From Betrayal to Brilliance Her Rise to a New Life novel Chapter 196

Chapter 196 Setback

“You know how Dad is,” Kit said over the phone. “Even if you don’t want help from the Rices, he can’t stand watching his family get bullied. So he had all your online scandals wiped clean–and

gave me a task too.”

he

Athena sighed quietly.

So it still ended up like this. She didn’t expect anything else, honestly. Since Fabio had already stepped in and fixed things, there was no point stressing over it anymore.

“Alright,” she said helplessly. “I get it.”

Kit hesitated before adding, “Now that Dad’s back, even if you refuse his help, he’s definitely going to do things for you behind the scenes. Just … be ready for that.”

Athena pressed her lips together.

She had already guessed this would happen when Fabio called her earlier.

If he really wanted to cut ties, he would’ve done it a long time ago. But he hadn’t. He kept reaching out, trying to reconnect–while she was the one who kept pushing him away.

After hanging up, Kit let out a long sigh.

Before Fabio left Vlephia for the overseas branch, he’d told Kit to keep an eye on Athena. But since Athena refused to accept any help, Kit had been quietly handling things himself, never telling Fabio.

Now that Fabio had found out everything, the situation had completely flipped.

From now on, it wouldn’t be so easy for Athena to distance herself from the Rices. Fabio had already ordered Kit to deal with Albas–permanently.

Meanwhile, at the Blaise Residence, Albas and Pandra were in the living room.

Pandra scrolled through her phone, her eyes wide. “All the dirt I posted about Athena is gone. What the hell happened? Did someone help her take everything down?”

Albas frowned and quickly grabbed his phone to check,

Sure enough, every single post about Athena had vanished–like they never existed at all.

His face darkened.

How could this happen?

1/3

After Athena found out about his affair, she came to threaten him. He hadn’t given in, and she hadn’t dared expose him either. He thought he had her under control–thought he could play her and still come out on top.

But now? Everything had changed.

Pandra’s voice shook. “Do you think Athena hired someone to do this? We promised Mrs. Storm we’d make sure this blew up online! Now it’s all gone. Do you think she’ll still keep her word about our deal?”

Albas slammed his hand on the armrest, gritting his teeth. “Of course not! You think Mrs. Storm is an idiot? If she doesn’t get what she wants, she won’t pay up!”

Pandra’s face paled. “And what about Mrs. Belmont? She won’t pay us either!”

Things had been going perfectly. They were just waiting to cash in on their reward—and now everything had fallen apart overnight. Athena’s scandals were gone, erased like some invisible hand had swept them clean.

“What do we do now?” Pandra asked nervously. “Should we call the reporters again and get the story back online?”

Albas nodded. “Yes. Do it!”

…

But Pandra hesitated. “Wait what if the person behind Athena is Zaden? Could he be the one who deleted everything?”

Albas frowned deeply, thinking it through. “I don’t think so. Mrs. Storm is already involved in this mess–Zaden wouldn’t go against her. It must be someone else.”

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