He rushed to tell his grandmother everything.


    But when she found out, instead of standing up for what was right, she scolded his mother for embarrassing the O''Brien family at the party, berating her harshly.


    When his father heard about it, he merely said a few words criticizing Mr. Wilkinson, but in the end, did nothing more.


    He saw his mother holding back tears, her lips pressed together in humiliation.


    In that moment, he thought she looked so pitiful.


    He wanted tofort her, but the mocking stares from those around them stabbed into him like needles, leaving him lost and unsure of what to do.


    He stood there, dazed, with no idea how to help.


    No one offered him an answer.


    Deanna''s voice, tinged with contempt, snapped Keen out of his thoughts.


    "So what if it was on purpose or not? What are you going to do, stand up for Ste? Those are your so-called best friends we''re talking about!


    If Ste really mattered that much to you, would Jasper and his friends ever dare bully her?


    Just look at Jasper-every time he sees Ste, he mocks her.


    Even the fact that little kids at school make fun of Ste-doesn''t thate down to your negligence?


    If you weren''t always unting your love affair with Rachel, making it obvious to everyone that your own wife is unwanted, who would dare say a word against Ste?


    It''s your failure as a husband that led to this. And now you''re ming me?


    I''m not taking the fall for you!"


    Deanna''s barrage of words left Haynes speechless.


    A faint look of bewilderment flickered in his eyes.


    Had he really been neglecting Ste all along?


    The next day, Jasper and his crew were all over the trending news again.


    Clips were going viral of a group of young men driving luxury cars, tantly breaking trafficws, hitting someone-and then acting outrageously arrogant. "You think I was driving drunk? So what? Yeah, I was!"


    "So what if I hit you? Even if I killed you, I wouldn''t be held responsible!"


    "You want to know why? Maybe ask who my daddy is! Or who my best friends are!"


    "You know Haynes from the O''Brien Group? That''s my buddy''s best friend!"


    "You say there''s now? I am thew!"


    The video exploded online within minutes.


    Early that morning, Haynes''s phone rang-it was Jasper, sounding frantic.


    "Haynie, it''s bad! That video of my friends-no one could stop it, and now it''s blowing up everywhere! Everyone''s talking about it!"


    These days, whenever Haynes saw Jasper''s name on his phone, he knew it meant trouble, and his irritation only grew.


    He nced at the headlines, then replied coldly, "I saw it."


    From his tone, it was impossible to tell what he was really thinking.


    Ste''s recent scandal had already affected the Wilkinson Group''s stock price.


    The old man was now trying to repair the damage by promoting Ste, and to keep Haynes from interfering, he''d already stripped him of real authority.


    Jasper, at this point, had no power to remove the trending news.


    But he''d already bragged to his friends that he could make it disappear.


    Now, his only hope was Haynes.


    He pleaded, "Haynie, you have to get that video taken down! If we wait any


    longer, it''s going to blow up even bigger!"


    Haynes rubbed his tired temples, his voice icy.


    "Take down the trending news? So you want me to admit that the O''Brien Group —me, Haynes-am the one backing your friends? Do you want the whole world calling us corrupt?"


    Jasper was stunned into silence.


    Haynes''s patience was already worn thin.


    Coldly, he said, "Jasper, do you have any idea how much trouble you''ve caused me since you started going after Ste?"