[Chapter 269: dia Assault]
"There's news online that your trading company is selling faulty blood draw needles, which might have caused several people to contract hepatitis or HIV," a journalist shouted.
"I heard Rachel has been bullying younger students at school. Is that true?" another reporter pressed.
As Veronica and Rachel stepped out of their house, they found themselves surrounded by dia personnel -- mostly entertainnt reporters and paparazzi. The questions were relentless and rciless.
So of the paparazzi shouted even more outrageous claims.
"Veronica, your friend told us you used to sell favors to Arican soldiers before you immigrated!"
"We spoke to one of your childhood acquaintances who claid you used to rummage through the trash outside a military base in Korea for food scraps to take ho and cook!"
Listening to those absurd accusations, Veronica felt a surge of anger, almost wanting to scream. But she couldn't risk it; if the dia caught her reacting, they'd twist it into a story that she was ntally unstable, which would invite intervention from Child Protective Services and threaten her custody of Rachel.
Veronica held Rachel close, feeling like they were drowning in the dia storm.
Just then, two n rushed in, parting the sea of journalists and paparazzi.
It was Andy Carroll and his driver.
The two n escorted Veronica and Rachel away from the reporters, leading them to a Lexus. ...
Carroll instructed the driver to take off, turning to Veronica, "I'm sorry I was late. We hit traffic. I didn't an to scare you."
He had intentionally arrived later than planned so that the reporters would be prid and ready to attack the mother-daughter pair.
"It's fine," Veronica replied, tightly linking her arm with Carroll's. "I might have co out too early."
He wrapped his arms around her, saying, "Don't worry; I've got your back."
Veronica held back tears, vigorously nodding in reply.
...
The Lexus quickly pulled up to the Four Seasons Hotel, where Carroll led them upstairs. "Let's stay here for now. The reporters may hound us, but they can't get into the hotel."
The situation at ho had beco unbearable -- almost around the clock surveillance by the dia. They had no choice but to temporarily relocate to a hotel.
But that wasn't a sustainable solution.
They checked into a business suite, and Carroll helped them with their minimal luggage. Once they were settled, Rachel shut herself in the bedroom, opting to play video gas instead of talking with Veronica.
"It's getting late. I'll order dinner," Carroll suggested.
Thinking about the ordeal they just faced, Veronica grabbed his arm. "I need to talk to you. I've felt so anxious lately, with no one to turn to."
Carroll looked at her earnestly. "You can confide in . I'm your fiancé. We face our challenges together."
Veronica nodded repeatedly, pulling Carroll to sit on the couch. "Since Rachel got expelled from Brooklynn School, the dia hasn't left us alone. They keep dredging up my past, printing lies, and my so-called friends have only offered judgnt instead of support since I'm in trouble."
Carroll understood the sentint. "They can't stand to see you suffer, but they loathe the idea that your life is better than theirs."
"It seems that way..." Veronica said bitterly. "I've been labeled the mother of a thief. Other than the Ackerman Charity Foundation you helped connect with, most of my clients have dropped out of business with Hallasan Company. Rachel made one mistake, and now it feels like the entire society is punishing her!"
She felt suffocated. "And then Rachel's friends keep coming over, yelling at to free her from my grip. When I tell Rachel she can't go out, she argues with about it."
Carroll pulled her into a comforting embrace, gently caressing her back. "The environnt is crucial! Why do wealthy people live in gated communities? Their kids attend expensive private schools -- their surroundings matter."
Veronica sighed, "I know... I know. I've got a terrible environnt right now, and Rachel's situation is even worse."
lissa Ackerman was rushing to secure blood bags, urging the process along. Carroll suggested, "Let's just leave Los Angeles for good, wipe this slate clean."
Veronica looked up at Carroll with hope. "Could we restart our careers?"
"Absolutely not worse than it is in Los Angeles," Carroll explained. "I ntioned before that the Ackerman Charity Foundation is building a dical center and bio-lab in Baltimore. I'll be the admin and security chief there; I'll have the final say in procurent."
Veronica's face lit up with surprise. "Is it confird?"
Carroll nodded. "It's settled. We'll leave behind everything bad here and head to Baltimore for a better future."
He knew what mattered to Veronica. "In Baltimore, there are no reporters snooping, no bad influences for Rachel. She can find her footing again."
