Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase Novel

Chapter 157: Vincenzo stared at his phone after the call ended, stunned into silence for a few seconds. It sure sounded like Maia already had a plan up her sleeve. Whether she was being honest or just trying to reassure him, he wasn't sure. Either way, he knew he had to act fast and clean up the situation too.

The online uproar was growing nastier by the minute. Vincenzo didn't care about his own reputation, but Maia was different. She was young, and she had a husband. If the rumors kept spreading, how was she supposed to hold her head high?

"Whoever leaked those pictures, you're dead meat," Vincenzo said through gritted teeth, cursing under his breath.

At that same moment, Maxwell stumbled across the trending news while scrolling through his phone. His heart skipped a beat at the flood of venomous comments. Now he finally understood why Chris had lost it earlier. What man could sit back and watch his wife get dragged through the mud like this? "How can one person stir up so much chaos? Vincenzo! You have truly… dragged me into a real mess," Maxwell muttered under his breath while dialing Vincenzo's number.

The second the call connected, he cut straight to the point. "Listen carefully. Stay away from Maia. If you don't, don't blame me when things get ugly."

Vincenzo's stomach dropped the moment he heard the warning in Maxwell's voice. It didn't take a genius to realize that the scandal had reached some serious ears.

"Mr. Payne, you've got it all wrong!" Vincenzo blurted out, practically choking on his own panic. "I only bumped into Miss Watson at the restaurant. We had a normal meal, nothing shady! I have no idea how those photos ended up online!"

A scoff from Maxwell was all he got in return. "Oh really? How convenient that someone just happened to catch you and Maia at the perfect moment?"

"I swear, it's the truth!" Vincenzo retorted, practically begging now. "The security cameras at the restaurant could've cleared everything, but someone tampered with the footage! Somebody must be targeting me… or maybe even her!"

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"Got any idea who's behind it?" Maxwell asked after falling silent for a moment.

"No clear leads yet, but I've already asked the restaurant to recover the original footage. It'll take some time," Vincenzo said, frustration dripping from his voice. "But no matter what, I'm not letting Miss Watson take the fall for this."

At least the guy had enough sense to care about fixing it, but Maxwell was in no mood to hand out medals. "Smart or not, I'm warning you one last time-stay away from her," Maxwell said sharply, then ended the call without waiting for a reply.

This whole situation had spiraled way beyond harmless gossip. If Chris got any angrier, Maxwell knew that he'd be caught in the fallout too.

Wasting no time, he dialed Chris's number and started spilling the details about Vincenzo and Maia's supposed dinner date. He didn't even get halfway through before Chris's calm voice interjected, "I know. I was there too."

Maxwell froze like he had been doused in ice water.

Frantically, he tried to rewind the day's events in his mind. After a long, panicked pause, he dared to ask, "Wait… was there really something going on between Maia and Vincenzo?"

"No," Chris replied, short and sharp.

Relief flooded through Maxwell's body-but only halfway. Something about Chris's tone told him that the storm wasn't over yet.

Scratching his head, Maxwell thought back to the photos he'd seen online. With a little hesitation, he asked, "But… were they really that close?"

"Not at all," Chris replied evenly. "They were just talking. The photos were taken from angles meant to stir up drama."

Hearing that, Maxwell finally let out a full breath he hadn't even realized he was holding. At least he wouldn't have to figure out how to throw Vincenzo under the bus without getting splattered himself.

"So if that's the case," Maxwell asked cautiously, "why were you still so pissed off? If you knew the truth, what's got you so worked up?"

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