’t let up on him, nagging him day in and day out until he finally kicked his all–nighter habit.

Whenever he felt under the weather, she’d make him some homemade herbal soup.

Over the past year, Joel’s health had gotten a lot better, and he hadn’t had a single headache since.

After he stayed up all night, his head was pounding.

If Whitney were around, she’d definitely notice he wasn’t feeling well, fuss over him, and try to comfort him.

Joel never expected Eric, his spoiled little brother, to care about him. But he also didn’t want Eric to give him such a hard time.

Eric kept shaking him, and Joel’s head throbbed even harder.

Joel, getting impatient, brushed Eric’s hand away. “Enough, Eric. Don’t forget who our real sister is.

Joel only stepped in because Whitney kept picking on Emily during the show. He wanted to remind Whitney that they should get along as a family.

Back at home, he could let her petty stuff go, but now she was getting more brazen on live TV, and even started getting physical with Emily. That kind of behavior had to be stopped.

On one hand, Joel wanted to make it up to Emily. On the other hand, he wanted to teach Whitney a lesson. That was why he set all this up.

But Joel never meant for Whitney to get totally trashed online or have everyone hating on her, let alone want her to take a crushing blow or have her reputation destroyed.

Eric spat, his face scrunching up like he’d smelled something foul, “Real sister? Please, that venomous, ill–mannered bitch doesn’t deserve to be my sister.

“Emily’s the only sister I have. That bitch is nothing but a curse on our family.”

Joel’s frown deepened.

His headache was getting worse, not from the pain, but also from Eric’s open hostility and obvious dislike toward Whitney. He wanted to tell Eric off for thinking that way when his phone rang, cutting their conversation short.

Joel rubbed his temples and reached for his phone.

He sat up abruptly.

Eric, still fuming, was startled by Joel’s sudden movement. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Brandon.” Joel already had a feeling why Brandon would call them at this hour.

Eric waved it off, totally unconcerned. “Brandon’s call got you all jumpy?”

Joel glanced at Eric, who was so careless and indifferent and didn’t even bother to say anything anymore.

‘Eric is utterly spoiled. Is he out of his mind, Joel thought.

Joel adjusted his gold–rimmed glasses, took a deep breath, and answered the call. Brandon’s voice came through, cold and furious. “Was all that mess online your doing?”

Chapter 73 Brace Yourself

Before Joel could say a word, Eric jumped in. “Yeah. Brandon, since you and Dad won’t step in about Emily, Joel and I will take care of it ourselves.”

“Foolish,” Brandon snapped. “Who told you to act on your own?”

Brandon’s presence alone was enough to shut Eric up. He immediately shrank back, not daring to say another word.

Joel glanced at Eric, cleared his throat, and said, “I know what you’re worried about.”

“Joel, you’re smart, always have been. So why are you letting Eric drag you into his nonsense?” Brandon’s tone was back to normal, but still cold and serious.

“I know Ryan,” Joel explained calmly. “He wouldn’t stick his neck ourĂ.

woman.”

Whitney. He’s not the type to get involved for

What Brandon was really worried about was that if Ryan actually stepped in and said he and Whitney were regular friends, all those leaks would be exposed as lies.

But Joel was sure Ryan would never step in.

Ryan had always been on a pedestal, untouchable and above it all. There was no way he’d ever step down from his pedestal for Whitney.

Ryan and Whitney seemed unusually close on the show, but to Joel, that was typical reality show editing.

Joel had met Ryan before and knew exactly what kind of guy he was.

“What if Ryan really does speak up for her?” Brandon scoffed, throwing the question right back at him.

Joel blurted out, “No way.”

Brandon let out another cold laugh. “What if Ryan not only speaks up for her, but actually starts digging into who leaked all this?”

Joel’s eyes narrowed behind his glasses. “That’s even more impossible.”

‘Getting Ryan to help her like that? Whitney could never pull that off, Joel thought.

And Ryan would never go that far because of a woman.

“You had better get ready. If anything goes wrong, make sure it doesn’t mess with the company,” Brandon said, not bothering to argue anymore before hanging up.

Joel stared at his phone, the screen now dark. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and a sense of unease crept into his heart.

*****

Whitney was totally clueless about the chaos blowing up online.

She rummaged through her stash, threw together a quick breakfast, and then dove right into the herb patch.

She sorted through the herbs, grabbed a handful, headed back to the stove, and got to work brewing her herbal remedy.

Even though the cameras weren’t on her, there were plenty of crew members hanging around.

The air, which had been full of delicious food smells, suddenly reeked of the bitter scent of traditional medicine.

Everyone looked pretty confused.

All the doctors here were from the modern medicine side.

‘Why are we smelling traditional medicine all of a sudden?‘ someone wondered. ‘Man, that herbal smell is seriously intense.”

After simmering the herbal medicine for nearly two hours, Whitney finally brought the steaming concoction over to Ryan’s

room.

As she got to the door, a cloyingly artificial voice drifted out of the room, nasal and ridiculously pretentious. “Ryan…”

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