Becoming the Richest Man Alive

Chapter 226

Casper gave Sheryl a rundown of what had happened with Sawyer, including their agreement. He only told her he had dirt on the man and bought himself a month’s grace period without elaborating on the details about storming the spa and what he did to Sawyer.

“I see. This means that your showdown with Sawyer would happen a month later,” she surmised succinctly.

Casper answered in the affirmative. Ever so astute of her to grasp the situation quickly.

“How did you do it? And what kind of dirt do you have on him?”

He cleared his throat. “Just a little trick of mine… It’s enough to keep him in check for a month.”

“In that case, we should get rid of Hanson now. Thanks for doing this, Casper. I’ll share with you my secret soup recipe as thanks.”

After going over the details of their plan, Casper hung up and immediately made another call.

“Hey, Tiana, do you have any media contacts?”

Being in the entertainment industry with her own company, Tiana had indeed established a network of media contacts. “Sure do. I have people I know in several print and new media channels.”

“Great. Can you do me a favor? A food blogger named Hanson will be uploading a video later today to expose himself. I need to make sure that the public flays him enough that he could never make a comeback.”

Though taken aback by what Casper said, Tiana agreed readily. “Okay, I’ll let my contacts know.”

A while later, she called with an update. “I contacted a we-media outlet, but they have some questions and I’m not sure how to answer them…”

“No problem. Ask them to call me.”

Within minutes, the call came in. “Hi, is this Mr. Simpson? My name is Alex. Thank you for taking my call. How are you today?”

Casper raised an eyebrow at the deferential attitude. This is the kind of person one should be wary of; who knows what’s lurking underneath that smiling facade?

“I understand you have some questions,” he said coolly.

Alex sensed the lack of interest in exchanging pleasantries. “Yes, sir!” he said cheerily. “Mr. Simpson, I have heard of Hanson before. May I know how do you intend to create bad press on him? Do you have fabricated stories in mind, or any evidence against him?”

He speaks about it like it was the weather. Casper was impressed. “I have actual evidence,” he assured Alex. “You don’t need to worry about the details. Hanson will upload a video on his own account. He’ll confess in the video that he has been stealing content ideas from someone, and he falsely incriminated his ex-girlfriend. Once the spark ignites, all you need to do is fan the flame and ensure Hanson’s name is dragged through the mud.”

“I don’t understand, Mr. Simpson. How do you know Hanson will release a video to expose himself?”

“That’s not something you need to be concerned with. Are you telling me you can’t get the job done?”

“No, of course not!” the man hurried to clarify. “We just want to understand more so we can help you better. Rest assured, Mr. Simpson. Given enough… incentives, we’ll find out every single skeleton in that guy’s closet. He’ll be under widespread vilification for sure.”

“Good. That better be the case.”

Without another word, Casper hung up. If Alex could deliver, he would be of great use in the future. However, he knew too well the likes of Alex were sycophantic turncoats who would be all too happy to pledge their loyalty to whoever offered the highest price.

Later that day, a video was posted on Hanson’s account that caught the attention of all the netizens.

The food blogger’s fans had initially thought it was just a new cooking video. They were soon in varying degrees of shock when they realized that the content was decidedly not what they assumed.

There was only a voiceover in the video along with subtitles, detailing how Hanson had stolen content ideas from his then-girlfriend for those cooking videos made in the early years. Said ex-girlfriend, Sheryl, was also the same one who Hanson had set up and framed.

The internet exploded with the uploading of the video. The netizens were dismayed to find the famous Hanson Woods, who was known for his wholesome personality and content, would be such an unscrupulous man.

While many condemned him, a small group of Hanson’s die-hard fans defended him with the same vigor. The conspiracy theorists in them attempted to turn the tide by declaring that he made the video under duress—likely threatened.

While that was a fact, the fans were unsuccessful in clearing his name. Delivering what he had promised, Alex had his we-media fan the flame by exposing more dirt on Hanson and publicizing it on all the major social media platforms.

Regardless of his wholesome online persona, Hanson had been quite a scurvy b*stard offline with past misdeeds, including breaching his contracts and hooking up with girls who were his fans. Many of those who had suffered in his hands chose to speak up against him.

What they did was essentially giving Hanson that final shove. He went from internet darling to public enemy faster than he could react.

He was tied up and taken by Firewolf Chamber of Commerce to where he was held captive previously. When he was finally rescued by a random passer-by, however, the latter slapped him hard across the face. “Ugh, it’s you. I wouldn’t have saved you if I knew it was you.”

The person spat on him and delivered two more slaps. “You’re a scumbag! Don’t even show your face around here.”

Hanson covered up his face and scurried along the streets to avoid another unwanted beating. Once he was safely home, he tried to log into his account to clear his name, but all his passwords—including his emails, had already been changed. There was no way he could log into his account since Casper had his cell phone. Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.

It was as if someone had drained all his strength from him. Hanson collapsed onto the floor in a pathetic heap. “It’s over… I’ve lost everything!”

A while later, he mustered up enough courage to search for his name on the internet. His heart sank immediately when he realized he was already trending on the major social media platforms, with articles about him reaching millions of hits.

He was bombarded with the flood of headlines, none of them even slightly positive: Hanson Woods Exposed! Who is the Scumbag Beneath the Facade?

How Hanson Woods Profiteered by Stealing From Others!

Social Media Celebrity Gaslighted and Abused Ex-Girlfriend.

Nausea rose in his stomach as he read the articles. Grasping at straws, he retrieved a backup cell phone from the drawer and used it to dial Sawyer’s number.

“Mr. Lingham, it’s Hanson. I-”

Sawyer cut him off coldly. “You did yourself in with that video. There’s nothing I can do, and I don’t want to be any part of this. Am I clear?”

The call disconnected as Hanson’s arm fell limply by his side. He knew, with absolute clarity, that his career was as dead as a doornail.