The Phantom Heiress Rising From The Shadows

Chapter 267 The Person Behind The Matter At that moment, Shepard stepped out of the bedroom, clutching his phone. His face was dark with dissatisfaction over how poorly his team had handled the task.

He turned to Giselle and Brenna and began venting his frustration, saying, "How long has it been? I told them to take those posts down, but they failed. The posts are still everywhere! They make ridiculous salaries but are useless. This is unacceptable. I'll fire them all soon!" With a chuckle, Brenna got to her feet and walked over to him. "Dad, don't stress yourself. Things spread fast online. There are thousands of posts. It's not so simple to clean all of them up." Unconvinced, Shepard snorted and said, "They are just too incompetent. It's a simple matter of blocking keywords. But they failed miserably. I will fire them soon. The Harper Group has no room for deadweight." Just then, Ernst and Dalton descended from upstairs. Their expressions betrayed guilt as they glanced at Shepard and Giselle.

Shepard didn't need them to speak. He could tell they had failed at their tasks. "What good are the two of you? You can't even deal with a minor issue. And you're supposed to be running the Harper Group? I honestly doubt either of you is up to the task." Ernst's brow tightened, feeling guilty. "Dad, I've already given orders. My team is on it. The PR department is pushing back against the rumors and has contacted the right people to start removing the posts. But it's after work hours now. Everyone is glued to their phones, posting and sharing nonstop..." Shepard cut him off with a sharp wave. "Enough! Explanations won't fix it. This mess proves you're not capable of handling even the smallest crisis." Dalton looked just as overwhelmed. "Dad, please don't get so worked up. We want to solve the problem, too, but things like this spread like wildfire online. We're deleting the posts as fast as we can, but they're popping back up just as quickly. Someone's clearly behind this. Taking the posts down won't be enough. We need to find out who's behind this." Shepard glared at both of his sons, frustration etched deep across his face. "Do you think I don't know that? Stop talking and fix it." Brenna stepped in, hoping to comfort Shepard, saying, "Dad, everything will be okay. If we just let it be, things will quiet down on their own in a few days." However, Dalton, used to being in the public eye, took matters like this seriously. "Brenna, we can't do that. Letting it go is the sas saying it's true. If this keeps spreading, by the tyou go to Shirie University on Monday, who knows how far it'll have gone? The faculty. The students. Everyone might believe it. Your reputation will be ruined beyond repair." 17:04 Chapter 267 The Person Behind The Matter Giselle nodded solemnly, standing by Dalton's point. "Exactly. I've already posted a statement on the school forum to push back against the rumors. Frank got in touch with the forum admin, too. Those posts on the forum have been taken down. But on social media and personal accounts, the matter is still spreading fast. I can't stop any of that." The room turned quiet as everyone took in the weight of the situation. A few moments later, Dalton spoke up again. "Our PR team released a formal statement on the Harper Group's official page. It's pinned right at the top. But honestly, it hasn't helped much. The issue is still escalating." No one pointed fingers at Brenna. Everyone stayed focused on finding a way to solve this. That was when Brenna realized it-the Harper family cared about her deeply, unlike the Barrett family.

"I'll track down whoever's behind this. Don't worry." Brenna reached into her backpack, pulled out her laptop, and opened it. Her fingers moved fast across the keys, line after line of code flashing on the screen.

Just then, Giselle's phone rang. It was a call from the university. A second-year grad student had been identified as the one who had first posted the thread and photos.

At the stime, Brenna had traced the IP address of the original post.

Without wasting a second, the family headed straight to the graduate dorms at Shirie University.

When they arrived, a crowd had already gathered outside one of the rooms. Mixed in with the students were several men dressed in black suits.

The Harpers pushed their way to the front. They quickly saw Ethan there.

Brenna blinked in surprise. Deep down, she felt happy. Ethan had m heard about the whole situation, an he hadn't asked questions or doubted her. He had investigated the matter for her. Brenna looked at Ethan and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Ethan turned his head, and his stern expression softened at once when he saw Brenna. "If something hurts you, I' deal with it. Someone is spreading lies about you, and of course, I looked into the matter." Brenna nodded in acknowledgment, then turned her attention to the dorm room. There were only two beds inside. One of the girls had already been pulled aside for questioning.

She looked terrified. Her face had gone pale, and her legs looked ready to give out. The sight of so many men in black suits had shaken her. She regretted helping Sylvie for ten thousand dollars the second she realized what she'd gotten into. Still, she stood her ground. "Who do you think you are? You can't just barge into a girls' dorm like this." Ethan stepped forward, held up his phone, and showed her the photos. "Where did you get these? Tell the truth, or we're turning you over to the police."