After the post went viral, many content creators turned it into videos, which then circulated across various short-video platforms.

Soon, topics like "Noelle Lockwood was framed" and "No good deed goes unpunished" were trending everywhere.

Everything reached a fever pitch after Noelle Lockwood published a Weibo post.

—Noelle Lockwood announced she was retiring from the entertainment industry!

Her fans immediately went wild.

[Our Noelle is so pitiful. She claimed to be the Young Mr. Sloan’s mother, but wasn’t it all to protect him?]

[At the end of the day, Noelle is a female celebrity. Don’t you know how devastating it is for a celebrity’s reputation to have a child out of wedlock? You all scold Noelle for scheming to marry Mr. Sloan, but you don’t see her struggles! If it weren’t for the Young Mr. Sloan, would she have gone through all this?]

[Speaking of her sister, now I remember. She wanted to compete with Noelle for everything, to snatch everything away. I heard the marriage contract was originally Noelle’s, but then her sister was found and brought back. She felt the Lockwood family owed her, so she insisted on taking Noelle’s engagement.] 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

[Back then, the Lockwood parents felt guilty toward Estelle Lockwood, so they actually agreed! That Estelle was so competitive and always had to win. The Sloan Family didn’t like her, so she blamed Noelle and even tried to win sympathy by setting a fire and attempting suicide. Who would have thought she’d actually get herself killed!]

[I heard she was pregnant with triplets back then. She threw the other two babies into the fire to burn to death. Just as she was about to throw the Young Mr. Sloan in too, Noelle arrived and risked her life to save him!]

[Because of that incident, Noelle has a terrible fear of fire. She was on a variety show before and didn’t dare to cook with an open flame, and people called her pretentious. But in reality, it’s because she’s terrified of fire! So how could the fire at the fabric market a few days ago have anything to do with her? Even if she wanted to harm someone, she would never choose to do it with fire!]

It all sounded so reasonable and well-supported that, in an instant, public opinion on Noelle Lockwood completely flipped.

In the comments section, everyone was begging her not to retire, saying they had wronged her, and cursing the heartless Estelle Lockwood.

Noelle Lockwood put down her phone with satisfaction and logged out of the "insider" and "original poster" accounts.

She had already paid someone to mask the IP addresses anyway. No one would discover that she had directed and starred in this whole charade herself.

"Noelle." Just then, Austin Lockwood walked in, his gaze meaningful. "Noelle, tell me the truth. Who exactly is Yara Lockwood?"

Noelle Lockwood’s expression froze for a moment before she forced a smile. "Dad, why are you asking that? Yara is just... Yara."

Austin frowned. "But I have a strong feeling that she’s Estelle. If she isn’t Estelle, why would Nathaniel be so good to her? Why is Christian so attached to her? Noelle, is there something you know?"

Noelle bit her lower lip, a venomous glint flashing in her eyes. "Dad, I really..."

"I already know! Are you still trying to hide it from me?" Austin interrupted. "Yara started getting close to Nathaniel right after she returned to the country. She looks so much like Estelle and knows so many details. How could she not be her? She didn’t die back then..."

Austin gritted his teeth. "No, I have to bring her back!"

"Austin!!" Rose Lowell ran in. "What... what do you mean by this? Noelle has been your daughter for so many years, and now you’re going to abandon her? Don’t you know what a worthless bitch Estelle Lockwood is? You..."

"Mom! Dad..." Tears streamed down Noelle’s small face. "Dad is right. Yara is indeed my sister. But Dad, it’s not that Mom and I don’t want her to come back. It’s because..."

"Because the public opinion back then was so terrible, do you think it would be good for her to reclaim her identity? She has a perfect, brand-new identity now. No one will curse her because of the fire five years ago. But if she goes back to being herself, things will be different..."

Rose Lowell quickly added, "That’s right, Austin! We’re also thinking of what’s best for Estelle. Estelle is my biological daughter, my own flesh and blood. She can’t even call me ’Mom’ right now. How could my heart not ache for her!"

