Chapter 224 - Legal Advice

After making the appropriate calls to the offices of those who were supposed to meet with Tom that morning, to inform them that the meeting had been pushed backward, Lucy decided to return both her parents' and Lucas' call first before joining Tom. She needed to assure them that she was alright.

She dialed his line, and almost immediately the call connected as if he had been waiting beside his phone for her call, "I suppose you've seen the news circulating on the internet?" He asked in a worried tone, and then glanced at his phone when it beeped to inform him of another call. It was Rachel. He knew that she was very upset seeing how he had run off, leaving her behind at the shop where they had gone to pick out their wedding ring after seeing the news of his sister online. 

"No, I haven't seen it yet. But I've heard people talking," Lucy informed him calmly.

Hearing how calm she sounded, his brows pulled together, "Are you okay?" He asked since even though he wanted her to be okay, he wasn't expecting her to be okay. No one would be okay about having stuff like that about them circulating the internet. 

"Sure. I'm okay," Lucy assured him.

"Okay? How can you say you are okay when we are not okay? You don't have to pretend to be fine, Lu!" Lucas said in frustration, making Lucy's eyes sting with tears, "You can cry if you want to. Just don't pretend to be okay," Lucas pleaded. 

"Really, I'm okay. Don't let it bother you..."

"For godsake, Lu! I'm your twin brother and not a stranger! You can't ask me not to be bothered by this," Lucas snapped at her as he tried to focus on the road ahead of him, and then as if remembering that she was probably also feeling very terrible about it and there was no need to get angry with her, he took in a deep breath. 

"I'm coming down to see you," Lucas said in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Please don't!" Lucy pleaded. The last thing she wanted was for her family to come over. She loved them, but she needed space to figure this out and deal with it herself.

"If I was the one in your situation would you let me handle this alone? It's bad enough that I've had to leave with the guilt of not noticing what you were passing through eight years ago until that bastard abducted you, and now you say I should stand by and watch you go through this alone too? Not a chance in hell," Lucas said as he stepped on the pedal. 

Lucy took in a deep breath, "You're getting married. Rachel isn't going to want you to..."

"Screw whatever it is you think she doesn't want! We are one, Lu. I need to be there for you. Just so you know, I'm on my way home. Mom and dad are coming over to stay with you, and I'm coming with them. We will all figure out what is going on and deal with it together as a family."

"No! Don't let them do that. And you shouldn't either, you have your job to..."

"I already asked for some time off," Lucas cut in dismissively.

"There is no need for all of this..."

"No need for what? Maybe you need to go on Twitter and see how people who know nothing about us are bashing our family! Dad was accused of using his influence to make the case go in your favor! Not just you, but our family was accused of murdering Jamie and his parents! Do you think this is just about you? You have no right to ask us not to get involved!" Lucas yelled at her, and then hung up so that he wouldn't say something he was going to regret.

Lucy dropped her hands to her side once he hung up the call, and she took in a deep breath as she turned on her phone's data connection. She logged into her Twitter account, and she noticed that her name was on the list of trending hashtags. 

Her breath hitched when she clicked on the first post and saw the words in a bold caption, 'HOW LUCINDA PERRY, PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO THE CEO OF I-GLOBAL, MURDERED AN ENTIRE FAMILY IN COLD BLOOD!'

**************

"I'm handing her the phone. She will explain to you, and then when you're both done we need to talk," Harry said as he gave the phone to Jade. 

"If the post is taken off the internet now after so many people have seen it, things would become even more complicated for Lucy and her family. Netizens would accuse them of trying to cover their atrocity," Jade pointed out.

"So what are you suggesting? We have to leave it and let more people see it?" Tom asked in frustration.

"Unfortunately, yes. Taking it down doesn't mean it will stay down. You have no idea how many people must have seen the news and even copied and shared it with others. Taking down the major source doesn't mean it will curb the spread of the news," Jade explained.

"So what do you suggest we do?" Tom asked impatiently.

"Before I say anything, I just have to know, are you sure she is innocent of this? Have you asked her about it?" Jade asked cautiously.

"Do you think I would try to do this if I didn't know most of the details before now?" Tom asked impatiently.

"I guess not," Jade murmured.

"The family she was accused of murdering is Sonia's family. Do you think Sonia would be her best friend if it were true?" Tom asked, making Jade's lips round in surprise.

"You mean the guy she was accused of murdering is Sonia's brother?" Jade asked in surprise, and Harry raised a brow.

"Half-brother. Sonia testified in court too. Listen, the Lucy I know doesn't deserve any of this, so if you know any way we can clear this up, let me know."

Jade took in a deep breath as she bit her nail and then scowled as she dropped her hands to her side when she noticed the disapproval on Harry's face as he watched her biting her nail.

She would have suggested that Sonia should make a public statement in defense of Lucy to clear the air but seeing her relationship with Bryan now, she wasn't sure Sonia would be allowed to do so. 

"Let's start by finding the source. Although that is going to be difficult considering that it started on Twitter," Jade said thoughtfully.

"I already asked someone to locate the source," Harry informed them from the side.

"Good. Once we find the person who started this mess, we will make them clear it up by pressing charges," Jade assured them.

"Good. Let's start from there. Please hand Harry the phone," Tom told Jade as his office door opened and Lucy walked in. 

"Hey!" Harry said as he excused himself from where Jade was.

"What did you want to talk about?" Tom asked curiously.

"First, how is Lucy taking everything?" Harry asked in concern.

"She's holding up," Tom said as he sat on the edge of his desk and motioned Lucy to sit next to him. Once she moved closer to him he placed his hand around her shoulder. 

"I've received series of phone calls from some major shareholders, they want us to fire her immediately. They don't want something like this associated with the company," Harry informed Tom with a sigh.

Tom stood up from where he was seated and dropped his hand from Lucy's shoulder as he moved away from her, "And what did you tell them?"

"I told them we can't fire her based on such rumors, especially as she has been a devoted staff. We will investigate on the issue and only fire her if the allegations are true," Harry explained.

"That's good enough. Thank you. And you don't have to worry, the allegations are not true," Tom assured Harry.

"I know. I may not exactly understand what is going on, but I trust your choice and decisions even if you're an arse most of the time," Harry added in a teasing tone to lighten the mood.

"Don't worry. We will fix this so you can finally tell her the truth and get rid of those awful piercings," Harry said making Tom smile. 

"I already got rid of the piercings.. Thanks for your help," Tom said, and then hung up the call before Harry could ask him any more questions.