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Carter Industries and allies manipulated the media,dredging up five-year-old lies as evidence.So childish.
With my silence,Bennett's stock plummeted,while Carter's soared.
Bennett's remaining managers sold their shares,leaving the company a hollow shell.
Carter Industries reclaimed its former glory.
Rivals rushed to slander me.
Henry and Lily led the charge,spinning tales tying me blame me for global warming,alien invasions,even piloting UFOs.
When gossip peaked,news of my release due to lack of evidence was announced.
Alongside it,evidence I'd prepared for years—records of every smear—flooded the internet before anyone could react.
For petty lies like me killing my parents,I sued Henry for defamation.
I'd risen when the internet first showed its potential,understanding the internet better than Henry,a naive upstart.
Netizens see things only in black and white.
At my darkest,I stood atop the narrative,clearing my name with facts.Rumors,mere foam,were shattered instantly.
The Carters rarely lost wars when media was involved.Henry,slow to react,realized the ship scandal was my setup.He urgently gathered directors to plan again.
But who said Carter Industries still belonged to the Carters?
I swooped into the boardroom,announcing Bennett's bankruptcy.Using Bennett's elite remnants,I merged Carter Industries,rebranding it.
Revival.
My wish,my goal.
The Carters were all kicked out.Henry lost the moment he jilted me at the altar.
I'd planned five years to let him gain everything,then lose it all.
Carter Industries belonged to Sophia Bennett now.
The cruelest cuts come from those closest.
I hated all of them equally.
Lily,who rose on my ruin,faced consequences now.
People who once pitied her kindness now cursed her as a liar.
I listed her crimes against me online,with proof for all of them.
She'd signed many contracts with brands on her fame;now they demanded breach penalties,a huge sum.
But Lily wasn’t afraid.Her twins'father was filthy rich.
That wealthy,royal foreigner?Three days later,he flew back on my private jet.
It was all my staged play.
Lily,furious,stormed in Revival.Now,she still didn’t think this would be the end of things.
"My charm system will save me!Every named elite will help me!Sophia,you'll see!"
No more tears.
Proud as a rooster.
Hands clasped,I asked calmly:"You snuck into that gala,I know.Remember if any named elite was there?"
"Lily,I'm not a fool."
"I find your weakness,and I'll take your life in one way or another."
Her face paled,too shocked to cry.
Epilogue
I stood by the floor-to-ceiling window,overlooking the city.
Julian,behind me,poured me a red wine.
"Look,how brilliant this world is."
