Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

I understood that Aunty Lisa was planning to ruin Dexter in the same manner as we did Damien.

I took a deep breath and got up from the couch. I wanted to ask Dexter about the animal abuse.

However, when I turned around, Dexter was already sitting on the stairs. He gazed at me with reddened eyes, as if he were deeply aggrieved.

"Sophia..." Dexter said softly, "Don’t settle it in private."

"Damien won’t go down so easily. He’ll definitely fight back. In the worst–case scenario, he’ll only be detained for 15 days," I told Dexter.

Despite its significant impact on the Coleman Group, this incident wouldn’t result in severe punishment for Damien.

"Detained for 15 days..." Dexter seemed rather excited about it.

As long as Damien faced the music, he would be happy as a lark.

"Do you think the Coleman family would just sit back and watch?" I sighed and sat next to Dexter. "You don’t want to mess with The Coleman family, especially Aun-"

"Especially Mrs. Coleman. It’s not the 15–day detainment that concerns them, it’s the impact of this incident on the company."

Dexter wrapped his arms around his legs and hunched over them with a pitiful expression. He looked like a huge abandoned dog.

I stared at him with a complicated gaze before saying, "When you... have an episode, do you abuse animals?"

Dexter was startled as he looked back at me in silence. I noticed that his eyes were somewhat emotional too.

Was he aggrieved? Depressed? Or perhaps, upset?

Was he accusing me of not trusting him?

"Then how do you explain this photo?" I showed him the photo that Aunty Lisa had sent to me.

Dexter glanced at the photo and looked up at me. "If I say no, will Sophia believe me?"

Honestly, it was difficult for me to blindly believe him when the proof was right there in front of me. And I was also aware that he was incapable of controlling himself during his episodes.

"Dexter... The Coleman family will exploit this to the fullest in their publicity. They will attack you for your mental illness and blow it out of proportion..." I lowered my head, dreading how cruel the ensuing public opinion could be toward Dexter.

But lucky for him, he seldom checked his phone. Otherwise, he would be in another level of hell.

Shortly after, Aunty Lisa sent me an article. It was a post published the year before, and the title was about paying attention to stray animals.

The article discussed the common occurrence of animal abuse among the homeless population and had a picture of Dexter holding a kitten covered in blood attached next to it.

The article was highly critical, likely written by a journalist, and nearly reduced the homeless population to being utterly worthless.

The post had received millions of views when it went viral that year.

I didn’t know how Dexter went through it.

Public opinion sure could be a double–edged sword.

"Sophia... You don’t trust me, do you?" Dexter’s voice was hoarse, as if he was on the verge of losing it again.

He grabbed my arm, searching my eyes for a sense of trust. However, upon finding nothing, disappointment washed over him.

Dexter lowered his head as his eyes gradually reddened. Then, with tears streaming down his face, he stood up and left.

"Dexter..." Instinctively, I reached out and held his hand, hoping for an explanation.

But Dexter seemed to be very sensitive about the cat abuse incident.

"Dexter?" I called again, but he ignored me and ran off to the room.

This was the first time I had seen him react so emotionally in front of me.

I rubbed my temples.

Honestly, anyone would feel suspicious after seeing that article and photo. So, Dexter. couldn’t blame me for doubting him, especially since he refused to explain himself.

But I was just worried.

I was worried that he might get hurt by the public opinion the Coleman family was about to instigate.

So, I searched for the incident about a homeless teenager abusing a cat that occurred in the previous year.

As expected, there were numerous photos and videos in the search results.

In one of the videos, the videographer bumped into Dexter in the alley and struck Dexter with a stone and a stick.

After that, Dexter huddled in a corner and was tightly clutching onto something. His forehead and body were grimy, and there were traces of blood on him.

I was aware that Dexter had suffered a lot during his days as a homeless person, but I had no idea that he had been through this much.

He could have fought back...

"Why didn’t you fight back?" I murmured in a hoarse voice.

I quickly sifted through the online news and stumbled upon a dissenting voice.

It was a video with very few views that had spoken up for Dexter.

In the video, the blogger followed Dexter and recorded him, asserting that Dexter was trying to rescue the stray cat rather than harm it.