"But... but if we insist on bringing our daughter back, we’d actually be harming her! Just listen to how people are cursing her out there. She’s living a good life now, so we shouldn’t disturb her! Besides, Noelle is so outstanding. She’s retiring from showbiz to focus on the company, and the shareholders are very pleased."

"If we reveal Yara’s identity now and the shareholders find out, I’m afraid there will be trouble!"

Austin knit his brows and hesitated for a few seconds. "But... we originally planned to hand the company over to Noelle on the anniversary of Estelle’s death. But Estelle is still alive..."

’Announcing that the adopted daughter will become the company’s heir on the anniversary of your biological daughter’s "death"... isn’t that just rubbing salt in her wound?’

Rose Lowell’s eyes darted around. "Austin, I know you feel for Estelle! We can explain things to her afterward, but right now, we have to look at the bigger picture!"

Noelle also nodded obediently. "Dad, I’ll just be the heir in name. If my sister needs it, I can give everything to her. But for now, let’s not disturb her..."

’Most importantly, if Yara becomes Estelle Lockwood again, she will be Nathaniel’s rightful wife!’

’She would never allow that!’

’So, Yara can only be Yara. Estelle Lockwood is already dead, so just let her remain a dead person, forever nailed to the pillar of shame!’

’After all, didn’t she set the fire and then frame Estelle Lockwood for it precisely because she was afraid Estelle would be lucky enough to survive and come back to compete with her?’

’With that kind of accusation hanging over her head, let’s see how she can come back from the dead!’

Austin relented. "Alright. In that case, I’ll contact Estelle. At least I can show her some concern and prevent her from causing trouble around the anniversary of her ’death’."

...

Estelle Lockwood had already seen the public opinion online when a new text message suddenly appeared on her phone.

In the text, Austin Lockwood, in what he must have considered a benevolent fatherly tone, said that she had suffered all these years, but the family was facing difficulties and couldn’t publicly acknowledge her yet. He hoped she wouldn’t mind, claiming everything the family did was for her own good. He added that she and Noelle Lockwood were sisters, so what was good for Noelle was good for her, because sisters were supposed to support each other.

A giant question mark appeared over Estelle Lockwood’s head: ?

’You’d have to be clinically brain-dead to say something like that.’

Austin Lockwood had always been like this. When she first returned home, Rose Lowell would scold her and Noelle would mock her for being a country bumpkin. Austin would pretend to reprimand Noelle, saying, "How could you say that, Noelle?" Then he would turn around and say to Estelle, "Just bear with it. We’ve raised Noelle for so many years, and she’s used to being spoiled. Just give in to her a little more."

When Noelle plagiarized her work, Estelle said she had proof. Austin asked her to show it to him.

Trusting him, Estelle gave her manuscript to her father. Austin then ripped it to shreds right in front of her and said:

"You and Noelle are sisters! What are you planning to do by keeping this? Ruin Noelle’s reputation? I don’t care who plagiarized whom. You two are sisters, so it’s fine as long as one of you admits guilt. Right now, everyone thinks you’re the plagiarist, so why don’t you just confess?"

’So... why is he trying to play the benevolent father now? Who is he putting on an act for?’

...

Nathaniel Sloan was typing rapidly on his computer. He hit the enter key, saw a certain IP address, and his expression darkened.

He asked Luke White, "Where is Chapman?"

...

Estelle Lockwood didn’t reply to Austin Lockwood’s text. KNOCK KNOCK. There was a rap on the door.

Chapman walked in, feigning a sorrowful expression. "Madam, is it really you?"

Estelle Lockwood put her phone away. "Chapman?"

"Madam, I know you’ve returned. These old bones of mine are truly happy."

Chapman paused and let out a deliberate sigh. "However, I have a presumptuous favor to ask, and I hope you can agree to it, Madam."

"For the next few days, please move out."

Estelle Lockwood’s eyebrows shot up. She propped her chin on one hand as something seemed to click in her mind. A lazy smile played on her lips. "Oh? I’m all ears."