Reborn to Love Mr. Right – Episode 33
By morning, the false confession had accumulated millions of views. Commentators slowed Donald’s voice, examined his expression, and treated digital manipulation as a possibility too inconvenient for a headline. Taylor Industries shares fell before the opening bell.
Arianna watched strangers accuse her of poisoning her own father for sympathy. The lie hurt because it rearranged true events rather than inventing them completely. Donald had collapsed, she had taken temporary control, and several opponents had been arrested afterward. Victor understood that the strongest deception often required no fabricated event, only a poisoned order.
Hayden wanted to release the forensic analysis immediately. Arianna refused until they could explain the source of the edited phrases. A technical denial from two wealthy families would look like another attempt to bury criticism.
Donald insisted on recording a live statement from his hospital room. His doctors warned that prolonged stress could delay his recovery, but he would not allow Arianna to stand alone beneath an accusation built around his life. They agreed on a short interview with independent witnesses.
Before the broadcast, the board received an emergency petition to remove Arianna as Donald’s proxy. Leonard’s remaining allies cited the viral video and claimed her presence threatened employees. Victor had timed the scandal to reopen the corporate attack he failed to complete.
Arianna attended the hearing by secure video from the hospital. Instead of denying every rumor, she presented the unedited speeches used to build Donald’s confession. Each stolen phrase matched a public recording, down to background noise that appeared inside supposedly private footage.
Hayden’s team demonstrated the cuts, but several directors still demanded an outside investigation. Arianna accepted without hesitation and proposed a forensic firm chosen by employee representatives rather than either family. Her openness denied Victor the secrecy his story required.
Emmy organized scholarship students to speak about the gala and school fire. Arianna asked her not to defend the Taylor family blindly. “Tell them what you witnessed, including what I did wrong,” she said. Credibility could not be built from another circle of loyal silence. Emmy promised facts rather than praise, which was precisely why Arianna trusted her.
Ivy agreed to appear publicly despite her lawyer’s objection. She admitted deleting the gala presentation and lending Derek her badge, then explained how he used future knowledge to stage the fire. Her confession cost her the last fragments of social protection Derek once gave her.
During the live interview, Donald showed his medical records and allowed the treating physician to answer questions independently. He did not pretend Arianna had always made wise choices. He said her willingness to confront them was the reason he trusted her now.
A reporter asked whether Arianna manipulated Hayden through an arranged marriage. Hayden answered before she could. He explained the forged agreement, his mother’s letter, and his voluntary decision to stand beside Arianna without corporate authority.
“If you want proof that she controls me,” he said, “you will have to explain why she keeps insisting I make my own choices.” The quiet answer spread faster than the defensive statements his publicists had drafted.
The hearing postponed Arianna’s removal. Taylor shares stopped falling, though the damage remained. More important, the false confession lost its power to define the entire story before investigators completed their work. Employees who had prepared for layoffs began withdrawing their resignations before the market closed.
Victor responded from detention through his attorney. He denied creating the video and claimed the underground archive proved the Taylors had operated an illegal surveillance system beneath a school. The accusation contained enough truth to complicate every search warrant.
The principal closed Maple Valley High while authorities examined the hidden room. Parents demanded to know whether their children had been recorded. Arianna could not assure them otherwise until technicians finished reviewing fifteen years of files.
One directory contained student profiles created during the original renovation. Most held academic data, but Arianna’s included private photographs, financial information, and recordings of conversations with Derek. Victor had studied her vulnerabilities long before the first future collapsed.
Derek had not simply discovered an insecure heiress. Victor had selected him as the person most capable of exploiting her need for affection, then fed his resentment with access and opportunity. The realization did not excuse Derek, but it revealed how carefully their tragedy had been cultivated.
A hidden audio file captured Victor speaking to Jeff years earlier. He instructed the chauffeur to encourage Derek’s closeness with Arianna and promised that the Davis family would someday control the estate. Jeff’s role had begun long before he abandoned her at school.
The recording ended with another voice asking whether Hayden Scott might interfere. Arianna recognized the measured tone despite the distortion. It belonged to Evelyn, who ordered Victor to keep Hayden away from the Taylor mansion at any cost.
Then the Witness account added a final line to the transcript: “Evelyn feared Hayden because his mother discovered the archive.” Beneath it appeared a photograph of Hayden’s mother entering the hidden room on the night she died.