However, the media misinterpreted Dexter’s actions with their own distorted interpretation, and Dexter couldn’t even defend himself because he struggled with

communication.

Obviously, someone had deliberately suppressed the visibility of this post, resulting in its low traffic. And low traffic meant fewer people would learn the truth.

The blogger who posted the video had also only published this one post.

I frowned and went to look for Ewan.

If the Coleman family planned to suppress the negative publicity surrounding the Coleman Group by instigating public opinion about Dexter’s mental illness and cat abuse incident, then we had to be ready for it.

"Ewan, find this blogger for me as soon as possible. I want the complete video he’s holding." I pinned my hopes on this blogger, hoping he possessed a complete version of the video that could prove Dexter’s innocence.

In retrospect, if I had thought this through, I would have realized that the news was fake and that I had misunderstood Dexter.

The fact that those stray dogs obeyed Dexter’s commands to bite people indicated that Dexter treated them well. So, he couldn’t have been abusing animals..

Nevertheless, I needed actual proof now.

While Ewan sent someone to look for the blogger, I sat on the couch and scrolled through the posts, hoping to find more evidence.

However, the Coleman family was quick to act.

As the news of Damien’s intentional assault gained increasing attention, reports about Dexter, the president of the Black Group, being accused of past animal abuse also went viral.

The comments from ignorant netizens immediately flooded in.

"The homeless teenage boy who abused the cat is now the president of the Black

Group?

"Is the Black Group out of its mind? They actually chose a homeless guy to be their president?"

"The Black Group might as well pick me as their president. These suckers are going bankrupt soon!"

Not surprisingly, the netizens couldn’t wait to see how the mighty had fallen.

Their attacks and insults impacted the Black Group in no time.

The Black Group’s PR swiftly issued a statement, saying, "We, at The Black Group, will thoroughly investigate this matter and provide everyone with an explanation."

Then, calls from the executives of the Black Group started pouring into the Black family.

Ewan calmly answered the calls one after another despite each call being accompanied by scolding and cursing.

I bit my finger. I knew that I wouldn’t have a moment of peace that night.

Should the controversy continue to escalate, Martin’s people would undoubtedly show up the next morning to pressure Dexter to resign in response to the accusations. They would also force him to relinquish his shares and leave the Black Group.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed.

It was a call from Aunty Lisa.

"Ms. Miller, have you thought it over yet? Are you ready to settle it in private now?" Aunty Lisa asked, assuming that I would compromise.

I glanced at the room upstairs and firmly refused her, saying. "Never." I’d rather go down swinging than compromise.

Aunty Lisa hung up the phone without saying a word.

Perhaps she thought it was childish of me. But I had my pride to maintain, so I couldn’t care less.

’Mrs. Black, we’ve gotten in touch with the blogger. He has the complete video, but since he’s an independent content creator, he requested exposure and support in exchange for releasing the video."

I nodded. "He can be the first to release the video. We’ll help him increase visibility."

Ewan nodded in agreement.

Soon, the whole raw truth went viral.

The video revealed that someone was abusing the kitten, but Dexter drove the abuser away. Then, he carefully took the injured kitten and rushed it to the nearby vet.

However, several vets had turned him away. And this resulted in him having to helplessly watch as the kitten took its last breath in his hands.

Then, the video showed Dexter kneeling on the ground, overwhelmed by the feelings of loss, despair, and fear...

My heart tightened as I watched the video.

Then, I left this matter to Ewan and went to see Dexter.

I knocked on the door, but he didn’t answer.

"Dexter? I’m sorry..." I said softly outside the door, "I was wrong about you, Dexter."

The door opened.

Dexter stood in the dimly lit room and said to me with eyes glittering with expectation, " Then sleep with me, Sophia."

I was startled by his words.

Then, Dexter reached his hand out to me and said with reddened eyes, "Sophia, hug me, pamper me"

Suddenly, my phone buzzed.

It was Zion.

"Sophia! Damien’s mother was hit by a car on her way to the police station! She’s still in the ER, and the person who hit her... claims it was Dexter who ordered it."

Stunned by the sudden news, I instinctively glanced at Dexter.