?Chapter 831:


    n froze. He stopped what he was doing, took the iPad, and scowled at the headline. His brows knotted in confusion and concern.


    “What do they mean by ‘for the money’?” n snapped, his fury bubbling to the surface. “Can’t these people talk like decent human beings?”


    “They don’t know she’s part of the Briggs family,” Toby exined.


    “And that gives them the right to talk trash?” n exploded. “What if it were just any other woman? So it’s okay to throw around baseless usations just because someone’s not a public figure?”


    Toby stayed silent. He wasn’t about to add fuel to n’s fire when the man was already ready to blow.


    “Call a press conference right now,” n ordered, his voice sharp with resolve. “We’re announcing Freya’s identity.”


    The nerve of these people. How could they spew such groundless nonsense about his beloved cousin? Did they honestly believe she had no one in her corner?


    “But, sir…”


    “Move.”


    “Shouldn’t you talk to Freya first?” Toby asked carefully. “She’s always been against revealing who she is. Wouldn’t it be out of line to make that call without asking her?”


    n’s temper cooled slightly. He frowned, weighing the situation, and realized Toby was right. Freya hated being in the spotlight. But that didn’t mean he could just sit back while people tore her apart online.


    “Do you have any better ideas?” he asked.


    Toby wasn’t about to speak out of turn. “No.”


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    n let out a long sigh.


    “But the trending topic’s already been taken down,” Toby pointed out, eyes on the screen. “It looks like Freya took care of it.” n refreshed the page. Sure enough, it was gone.


    He mulled it over for a moment before making up his mind. “You can head out. I’ll go talk to her myself. No need for you toe back to the office for a while—just go home and enjoy the break.”


    Everyone else at Briggs Group was already on leave. But since n was still working, Toby had stuck around too. Now, finally, he could clock out.


    “Alright,” Toby replied quickly.


    n shrugged into his coat and headed out of the office. As soon as he reached the underground garage, a message from Freya popped up on his phone. She asked him not to bring up the topic to Hugh.


    She’d sent the same message to Ethel when Ethel brought it up earlier. Letting things die down quietly was the best oue.


    But what Freya hadn’t seening was that, even though she’d informed Frederick, n, and Ethel… she’d forgotten one person. Kristian.


    When the topic was blowing up online, at the Shaw family’s estate, the staff were buzzing around, hanging up decorations to bring in a festive vibe.


    Kristian had just finished chatting with Lionel and was enjoying a walk in the yard when his phone pinged with a new message.


    It was from Lawrence, who had sent a screenshot along with a note. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Freya’s all over the inte.”


    Kristian opened the image, and his face darkened as he scrolled through it. The morements he read, the more stormy his gaze became.


    Once he figured out how the tform worked, he created an ount under the name Kristian Shaw.


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