On the Day I Was Kicked Out of the Wealthy Family, I Had a Flash Marriage with a Tycoon-Chapter 69: Public Apology

"She got my number from someone else," Jasper Lockwood explained.

"Mm, I figured as much. It was an unknown number. It’s fine."

Although she was a bit annoyed, Chloe Sterling put on a magnanimous front, acting as if she didn’t care.

Seeing her indifferent attitude, Jasper Lockwood felt a surge of frustration and fell silent.

Since she didn’t care, there was no need for him to explain further.

And so, the conversation ended.

.....

「The Rivers Estate.」

When Ruby Lynch learned that Esther Sterling had been taken by people Chloe Sterling had sent, her expression turned cold and grim. "Who would be so bold? To dare to just barge into our home and kidnap someone!"

Rose Lynch said, "We don’t know. They were people Chloe sent. Incredibly arrogant."

"What! It was Chloe Sterling!" Ruby Lynch sneered. "Who could she possibly hire? Just some street thugs!"

"Ruby, you’re better connected with the Rivers family. Quickly, find out who those people are. We can’t let anything happen to Esther."

"Of course I know nothing can happen to her!" Ruby Lynch snapped irritably. ’I’m still counting on Esther Sterling to become the future matriarch of the Rivers Family so I can ride her coattails. If something happens to Esther, my plans will go up in smoke.’

"Do you have Young Master Rivers’s number? See if he can do something," Rose Lynch added.

"No!" Warren Sterling suddenly spoke up. "We can’t let Young Master Rivers know about this. What if... what if they did something to Esther? It’ll be bad if the Rivers family finds out."

Ruby Lynch nodded. "That’s right. It’s better not to let Mason Rivers know. Besides, he’s not going to be Esther’s future husband anyway."

"Then what do we do?" Rose Lynch was at a loss.

After a moment of thought, Warren Sterling said, "We’ll have to find her ourselves. Between our people and Ruby’s, we can search. But we have to keep this quiet. We can’t let word of this get out."

"I suppose that’s our only option. I’ll contact my people to start searching now. They’re just a bunch of thugs. They’ll pay for daring to touch someone from the Lynch family!"

Ruby Lynch took out her phone and immediately called her trusted subordinates, ordering them to find Esther.

Warren Sterling also contacted his own trusted subordinates to begin a secret search.

’She’s my only daughter,’ he thought. ’I can’t let her reputation be ruined, destroying her future.’

When Esther Sterling woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar room. She immediately scrambled up from the floor to open the door, but it was locked from the outside and wouldn’t budge no matter what she did. She began to pound on the door. "Open up! Let me out! Who are you people? Hurry and open the door! Let me out!"

The door suddenly opened, and a burly man stood in the doorway, shouting coldly, "What’s all the racket!"

Esther Sterling jumped, taking two steps back as she watched the man warily. "What... what do you people want?"

Just then, a man in a sharp suit walked in carrying a laptop. "Since Miss Sterling is awake, let’s get down to business."

"What business?" Esther Sterling eyed the man suspiciously.

The man walked to a desk and placed the laptop and a piece of paper on it. "Publish a public apology based on what’s written on this paper."

Esther Sterling walked over to read the paper. To her shock, it demanded she publicly post her photo, identity, and name. She was to issue a public apology, citing jealousy of Chloe Sterling’s beauty as her motive for maliciously spreading rumors. She also had to admit she knew from the very beginning that the baby was merely Chloe’s friend’s child. Finally, the statement could not mention Chloe Sterling’s name; she was only to be referred to as "the woman in the video."

It was obvious they wanted to protect Chloe Sterling’s privacy while forcing Esther to expose everything about herself, laying all her misdeeds bare for the world to see and face a deluge of public condemnation.

It would be a complete and utter humiliation!

The very thought of it made Esther Sterling feel as if she were suffocating.

"In your dreams! I’m not doing it!" Esther Sterling backed away, shaking her head. ’I won’t do something so humiliating!’

The man said coldly, "Miss Sterling, I’m afraid you don’t have a choice."

Esther Sterling summoned her courage. "You can’t keep me locked up forever! My parents and my aunt will come for me! My aunt is connected to the Rivers family, and Young Master Rivers will come rescue me! You’d better release me right now."

The man scoffed, then raised his hand and beckoned to the hulking brute behind him.

The hulking brute entered with a ferocious look on his face, advancing on her step by step. The color drained from Esther Sterling’s face as she stumbled backward until her back hit the window, with nowhere left to run. Her voice trembled, "You... stay... stay away from me..."

The man in the suit spoke again. "I’ll be leaving now. Take good care of Miss Sterling. Call me when she’s willing to post the statement."

The hulking brute flashed a sinister grin. "Yes, sir."

The man in the suit turned to leave. Esther Sterling cried out, "Wait! If I post the statement, will you let me go?"

The man paused, a glint of amusement in his eyes. He turned back and said, "That’s right."

Glancing at the massive, terrifying brute in front of her, Esther Sterling gritted her teeth. "Fine. I’ll post it."

’It’s no big deal,’ she thought. ’I’ll just delete it once I’m out of here and claim Chloe Sterling forced me.’

The man in the suit said, "You have to post it as both text and a voice recording. Use your usual Weibo account."

Esther Sterling had her own Weibo account, where she often posted about her extravagant lifestyle. She had quite a few followers—over two million of them.

They were always showering her with flattery, which she reveled in.

Now, having to post something like this was more painful than death.

’But there’s no other choice right now. I can’t let that disgusting man...’

Following their instructions, Esther Sterling posted the apology.

She didn’t have to imagine what the reaction online would be. She closed her eyes in humiliation, unwilling to look.

After a moment, she opened her eyes and asked, "Can I go now?"

The man, however, just gave a knowing smile and said to the hulking brute, "Watch her."

The brute nodded. "Yes, sir."

The man picked up the laptop and turned to walk out.

Esther Sterling shot to her feet. "Stop! What do you mean? You said I could go after I posted the statement!"

The man said coolly, "I said you could go. I just never said *when*."

At his words, Esther Sterling froze, realizing she had been tricked.

She tried to make a run for it, but the brute shoved her back inside. The door was locked again from the outside.

「One week later.」

The Sterlings and their allies still had no word on Esther Sterling’s whereabouts, and Chloe Sterling was completely unreachable.

Ruby Lynch slammed her palm on the table in a rage. "That little bitch certainly has some nerve! Why did you even bring her back in the first place? Just to make our lives difficult!"

Warren Sterling was also filled with immense regret. He had originally intended to use Chloe Sterling in a strategic marriage, but she had turned out to be so disobedient. Had he known, he never would have brought her back from the countryside.

From the beginning, Rose Lynch had been against bringing Chloe Sterling back. She knew Chloe wasn’t Warren Sterling’s biological daughter, but Warren, ignorant of the truth, had insisted on retrieving her from the countryside. Now, Rose deeply regretted not going there first to hide Chloe so he would never have found her.

If she had, they wouldn’t be in this mess today.