The next morning, the tabloid publisher's illegal activities hit the news. It originated from an online exposé released by an anonymous source. Many of the netizens speculated that perhaps it was the hacker KeymonSTER who did it, but the veteran hackers disagreed.
The thorough, organized and detailed style was very similar to how Drakon usually released exposés, but the impression it evoked to them felt slightly different. It wasn't destructive enough. The hackers concluded that it must not be Drakon.
This hacker was too cautious with all the blacking out of names. Drakon usually didn't care for how many people his exposés affected. Besides, they thought that for a fast-rising hacking superstar like Drakon, he would never do something anonymously. Claiming responsibility of every hacking feat was a must-do to increase one's reputation and prestige.
As for the blacked-out names, the general public and the media were having a field day identifying all of them. It became a fun guessing game.
The celebrities involved were horrified, especially the ones who were blackmailed and already paid the tabloid huge amounts of hush money to not release the scandalous stories about them.
For the celebrities who couldn't pay or refused to do so, they surfaced once again to use this is an opportunity to finally clear up their names. Many of them suffered tremendous damage to their reputations, while some of them had to prematurely end their careers as a result of the stories released by the tabloid about them.
Not only the celebrities and their families were enraged but also their fans. As a result, many of them stepped forward to officially sue the tabloid. In the next few days, the tabloid was sued for a number of crimes such as libel, extortion, corruption, trespassing and invasion of privacy.
The police was very quick in responding to all of these lawsuits. They quickly apprehended the key people from the tabloid. It seemed that the Police Chief personally involved himself in the investigations of these cases. He eventually revealed that he held a more detailed version of the exposé containing names that weren't blacked out.
While the press was busy gathering more information about these cases, they were suddenly invited for a press conference. The heir of Long Industries, Long Hui, wanted to make an announcement.
Only a few representatives from the media attended. Although the Longs were included in the list of the country's most prominent families, their importance wasn't very significant compared to the likes of the Jins, the Lus, and most especially the Fengs whose influence went beyond wealth.
'Why bother calling for a press conference? A simple press release or a social media post should suffice. The Longs think too highly of themselves,' the reporters sent to the press conference grumbled to themselves.
The only member of the Long family that they were interested in at the moment was Iris Long. However, most of them already knew that she had an estranged relationship with the Long family. Though there were rumours that she had been repairing her relationship with her family in recent months.
As if anticipating the poor turn-out, the place Long Hui booked for the press conference was not very big. He had participated in other press conferences in the past, but most of them were regarding Long Industries. This was the first time that he would be conducting a press conference for a personal matter concerning him and his family. He felt nervous but also excited at the same time.
Remembering his conversation with Jiang Ying Yue on the phone earlier today, he was surprised that she was agreeable to his plan. Although she wasn't happy, she didn't resist. Then he learned that it was because of his sister.
"Xiulan's reputation has taken a severe hit because people are thinking that Little Jun is her love child with Jin Chonglin. If you announce that Little Jun is actually your son, then all these bad rumours about her will stop," Jiang Ying Yue told him.
He sulked a little after hearing her reason for giving permission. Actually, with or without her approval, he would still go ahead and make the announcement. He just informed her as courtesy and respect as the mother of their child. And of course, he was hoping to earn some brownie points from her.
"Do…does your family know that you're doing this?" she asked in a cautious and anxious manner.
"Yes, of course. Father approved of my plan," he told her.
"Only your father?"
Silence.
"Ying Yue?"
She chuckled bitterly. Then she sighed and said, "At least your father permitted you to do this."
"Yeah."
"Long Hui…"
He frowned, not liking how she was addressing him using his full name.
"Please, I beg you. Protect our son." Her voice shook a bit. "I know that we'll never be good enough for your family…but please, don't let them hurt our son. I can't…I can't bear it…"
"What are you talking about? Ying Yue, tell me!"
"I…just promise me, please."
When the call ended, he couldn't stop thinking about what she said. He felt confused but also suspicious, especially after personally experiencing the elders' extreme discrimination against his son.
But before he could think more deeply and carefully about the matter, he received a signal that the press conference was about the start. He cleared his mind of any unnecessary thoughts. He focused instead on the important task that he was about to accomplish in this press conference.
###
Dragon Palace Home #10.
The huge flat screen TV was showing the live telecast of Long Hui's press conference. It was currently being broadcast on a minor news channel.
Iris' head was laying on Jin Liwei's shoulder while they watched the press conference together on the couch. Little Jun sat on Jin Liwei's lap while playing with a toy given to him by his Great-Grandpa Lu a few days ago.
Jiang Ying Yue sat on another couch with Dom. The two of them were still wearing masks just until they were sure that they were fully recovered from their colds. She wore her neutral bodyguard expression, not showing any emotions as she watched her ex-lover and the father of her child on TV.
Long Hui looked very dashing with his crisp business suit. He was cold, handsome and graceful.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Long Hui. I am also Iris Long's eldest brother. I am here to announce today that the child pictured with my sister in a recent tabloid story is my son. The child is my biological son, my own flesh and blood. I had him with my lover. He is not, I repeat, he is NOT the son of my sister Iris Long or the celebrity Jin Chonglin."
He continued, "My son looks a little like my sister because he's her nephew. She is also my son's godmother, that's why he calls her Mama. My sister was never pregnant before. Based on my son's age, she couldn't have given birth to him. She was comatose at that time. Please stop spreading false rumours about my sister and my son. That's all I have to say."