The Contract Said No Strings Attached (Charlotte) novel Chapter 181

Mrs. Austin was swept up in the chaos of moving. She darted around the house, barking orders at the housekeepers to pack her belongings with utmost care, all the while still fuming over the scandalous confession that had played out on TV.

“Be careful with that vase—it’s very expensive!” she muttered for the third time, hovering anxiously as they wrapped it in layers of padding.

“And my clothes! Don’t you dare wrinkle them,” she snapped, casting a sharp glance at the maid folding her silk dresses.

She hovered over every box, supervising with the nervous intensity of someone convinced disaster lurked at every turn.

Jacob watched his wife’s theatrics and sighed, shaking his head. “Relax, darling. The staff knows what they’re doing. Besides, we’re just staying somewhere else for a while—there’s no need to pack up half the house.”

Mrs. Austin shot him a glare. “Easy for you to say! Everything’s in chaos the moment we start moving.”

Meanwhile, Dylan was busy orchestrating damage control. He had his team working overtime to scrub every trace of Mrs. Austin’s name from the news cycle, and he was adamant about cleaning up the city’s rumor mill.

He understood all too well what was at stake. If this wasn’t handled quickly, the Austin family’s reputation could suffer irreparable damage.

Dylan’s team split into groups. One group called every major media outlet, demanding they pull any stories about Mrs. Austin. Some of the networks hesitated, tempted by the ratings a juicy scandal could bring, but Dylan’s pressure was hard to ignore. Reluctantly, most agreed to cooperate, though a handful of smaller tabloids stubbornly resisted, hoping to milk the story for all it was worth.

The second group fanned out across the city, tearing down gossip-laden flyers and cleaning up any trace of the incident. The city was sprawling, and those flyers seemed to pop up everywhere. It was a thankless job, and no matter how hard they worked, some evidence always managed to slip through the cracks.

The cleanup dragged on for hours. Although Dylan’s team managed to stem the online chatter, some busybodies still found ways to share the news in private circles. When Dylan caught wind of this, he frowned, knowing it was almost impossible to stamp out every rumor. Still, he tasked his IT specialists to monitor the internet, ready to react swiftly if another wave of gossip began to spread.

Dylan lowered his phone and frowned. “Most of it’s been taken down. If anything slips through, we’re dealing with it.”

Mrs. Austin let out a dramatic sigh. “What a nightmare. How did we end up in this mess? And Dylan, I want an explanation from Rebecca. She owes me that much.”

Jacob’s tone turned cold. “This has nothing to do with Rebecca. There’s no proof she was involved.”

Mrs. Austin refused to be swayed. “I don’t care. Even if she didn’t do it, I can’t help but feel she’s somehow behind my bad luck today. I won’t be satisfied until she gives me an answer.”

Her cheeks flushed with anger, and she stomped her foot in frustration, as if that could somehow ease her indignation.