Phoenix Rising: From Heartache to Heroism
Chapter 563 Framing and False Accusations

This event was just one of the Artea-Pacifica Quinston had planned.

If this incident escalated, it would undoubtedly alert the headquarters.

The relentless netizens wouldn't care who the primary planner was; they would flood the brand's official Facebook account with complaints regardless.

Whether Gilbert could keep his job was uncertain, but he might have to bear some of the financial burden for this incident.

The most pressing matter now was to start the event quickly and then offer a sincere apology on-site.

As long as the attending fans didn't have too many complaints, everything would be easier to manage.

So, Gilbert turned to Polly and pleaded, "Polly, please, can you help me out here? Do you want to ruin our relationship? I've already promised that all our staff will fully cooperate with the police investigation. What more do you want?"

He continued, "Besides, if this event is ruined and the truth hasn't come out yet, the first thing netizens will think is that you're the one who stole the necklace. Polly, you need to think carefully!"

Polly had been wavering.

But Zelena's words had completely severed any goodwill between her and the brand, putting them at odds.

Polly also had her company to consider, so what choice did she have?

She could only compromise.

"I'm not trying to make things difficult. If that's the case, let's start the event," she conceded.

"Officer, thank you for coming today. I'll continue to follow up on this matter, and I appreciate your efforts."

The police, focused on their duty, didn't mind the inconvenience.

They made a brief record of the people on-site and then went to review the surveillance footage.

The event finally began.

However, after the earlier incident, none of the invited guests were in a particularly good mood, and they simply went through the motions on stage with the host.

Fortunately, Gilbert quickly came up with the idea to add a raffle, giving away a plethora of branded makeup products and other merchandise.

This finally calmed the disgruntled fans.

He then swiftly had someone address the online backlash, effectively resolving the PR crisis before it could escalate.

In the follow-up investigation, the police did replace an old, dirty plaid shirt in the trash can by the back door of the event.

It was the shirt belonging to Celeste.

Could it be that the person who framed Polly really had nothing to do with Celeste?

The suspicion couldn't be completely dismissed.

After this tense confrontation, Polly and Zelena had nearly destroyed each other.

Following the event, Polly, still shaken, called Violeta.

Violeta was on set filming but took a moment to answer.

After hearing what had happened, Polly angrily accused Zelena.

"Vio, if you hadn't warned me beforehand, I would've been done for today.

"I'm almost certain that Zelena's assistant Celeste, was behind this. The video didn't capture her face, but the figure was definitely hers! But they're adamantly denying it.

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"This is outrageous—she must be a repeat offender. Who knows how many people she's wronged before.

"I won't let this go. I'm going to investigate this thoroughly!

"And she's so vicious, trying to

create a rift between me and the brand to force me to drop the investigation. It's absolutely despicable." Violeta listened quietly

to Polly's angry rant.

Polly took a sip of water and asked after calming down, "Vio, has Zelena ever falsely accused you before?"

Violeta softly replied, "Worst than that."

Polly was shocked. "What? She really hurt you?"

Violeta replied, "Yes, but it's a long story. As long as she didn't succeed in harming you this time, Polly, that's what matters. Now that you know how dangerous she is, you must be even more careful in the future."

Framing and false accusations were indeed low-level tactics, but they could be surprisingly effective.

Zelena had underestimated Polly, assuming she would be an easy target.

Now that her initial attempt had failed, Zelena was likely to resort to other, potentially more malicious methods in the future.

Violeta couldn't always be there to shield Polly.

From now on, Polly would have to learn to navigate these treacherous waters on her own.

This confrontation had opened Polly's eyes to Zelena's true nature.

She wouldn't dare to let her guard down again.