Chapter 6 Public Relations Nightmare

The following day, Kate was still asleep while the aftermath of yesterday's engagement party had exploded across social media, dominating the top trending topics.

The number one trending topic featured photos of Ethan placing the ring on Kate's finger, but the comments below were overwhelmingly negative toward Kate.

[How dare this gold-digger seduce our perfect Mr. Levington? She's so shameless! My dream man, my Ethan, stolen right before our eyes!]

[Weren't Ethan and Sophia childhood sweethearts? How could Kate steal her own sister's man? Talk about having no moral compass!]

[I can't stand this anymore! I'm going to expose her for who she really is!]

The online vitriol continued relentlessly. The few comments defending Kate were quickly attacked and drowned out by an army of angry netizens.

Richard scrolled through the comments, his temple throbbing with anger.

Ungrateful daughter. Truly ungrateful!

She had single-handedly tarnished the Jennings family reputation!

"Where is Kate?" Richard slammed his fist on the table, startling Sophia.

Sophia pressed her lips together, hesitating. "Kate... she's... well..."

"Speak up!" Richard demanded.

"She's at Ethan's place. She didn't come home last night. I imagine she's still in bed right now."

What?!

That rebellious girl spent the night at another man's house? Did she really think she could be with Ethan? Delusional!

Ethan had always been at odds with the Jennings family. If Kate aligned herself with him, it would be disastrous for their family interests. Richard simply couldn't allow it.

He stood up, ready to personally retrieve Kate, but before he could leave, the doorbell rang.

It was Blake.

Sophia was about to speak, but Blake shook his head. That was when Sophia noticed Dashiell and Laura Hamilton had accompanied their son. Dashiell and Laura looked extremely displeased.

"Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton," Sophia greeted them politely.

The Hamiltons barely acknowledged her with a cold glance. Sophia's face froze momentarily, but she quickly forced a smile and invited them in.

Richard immediately put on a cordial face when he saw them.

The Hamilton family's social standing was higher than the Jennings'. However, Kate's mother had been different. She was Elizabeth Morgan, the only daughter of the Morgan family. When the Morgan family dwindled to just Elizabeth, all their assets had been transferred to her.

Before Elizabeth's death, she had established a will stipulating that after Kate's marriage, all properties would go to her. Until then, the assets would be managed by attorneys.

This arrangement had led to the agreement for Blake to marry up the Jennings family.

As for Richard, he was a man of little consequence whom the Hamiltons barely respected.

"My dear in-laws," Richard began with a smile.

"Hold on," Dashiell interrupted sharply. "Whether we're in-laws remains to be seen. Mr. Jennings, we had an agreement: Blake would marry up your family, with assets split 20-80. What's happening now? Is the Jennings family backing out?"

Richard's face tensed. The Hamiltons had clearly come to settle accounts, but with Kate absent and Richard unaware of the full situation, he could only maintain his façade.

"Of course not. This was all very sudden. I was just about to discipline Kate. Perhaps you could return later?" Richard suggested.

"Later? Until when?" Dashiell's tone was aggressive. "Mr. Jennings, Blake marrying up your family has already subjected our family to considerable gossip. Now we're a complete laughingstock. You need to provide an explanation right now!"

Beads of cold sweat formed on Richard's forehead.

Sophia quickly poured coffee for everyone. "Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton, please calm down. Have some coffee. We promise to give you a satisfactory resolution within 24 hours. We won't let the Hamilton family's reputation suffer."

"What can you guarantee?" Laura wasn't one to back down easily.

Sophia was momentarily lost for words. She glanced at Blake, who immediately stepped in.

"Mom, Dad, that's enough. It's just one day. Don't make things difficult for Mr. Jennings."

The Hamiltons reluctantly agreed to the 24-hour deadline and departed.

After the three left, Richard's expression darkened considerably.

The Hamiltons were truly arrogant.

If not for the inheritance and the business partnerships between Jennings and Hamilton enterprises, he would never tolerate their attitude.

And Blake was no better, deliberately bringing his parents to create trouble. Not a decent person among them.

Richard nursed his headache, then quickly instructed his staff to prepare for a confrontation with Kate. However, Sophia frowned and stopped him.

"Dad, we can't afford to offend Ethan."

Blake furrowed his brow. "We may not be able to offend him, but what can we do if Kate doesn't return? This situation can't be resolved."

"Dad, that's not the point," Sophia cut in. "Let's hold a joint press conference with the Hamiltons and put all the blame on Kate. It'll protect both families."

"It will be hard on Kate, though," she added with a feigned sigh of concern.

Richard scoffed. "Hard on her? She deserves it. We'll do as you suggest. Contact Blake—I don't want to deal with the Hamiltons myself."

Richard stormed upstairs with a cold expression. Sophia watched him leave, a satisfied smile playing on her lips as she reached for her phone.

Soon, the PR departments of both the Jennings and Hamilton enterprises began notifying various media outlets. Milan, who had been monitoring both families, immediately received the information.

Upon learning of their plans, he headed straight to Ethan's villa.

"Mr. Levington," Milan called out as he entered.

"Keep it down. She's sleeping," Ethan cautioned, dressed in his sleepwear. He gestured for Milan to sit on the sofa.

Milan couldn't help glancing toward the second floor, unconsciously swallowing.

Had Ethan and Kate...?

"What is it? Speak," Ethan said while sipping his coffee.

Milan snapped back to attention. "The Jennings and Hamilton families are making moves. According to our intelligence, they're planning to hold a press conference to shift all responsibility onto Kate to calm public opinion. Should we take countermeasures?"

Trying to make Kate the scapegoat?

Ethan smiled coldly.

The predictable tactics of these two families didn't surprise him. As for how to respond, Ethan glanced upstairs.

The guest room door was closed. It was already noon, and Kate still hadn't woken up. He wondered how she could sleep so soundly.

Now she was about to be made a scapegoat. What should he do? He wanted to see how she would handle this situation.

He was genuinely curious about her approach to this problem.

"Wait for my instructions," he said, dismissing Milan with a wave.

After Milan left, Ethan went upstairs to the guest room. He was about to knock but decided to gently press down on the door handle instead.

"Ethan! Surprise!"

Kate was right at the door, startling him.

He had thought she was still asleep, which was why he hadn't knocked. Seeing her mischievous expression of successful surprise, Ethan couldn't help but shake his head in resignation.

'Trying to scare me? With the Jennings and Hamilton families planning to make her the scapegoat, I don't think I want to tell her. Perhaps she already knows and this is part of her plan?' Ethan thought.

Ethan narrowed his eyes and was about to leave when Kate hugged him tighter.

Wait, the Jennings and Hamilton families wanted to make her the scapegoat?

How dare they?