Chapter 354

Victor’s POV

Jennifer’s complete betrayal took a heavy toll on my lovely Luna. Daisy cried for hours after the ex-maid’s Max News interview.

She pushed me away when I tried to hold her in my arms. But I finally insisted on carrying her upstairs.

I placed her on the bed and sat next to her. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry. Jennifer’s betrayal must hurt you badly.”

“It’s not just that,” Daisy said as she wiped her eyes. “She was right. What she said about me was the truth. You should break our engagement and find another mate.”

“Daisy, no!” I shouted.

“The faction may leave you alone if you dump me.” She turned her back to me. “I’m no good for your career, and I won’t hold you back.”

“That’s nonsense,” I insisted. “They would be saying the same things about any mate of mine.”

When she remained silent, I gently turned her beautiful tear-stained face toward me and looked into her glistening emerald eyes.

“You are letting John win,” I told her. “Don’t start believing his propaganda. We are stronger together, so he is trying to break us apart. Don’t let him do it, my love.”

Daisy fell into my arms, and I held her while she cried for a few minutes. Then she sat up and went to the bathroom to wash her face.

She returned to the bedroom in a plain cotton nightgown. “We should get some rest. Fighting a faction is exhausting.”

Daisy allowed me to hold her while we lay in our bed, but I could tell she didn’t sleep much.

It’s been two days since that evening, and Daisy still hadn’t left the mansion.

Reports of the rebellion by Alphas growing worse haven’t helped, nor does the fact that many Betas turned against Daisy after Jennifer’s interview.

Daisy has always been a champion for the underdog. Being thought of as one of the uncaring wealthy elite hurts her deeply.

I didn’t know how to help her, so I turned once again to Shane Ross.

He was already working on a project to help Daisy before I called. Shane promised it would make a difference to anyone influenced by Jennifer’s interview.

After another poor night’s sleep, Daisy sat across the breakfast table from me in the morning room. She picked at a piece of toast, more of it ending up as crumbs on her plate than in her mouth.

She had been avoiding the newspapers and TV. But she needed to read the papers and watch the news today.

I folded the Denhurst Gazette and placed it in front of her, with Shane’s latest article facing her.

Daisy raised her eyes to meet mine. “What is this?”

“Read it,” I replied. “The truth is better than the faction’s spin. Shane tells people the truth in this article, and he has the proof to back it up.”

Daisy cautiously picked up the newspaper and began to read. I saw relief spread across her pretty features, and I relaxed for the first time in two days.

I had been terrified I was going to lose her, but now she was coming back from the brink of her despair.

Daisy’s mouth dropped open. “Shane has a video of when Jennifer admitted she took money to spy on me. And it shows I was against firing her. He released the footage and gave his own interviews to two TV news stations.”

“Let’s take our coffee into the living room and see if it’s on yet,” I suggested.

“Okay,” she said.

I was pleased to see her wrap a sausage in a piece of toast and take it along with her coffee to the living room.

We flipped through the news stations for several minutes before spotting Shane on channel WSC, a reputable network watched by Alphas, Betas, and Omegas.

“Mr. Ross, there has been a lot of talk about Daisy Wilson since the interview of her ex-maid,” the newscaster said. “You and your phone camera were at the Wilson estate when the woman was fired. Will you tell us what happened?”

Shane looked straight into the camera. “The maid was caught spying on Daisy Wilson. She had a tiny camera with footage of Daisy’s guests at the dinner party without permission and of Daisy performing routine tasks.”

The camera changed angles. “Is that why Miss Wilson fired her maid?” the interviewer asked.

“Daisy did not fire her,” Shane corrected. “Daisy did not want her to be fired even though the maid, Jennifer Case, admitted she had been supplying John Cameron’s faction with intimate details of Daisy’s life for money.”

“The maid wasn’t fired?” the newscaster asked.

“Alex Wilson’s butler insisted on firing Jennifer because she could not be trusted to maintain the family’s privacy,” Shane explained. “Let’s watch the video of what really happened.”

The video played. It was emotional for Daisy to watch, but it made Jennifer look like a money-hungry, disgruntled ex-employee, which was Shane’s goal.

But Daisy’s tender heart still felt for the disloyal woman.

We silently watched the rest of Shane’s interview and video before Daisy told me her latest idea to help people.

“We must make new laws to help those who can’t afford to get sick or injured,” Daisy declared. “If your mother were a Beta, her accident would have caused her and your father to be homeless. Or, like many, she may have died from lack of medical care.”

“Get me facts and data about the issue, and we will tackle the problem,” I promised as I changed the channel.

Hoping for the best, I stopped to see what Max News was saying since the interview with Jennifer had been debunked.

I clutched the edges of the couch seat when ex-council member Kirk Sanders came on the screen.

“After he helped stage an unsuccessful coup, why is he out of prison?” I said. “John may have gotten him out of jail, but he won’t be back on the council.”

I turned up the volume and braced myself for a pack of lies and spin.

“The truth is that Victor can’t lead,” Kirk said. “He doesn’t have the experience, and he’s easily led by a flighty yet attractive mate. He always was a playboy, and sex is more important to him than anything else.”

“Our society needs stricter laws against slander and defamation!” I roared. “It’s unbelievable that anyone can make any statement about someone and get away with it.”

“I agree,” Daisy said. “But you must tread carefully, darling. Too many new laws at once will backfire.”

“Daisy, if I don’t stop all the lies, I won’t be in the position to change anything. They are weaponizing the press and social media against us. It must stop.”

I paced for several minutes before I called Findlay and told him to arrange a meeting with lawyers who specialize in slander lawsuits.

“I need to know how these news outlets and personalities can be sued to stop them from lying to their audiences,” I said. “I’ll be at the office in twenty minutes.”

“Are you sure more laws will help this situation?” Daisy asked. She came to me and pressed her fantastic body against mine.

I held her tightly and kissed her lips.

“Yes, my love,” I replied. “I believe this is the most needed new law at this moment. The people need the truth to make decisions about their lives. Opinions, spin, and lies cannot win out over truth and facts.

My body responded to hers in a way that made me want to forget everything and carry her upstairs.

Then I remembered what Kirk Sanders said about me being a playboy and kissed Daisy goodbye.

“I’ll see you at dinner, my love,” I said. “Try to have a good day.”

Benson brought me my suit jacket, and I went out the door.

By noon, I had the new slander laws drawn up and ordered them to take effect immediately.

Two hours later, Daisy called.

“Have you heard, sweetheart?” I asked. “There will be no more lying.”

“Everyone has heard, Victor,” she said. “But I don’t think they understand what you did.”

“What do you mean?” I asked and turned on my office TV.

“The Alpha-Centric channels are calling your new laws censorship and infringement of free speech,” she said. “Alphas are not taking it well.”

“What else is new?” I sighed. “I’ll go on TV and explain why the slander laws are for everyone’s good.”

“Hurry,” Daisy said. “I came downtown to run some errands, but I can’t complete any of them.”

“Why not?” I asked. “Are there more riots?” Daisy needed to go home. It wasn’t safe for her to be in an angry crowd.

“No, but everything is closed,” she explained. “Every bank, supermarket, and vital Alpha-owned business has a sign on the door that claims everyone is too sick to work, and they will be closed until further notice.”