Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism novel Chapter 681

"I'm certain they're married. My uncle works at a casino in Harbor City, and he told me he often sees Harvey driving Hattie's car to the casino to gamble. This isn't exactly a secret in Harbor City. I'm actually surprised it hasn't been reported until now."

"Just a little secret. The person you're guessing is Hattie's father. When she was studying at Toland University, she often bragged about being the daughter of the Ridges. But strangely, ever since she entered the industry, she hasn't mentioned it again. She's probably worried about people digging up the fact that she's an illegitimate child."

"It's surprising how many people are still unaware that Hattie is the illegitimate daughter of the Ridges! Everyone in our class knew about it, including Violeta and Kaylee!"

A few days later, the excitement surrounding The Golden Ages's winning big began to fade, but the scandal involving Hattie continued to dominate the trending topics list.

Upon learning about the situation, Carl was furious. At his age, he certainly didn't want to be dragged down by his daughter, Hattie, so he ordered someone to suppress the trending topic immediately.

Amber smiled, intentionally adding fuel to the fire. "Come on, don't be too upset. After all, she's just a kid."

Carl glared at her, getting angrier.

"A kid? At her age? She's married and still a kid? What a useless girl. I should have never allowed them to come back together back then. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

As for the trending topic online, Hattie wasn't naïve—did they really think she was unaware of how to suppress it?

If they wanted to put out the fire, they first needed to address who had sparked it.

The fire was ignited by Amber, who deliberately sought to escalate the situation, hoping to deepen Carl's disdain for Hannah and Hattie.

Hattie naturally couldn't suppress the news.

However, Amber was still the matriarch of the Ridges and couldn't allow this matter to spiral out of control. After she had achieved her goal, she decided to let the heat die down on its own. Any further commotion would only raise Carl's suspicions.

But a small spark can start a huge fire.

The online discussions had already drawn Hattie into a deep mess. Even though the buzz has died down, it only made netizens more convinced that Hattie feels guilty and spent money to suppress the trending topics.

Soon, Hattie's overlapping filming plans were exposed.

"Big news! Hattie shot eight films last year, and none of them have aired!"