That struck a chord with Veronica the mother. "Alright, we're going to Baltimore!"
Carroll added, "You should probably sell the company. If that doesn't work, lay off the staff. The resettlent fees they bring with them are much higher than hiring new people; turn everything into cash you can."
Veronica agreed. "Give so ti; I'll handle it quickly."
After everything she'd been through lately, she found nothing left in Los Angeles worth holding onto.
Noticing her troubled brow, Carroll touched it gently. "Once you get this sorted out, let's take a trip and clear our heads. Let's bring Rachel along. Doesn't she love watching Titanic? We could visit the filming location in Baja California, at Rosarito."
"Sounds good," Veronica replied. "Rachel will be thrilled; I'll book a hotel right away."
To ease any concerns, Carroll didn't object, letting Veronica arrange flights and accommodations.
When they sat down to lunch, Carroll shared the news, and Rachel finally broke into a rare smile.
Veronica felt it was the right decision.
...
After lunch, Carroll had to leave the Four Seasons to return to the Ackerman Charity Foundation's headquarters.
In Barack Bernanke's office, lissa Ackerman was also present.
Carroll provided them with an update.
lissa said, "Rosarito is a great choice. We've been monitored by the FBI, so we need to be careful in Los Angeles. Rosarito in xico is close enough to transport people back and forth if needed."
Barack turned to Carroll. "Keep an eye on that mother and daughter. Make a plan for what to do if sothing goes wrong."
Carroll assured, "I'm on it."
With blood bags and organ storage about to arrive, lissa was in good spirits, advising, "Keep this quiet. Especially avoid letting anyone in our family catch wind of it."
The last ti, when her father Buddy Ackerman suffered organ failure requiring a transplant, several family mbers had contracted a contagious disease, forcing the foundation to search across the U.S. and even globally for matches, and complications arose during the process.
Barack stated, "We won't utilize outside help this ti. Information remains within our control. I'll arrange my own team for Rosarito. We won't involve family."
lissa felt relieved. "That's better."
When it ca to family inheritances, the fights could be fierce.
Last ti, lissa had suspected her brother Sean was behind so of the chaos.
Still feeling uneasy, she decided to divert his attention. "You should make a big show of going to Baltimore and let everyone know I'll et you there. That bastard will definitely compete with for control of the dical center."
Barack suggested, "Maybe I should go to Baja California instead."
"I have to see to my blood bags and organ storage myself. It's essential," lissa said.
She wouldn't share dical matters, not even with her most trusted associate Barack.
lissa wanted to ensure she witnessed two blood bags being drawn and underwent tests to confirm the perfect match.
Barack turned to Carroll. "You need to protect Ms. Ackerman."
"I've got elite personnel on standby," Carroll assured.
...
Beverly Hills, Burton Road.
Edward slipped into a used SUV, driving away from an art gallery. After circling a couple of tis to confirm he wasn't being followed, he arrived at Century City Shopping Center, where he traded the SUV for an Audi A8.
He pulled off a fake mustache, removed a wig, and used makeup remover to wipe off the contouring makeup.
Using the intel from Erica, Edward successfully approached Amanda and managed to extract valuable information from her.
He called over a young associate, Michael, stripped the fake plates off the SUV, and had Michael drive it away while he took the Audi back to Twitter, hurrying to Hawke's office.
Upon finding Edward had returned with remnants of makeup still visible, Hawke asked, "Looks like you had so success?"
"Yes, I did. I got Amanda's mother to talk, confirming Rachel was indeed leading the charge, but Nicholas has been planting all sorts of provocative ideas in her head, encouraging her to gain acceptance into school cliques and drive for popularity, even using her admiration for Paris Hilton to egg her on toward stealing."
Hawke rummaged through his drawer, handing Edward Nicholas's file. "Keep tabs on him. See who he's been associating with lately."
Edward accepted the file and exited the office.
...
The next morning, Edward made a phone call and followed it up by sending several photographs to Hawke's inbox.
The photos showed a parking lot where two cars were parked side by side, and three n were exchanging sothing through the rolled-down windows.
One of the n was indeed Nicholas; of the other two, one shared similarities with him.
The last one was Andy Carroll.
Hawke quickly pieced together that Rachel's troubles were no coincidence.
*****
/Sayonara816.
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