?Chapter 261:


    Just then, her phone buzzed. It was a message from Fred. “Did you get the birthday gift I sent you?”


    Upon receiving Fred’s message, Belinda felt her heart skip a beat. She took a moment to close her eyes and gather herposure. When she reopened them, she responded, “I saw it.”


    “How does that make you feel? Happy?” Fred asked, unaware that Kristopher had already been investigating him. He continued, naively confident, sending a voice message. “Belinda, I knew from online rumors that Kristopher was nning to propose to Cathy today. I thought he chose your birthday for the proposal just to upset you. So, I prepared to release some damaging information online right when he proposed to ensure they’d be ruined. But unexpectedly, Kristopher didn’t propose tonight. Instead, he celebrated your birthday. And just like me, he got the date of your birthday wrong!”


    Listening to Fred’s relentless chatter, Belinda sighed and typed a response. “Kristopher knows you orchestrated everything.”


    Silence ensued on the other end.


    Eventually, Fred replied, “How is that possible?”


    This time, he chose to text instead of leaving a voice message, but his message conveyed a palpable sense of panic. Belinda could sense that he was getting flustered.


    His reaction was understandable. Fred had only posted his usations online half an hour ago. An average person wouldn’t have even started to address such a situation in that time.


    But Kristopher, despite being upied with Cathy in the hospital, had swiftly acted.


    Kristopher dispatched his team to scour the inte, removing negativements, tracing the origins of the disruptive news, and devising a strategic response.


    Their actions were methodical, reflecting a well-orchestrated n. This might be the kind of poise one would expect from the CEO of one of the world’s leading multinational corporations.


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    “I used software to disguise my IP address!” Fred’s message revealed his disbelief that Kristopher had quickly uncovered his deceit. “How could he be this capable?”


    As Belinda read his words, she sighed softly and exined, “Kristopher has ess to a team of highly skilled programmers and hackers.”


    She knew that the basic software Fred used to alter his IP address was no match for Kristopher’s tech team. Such rudimentary measures were ineffective against their advanced skills.


    Fred was silent for a considerable time.<fn45c9> Original content can be found at find(?)ovel</fn45c9>


    Eventually, he regained hisposure and sent another voice message to Belinda. “I’m not worried. The evidence I’ve posted is genuine, created by people within their own studio. Even if Kristopher were standing right in front of me, I’m still unafraid!”


    Belinda massaged her temples, feeling a wave of helplessness wash over her.


    Fred was still young. He was naively oblivious to the darker, more maniptive sides of human nature.


    Did Fred believe that truthfulness alone would shield him from Kristopher’s influence?


    Kristopher dominated the entire region of Nawrin. If he chose to retaliate, Fred, merely a college student from a small countryside with no connections, would stand no chance.


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