Chapter 460: Chapter 460: Going All Out for Gossip
Faye Collins didn’t know what Arabella Donovan was thinking, but she already had a pretty good idea of her own situation. Her face pale, she forced a smile and said, "I... I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Serena. I’ll be more careful."
"Then this peace charm..."
In the end, just like Milton Lambert and his wife, Faye Collins paid for a peace charm for her child.
Arabella Donovan glanced at the happy family of three on one side, then at the inexplicably lonely mother and daughter on the other. She sighed and offered a final piece of advice.
"When you get back, remember to mention this to your agent. It might just save your life at a critical moment."
Reading Faye Collins’s face, Arabella could tell that her agent was both her earliest and most important benefactor in life. Their relationship hadn’t crossed the line into romance; it was more like the deep bond of family and friendship forged over many years.
’How ironic. In the end, partners and friends with no blood ties turned out to be more reliable than her own flesh and blood.’
Faye Collins was taken aback. She had met her agent early in her career; you could say he had single-handedly built her up from the start.
There was a significant age gap between them, and over the years, he had always treated her like a younger sister. His wife was incredibly kind to her, too. When she gave birth, it was his wife who had taken the time to care for both mother and child. Wasn’t that debt of gratitude far more profound and weighty than what she owed her own blood relatives, who only knew how to pressure her with talk of filial piety just to get money from her?
Faye Collins took a deep breath, her mind made up. It seemed she really needed to open her eyes and take a good look at the people around her, to see clearly who treated her well and who didn’t.
’In this world, some people were worth repaying, while others... simply weren’t worthy!’
Arabella Donovan seemed to sense this and glanced at Faye Collins, but said nothing more.
’In a family situation like hers, unless she has her own awakening and decides to save herself, she’ll just keep falling into the same trap over and over again. You can help someone temporarily, but not for a lifetime. No one else could truly help her.’
After meeting and exchanging pleasantries with Milton Lambert and the others, the group parted ways. The chaotic farce, though brief, finally came to an end. However, the repercussions of this drama were far from over.
With the help of Arabella Donovan, the police investigation quickly made a significant breakthrough in the case.
Before long, a public notice was issued. It stated that a few days prior, following a report, the police, with the help of enthusiastic citizens Ms. Donovan and Mr. Donovan, had successfully cracked a major and particularly heinous child trafficking case.
Usually, such notices would obscure the full names, only revealing the surname, like "Mr. Zhang" or "Zhang so-and-so." Perhaps because the Donovan siblings both shared the same last name, an extra character from their given names was included for clarity.
The reference was so obvious that no one could feign ignorance. On top of that, Jude Underwood’s fans had been frantically slandering the Donovan siblings to absolve their idol. While Hector Donovan’s fans were usually zen, they couldn’t just let the fans of an eighteenth-tier rookie stomp all over their idol and spread rumors. So, they plastered the complete video of that day’s livestream all over the internet.
Now, anyone who had seen the video knew exactly who the two Donovans mentioned in the announcement were.
Instantly, online discussion about the matter skyrocketed again. Hector Donovan’s public service profile also saw a massive boost. Within just a few days, several official charity organizations from various provinces and cities contacted him, wanting to invite him to be their charity ambassador.
These charity endorsements might not pay much, and the publicity wasn’t as grand as typical commercial ads, but once you filmed them, it meant you were officially recognized by the authorities. As long as he didn’t do anything illegal or break major rules in the future, this recognition would guarantee him a lifetime of prosperity, no different from a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Hector Donovan’s fans had mixed feelings about this. They were happy their idol had done a good deed and landed great opportunities, but they also found it hard to put into words how they felt about him being carried to success by his younger sister.
In their own words: they never thought their idol’s name would one day appear in the social news section, and in such a manner. A thousand thoughts ultimately coalesced into a single sentence: "Thank you, sis, for the eye-opening experience."
Hector Donovan: "..." ’Great. Now everyone knows I’m riding my sister’s coattails.’
’It didn’t sound great, he admitted, but after feeling awkward for a moment, Hector got over it. So what if I’m riding her coattails? Other people wish they had the chance! Hmph!’
Arabella Donovan, on the other hand, was more concerned about the Coleman Family and Chloe Coleman’s ultimate fate.
After the secret of her inner voice was exposed, everyone, including Arabella Donovan herself, thought she would be awkward about it for a while.
But in reality, she was only awkward for one evening. The next day, she was back to her usual self, and after a few days of getting used to it, she began to let herself go even more.
Especially after learning that her family had been enjoying a lot of gossip thanks to her inner commentary and had grown to love this "healthy and beneficial" activity, she decisively decided to make the most of the situation. She began coaxing her eldest brother to help her dig up dirt on the Coleman Family. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Justin Donovan was more than happy to oblige, and it wasn’t long before he returned with the information Arabella Donovan was interested in.
Now that everything was out in the open, the Donovans no longer had to restrain their thirst for gossip. As soon as they heard, they all rushed back and gathered in the living room as if by unspoken agreement, waiting for the juicy follow-up Justin Donovan had brought back.
Looking at this familiar scene, Arabella Donovan had a dawning realization about some things she had previously overlooked.
"So, back in Brynn, when Miss Kerr came to find me with Mr. York and his wife... you all suddenly changed your schedules at the last minute because you heard my thoughts and knew there’d be drama when they arrived, so you..."
"Uh..." The members of the Donovan family exchanged awkward glances.
Arabella Donovan’s lips formed a pout. Her gaze suddenly shifted to her eldest brother, who was just walking through the door, right into the line of fire. "’A director’s kitchen exploded, causing a power outage that affected the company meeting.’"
Justin Donovan stopped in his tracks. He weighed the options of lying to save face versus telling the truth and immediately surrendering, and chose the latter.
"It was fake."
"Second Brother, ’a bird cracked the plane’s windshield, causing your flight to be delayed, so you all had to rebook for the afternoon’..."
"...Also fake."
"Mom, Dad, and Sister, you ’had an appointment to go shopping with Uncle and Aunt but ran into a religious procession, so you had to reschedule.’"
"...We wanted to stay and see what would happen, so we made a last-minute call to your uncle and aunt to reschedule."
Arabella Donovan’s expression was indescribable.
"So the thing about Third Brother’s lab keys... don’t tell me that was fake too?"
Adhering to the principle of "better you die than I," Hector Donovan threw his younger brother under the bus without a shred of guilt. "Of course it was fake. He has a spare lab key in his own pocket. Why would he need to find someone else?"
Arabella Donovan: "..."
’I gotta say, you people really went all out just to get a taste of fresh gossip.’