"Josie, what kind of god-tier bodyguard did you hire? His moves were swift and brutal—he’s absolutely incredible! Truly worth the million you spent to hire him."
Clara’s words left Josephine completely baffled. "What happened? What did my bodyguard do?"
She had two bodyguards; who was Clara referring to?
"So you didn’t know? I thought this was all planned out between you two," Clara said, genuinely surprised.
Josephine stifled a yawn. "I’ve been writing my thesis all afternoon and haven’t checked the news online. Did something else happen?"
"Let me tell you, something huge happened..." Clara chattered away, explaining the situation.
Josephine managed to grasp the gist of it. Someone had taken a picture of her and Sean, posting it online to spread rumors. Single-handedly, Sean had managed to completely reverse public opinion on the internet.
"Josie, with everything going on, I really should be by your side. But my parents said that if I keep sticking close to you, the Sterlings will never let you off the hook.
"They said you have to stand up and face them yourself so they can see your determination. That’s the only way they’ll stop harassing you in the future.
"I’m so sorry for making you face all of this alone," Clara apologized.
Josephine knew deep down that the sterling parents were right. The Sterlings had always assumed she only dared to clash with them because she was leaning on the Sterling family’s influence. The s probably also feared that she was using them. It was perfectly normal for them to prevent Clara from seeing her. Besides, she really did need to stand on her own two feet.
"Don’t be silly. What are you apologizing for? I think your parents are right. Just be a good girl and stay at home for now. Once I’m done dealing with the Sterlings, I’ll come find you to hang out."
Josephine hung up the phone and headed downstairs. She took a moment to check the news on her phone.
It all started with the photo Yvonne had posted. Once it gained traction, Sean immediately uploaded his employment contract with Josephine online. This proved that he was merely her bodyguard and that there was no inappropriate relationship between them. At the same time, the security firm reposted his statement and swiftly issued a cease-and-desist letter to the rumor-monger under the company’s name.
In an era where legal warnings were thrown around casually, this didn’t make much of a splash online. The real turning point in public opinion came from a report by official state media. The article highlighted Sean’s meritorious deeds during his military service. The official media directly named Sean, praising him for maintaining his integrity after leaving the military. They stated that working as a bodyguard to make a living was nothing to be ashamed of and demanded that the public stop spreading rumors about him.
This essentially served as a character guarantee for Sean. With this news, public opinion rapidly reversed.
But Josephine felt this wasn’t enough!
It was only because Sean had a solid background as a military veteran that the uproar had been quelled. If it had been an ordinary person, they would have been cyberbullied into oblivion. It might have even destroyed their family, while simultaneously nailing Josephine to the pillar of shame as a homewrecker.
Josephine walked over to Sean and the others with her phone in hand. "Why didn’t you guys tell me something so huge happened?"
"It was a small matter, and it’s already resolved!" Sean smiled, clearly not thinking much of it. He had been a bodyguard for years, and this was the first time someone had spread rumors about his relationship with his employer. He felt he had handled it fairly well.
"How is it resolved? Did the rumor-monger apologize, or pay you compensation? Pierce, a reversal in public opinion isn’t the same as resolving the issue. The public puts more faith in the final outcome.
"From now on, you listen to me." Since she couldn’t rush to take down Stella, she would start by making an example of Stella’s lapdog.
Initially, she only intended to target the Sterlings regarding the online drama. But since Yvonne wanted to get involved, she couldn’t blame Josephine for what came next.
Josephine changed her clothes. "Let’s go. We’re heading to the police station to file a report. Make sure all the online evidence is screen-recorded and saved."
She didn’t know if Yvonne was just arrogant or incredibly stupid, but the girl still hadn’t deleted her online posts. That at least gave them ample time to gather evidence.
While collecting evidence, Josephine also noticed Caleb’s repost, which made her laugh out of sheer anger. Caleb and Yvonne weren’t close. Unless she was mistaken, Stella must have been playing matchmaker behind the scenes! She had already called the police on the Sterlings for defaming her. With this repost, it would only further compound their guilt.
She wondered how the Sterlings would feel if they found out that all of this was thanks to Stella. They probably still wouldn’t blame her, considering how much they doted on her.
At the thought of this, the coldness on Josephine’s face deepened. Over the years, Stella had used the Sterlings to torment her more times than she could count. Sooner or later, she was going to tear away Stella’s vicious facade. She was eagerly looking forward to seeing the Sterlings’ expressions when they finally learned the truth!
Sean had initially thought that clarifying the situation would be enough, but seeing Josephine’s insistence on going to the police, he didn’t object. Truth be told, as a man, he didn’t really care, but this definitely negatively impacted Josephine’s reputation.
When the two arrived at the police station, they unexpectedly ran into the same officer who had received them previously.
"You’re here just in time. The Sterlings have been brought in. Since this is a family matter, we suggest settling it privately. Miss Sterling, would you like to see them first?"
Josephine hadn’t expected the police to be so efficient. It had only been a day, and they had already investigated the matter clearly. However, settling privately was absolutely out of the question.
"Let them wait. I need to file another report." Josephine pulled Sean along and filed charges against Yvonne as well.
Only after obtaining the police report receipt did Josephine and Sean go to see the Sterlings. In the reception room, both Caleb and Grace Hayes were present, but there was no sign of Howard or the rest of the family. Since they were the only two who had jumped out online, the public security organ naturally only brought them in.
The investigating officer gestured for Josephine to take a seat.
As Josephine and Sean walked in one after the other and sat opposite the sterling mother and son, Caleb glared at her venomously. "Are you satisfied now that things have blown up like this?
"Josephine, you might be shameless, but the Sterling family still cares about its reputation! Can’t you just give it a rest? Did you really have to make this known to the entire city and make our family lose all face?"
Grace Hayes also looked at her with profound disappointment. "Josie, Mommy never expected you to be so immature!
"Since you were little, your father taught you to unite with your family and respect your parents and brother. But look at all these disgraceful things you’ve done!
"Now the Sterling family is about to become the laughingstock of Aethelgard. Are you happy now?
"What good does doing this do you?"
Look at them, playing the victim and complaining first. Josephine’s hands literally itched to smack them. Helpless due to the presence of the police officers, she could only clench her fists and suppress her anger.
"Officer, I’ve decided not to settle this privately. They slandered and defamed me first, and now they are verbally abusing and blaming me. I insist on handling this according to the law."
The investigating officer hadn’t expected this either. He hadn’t even had the chance to sit down and mediate the conflict between the two parties before these two perpetrators managed to enrage the victim yet again. What was even more infuriating was that the Sterling mother and son had provoked this online dispute in the first place, yet they were now pushing all the blame onto Josephine.
It was easy to imagine—if they were this arrogant right in front of the police, how horribly must they have treated Josephine back at the Sterling household when no outsiders were present?
No wonder this girl wanted to publicly cut ties with her family!
"Don’t you dare, Josephine! If Mom and I get punished, you won’t have it easy either!" Knowing full well the consequences of slander and defamation, Caleb slammed his hands on the table and stood up in agitation.
"What are you doing?" The officer stood up and forcefully pushed him back down. "Sit down."
Josephine let out a derisive scoff. "Mr. Sterling, allow me to remind you—this is the police station, not the Sterling family home.
"It’s bad enough that you beat and scolded me at home, but do you really intend to get violent in front of the police?"
Upon hearing this, the investigating officer’s brows furrowed deeply. Sure enough, she had not had a good life with the Sterlings. "Have they physically assaulted you before?"