The Prison-Made Queen novel Chapter 688

The sight of the photographs made Hackett’s temples throb. The newspaper in his hand was the business journal the PR department had just brought him. He skimmed the article. The descriptions were clearly biased, with every line implying that the Sloan Group was exploiting its workers and evading responsibility. Anyone who didn't know the full story would see the pictures and text and immediately assume the company was at fault.

In reality, Hackett himself had only just pieced together the truth. He was in an impossible position, unable to defend himself.

A soft knock on the door preceded Josiah, who walked in with a stack of files. “Dad, the media monitoring report is out.”

He placed the documents on the desk, his voice low. “Seven mainstream media outlets have already followed up on the story. On social media, the relevant topic has surpassed ten million views.”

The plight of construction workers was already a sensitive subject, and with someone intentionally fanning the flames, the story had gone viral with ease. With public opinion already so heavily swayed, clarifying the truth would be incredibly difficult.

Hackett let out a cold laugh and slapped the newspaper on his desk. “The people behind this work fast!”

The incident had just happened yesterday, and today the news was everywhere. Other companies had faced similar crises, but had the public backlash ever escalated this quickly? It was obvious someone was manipulating events from behind the scenes.

Now, even Hackett had to admit that someone was targeting the Sloan family. He just didn't have a clue who it was.

Josiah glanced at his father’s tense profile and opened the monitoring report. “Dad, this isn’t even the worst of it. Look at this.”

Josiah had been there when the call was made, and the response had made his own chest tighten. The facts weren’t even clear yet, but this person was already certain the Sloan Group was to blame. It was impossible to know if they had been paid off or if they were genuinely convinced…

The bad news didn’t stop there. Josiah continued, “What’s even more trouble is that the company’s stock has fallen again.”

Two hours after the market opened, Sloan Group’s stock had already dropped by 7%. After all the progress they had made with Fitch's help, a single incident had sent them tumbling back to square one, or even lower. The drop was even more severe than before.

Suddenly, a commotion started outside the window. Both father and son turned to see a crowd of reporters with cameras gathering downstairs.