For Cherry Miller, the second shoe dropping was no surprise at all.
In fact, she had already mentally prepared herself in advance.
That very evening, around eight o'clock—prime time for gossip and entertainment—a post suddenly appeared and instantly shot to the top of the trending list.
It even overshadowed the news of Gavin Gao's public confession.
The post was titled: "Risking My Life to Spill the Secrets of the Yin Enterprises' Chief Steward's Private Life."
Attached below was a video. Although the footage was somewhat blurry due to its age, you could still tell that the female lead was strikingly beautiful.
The content of the video was shocking—so much so that it was deleted less than ten minutes after being posted.
But in those ten minutes, plenty of sharp-eyed netizens managed to download and save it.
After watching the video, the internet practically exploded!
"Oh my god! What did I just see? Isn't the woman in this video Cherry Miller, the one who's been all over the headlines lately?"
"Oh my god! Cherry Miller is my goddess! How could so many people..."
"Unbelievable! No, I refuse to believe this is real!"
"How is this possible? She's the future daughter-in-law personally chosen by the current Mrs. Yin!"
"Ethan Yin, CEO of Yin Enterprises—your fiancée is being bullied! Do you even know what's going on?"
...
Some netizens just wanted to watch the drama, some reveled in the misfortune, and some were downright vicious. Almost everyone's attention was locked on the scandal.
The news quickly reached Cherry Miller. She was having dinner when her fingers clenched tight, and the smile on her face couldn't hold out any longer.
Even though she'd prepared herself, she never expected the exposure to happen so fast.
So, that means Casey has already opened the USB drive?
No way—with Casey's intelligence, there's no way she could decode it.
So the only person who could've pulled this off is Howard.
Howard, are you declaring war on me?
"Ms. Miller (Executive Assistant)..." The others at the table all looked at her with sympathy.
Those who really knew Cherry Miller naturally understood that the woman in the video wasn't her.
But even if it wasn't Cherry Miller, it was still connected to her, and she would inevitably be affected by the video.
"Sorry, something came up—I need to excuse myself for a moment." Cherry Miller stood up and hurried away.
"Who was the woman in that video who looked so much like Cherry Miller?" As soon as she left, the others began whispering among themselves.
"If I'm not mistaken, that should be a video of Mrs. Miller (Housekeeper) when she was young," someone in the know revealed. "Ms. Miller (Executive Assistant) really does resemble Mrs. Miller quite a lot."
"Mrs. Miller (Housekeeper)?"
"Yeah, she's the chief housekeeper for Mrs. Yin, Cecilia Gu, and oversees several estates. Whenever Cecilia has anything valuable, it's Mrs. Miller who takes care of it. You could say she's her right-hand woman."
"Oh my god, this is huge! With the Yin family's strict rules, neither Mrs. Miller (Housekeeper) nor Ms. Miller (Executive Assistant) will be able to stay in the Yin household, right?"
"Shh, don't talk nonsense like that. Who knows? The current heads of the Yin family are Charles Yin and Cecilia Gu. But then again, the rest of the family aren't exactly easy to deal with either..."
The group lowered their voices; no one dared to discuss the matter too deeply.
Cherry Miller hurried out, asking as she went, "Where's Mrs. Yin right now?"
"At the Yin Family Ancestral Home."
"Take me to the ancestral home." Cherry Miller jumped into the car and sped off.
As soon as she entered, someone came over to inform her, "Ms. Miller (Executive Assistant), you finally made it."
"Has Mrs. Yin heard about the video?" Cherry Miller asked.
"Yes," the person replied. "It was Mrs. Yin who ordered the post to be deleted and the rumors controlled. Mrs. Miller (Housekeeper) is here too."
Cherry Miller paused, her expression darkening. "So my mom's here too?"
"It looks like Mrs. Miller (Housekeeper) is confessing to Mrs. Yin right now."
"Got it, thanks." Cherry Miller quickened her pace and rushed inside.
Before she even reached Cecilia Gu's courtyard, Cherry Miller could see her mother standing there with her head bowed.
Cherry Miller's heart ached painfully.
The very thing she'd tried so hard to avoid had finally happened.
She'd almost broken up with Ethan Yin over this.
She even went as far as begging Captain Hans, agreeing to his condition of two months of grueling training at his base every year.
But even that couldn't stop the video from going public.
The damage that Deadbeat Dad caused her and her mother was just too much!
Now that the video was out, the impact on the Yin family's reputation was devastating.
Especially her mother, who was Mrs. Yin's chief housekeeper and often accompanied her to important events—lots of people knew her.
This made the impact even worse.
Now that the video was public, it was a disaster for both her and her mother.
Cherry Miller took a deep breath, forcing herself to suppress the pain in her heart, and pressed forward.
No matter how dangerous things got ahead, she was determined to face it!
"Mom!" Cherry Miller nearly ran to her.
"Stop right there!" Mrs. Miller (Housekeeper) called out to Cherry Miller, her face stern.
"Mom?" Cherry Miller saw how exhausted her mother looked and felt a fresh wave of pain. "I'm sorry, I didn't do enough. I should've stopped this sooner."
Mrs. Miller (Housekeeper) shook her head, expressionless. "This has nothing to do with you. It won't affect you. I'll bear all the consequences myself."
"Where's Mrs. Yin?" Cherry Miller turned to the others in the courtyard.
"Mrs. Yin isn't feeling well today. She just took her medicine and is lying down—she's changing clothes right now," the maid replied.
"What happened to Mrs. Yin?" Cherry Miller asked anxiously.
"It's all because of Mr. Field..." The maid stopped herself mid-sentence, knowing better than to gossip about her employer.
But Cherry Miller understood instantly.
Cecilia Gu had gotten sick from worrying about Miles Gu.
After all, she’d raised him as both a son and a son-in-law, and now, in the blink of an eye, he didn’t even acknowledge her.
Cecilia Gu valued family above all else—how could she not be upset by something like this?
She’d suffered terrible trauma when she was young, and now that she’s older, her health just isn’t what it used to be.
Getting sick was only natural under the circumstances.
Just then, Cecilia Gu’s bedroom door opened and Xiao Wang stepped out. He looked at Cherry Miller and Mrs. Miller (Housekeeper) and said, "Please come in."
Cherry Miller reached out to support her mother, but Mrs. Miller (Housekeeper) brushed her hand away.
With her head held high, Mrs. Miller (Housekeeper) strode inside without sparing her daughter a glance.
Cherry Miller knew her mother was trying to distance herself, determined to shoulder all the consequences alone.
Her mother might seem cold, but her love had never wavered.
Who says a mother's love is always gentle and warm?
Sometimes, a mother's love means taking on everything without hesitation.
Cherry Miller followed Mrs. Miller (Housekeeper) into the room, and was immediately struck by the strong smell of medicine.
"Mrs. Yin, are you feeling any better?" Cherry Miller asked with concern.
Cecilia Gu waved her hand dismissively. "It's nothing, just an old problem. Don't let Ethan know I'm sick."
"Yes, ma'am." Cherry Miller lowered her head sadly.
Madam is so ill, yet she still worries about me and my mother.
It's because I'm not good enough that things turned out this way.
I have to work even harder.
"Madam." Housekeeper Miller spoke up, "About what happened tonight..."
"I've already heard about it," Cecilia Gu nodded, "I called you here to tell you not to worry about such things. I know exactly what kind of person you are—no one can shake your position in the Yin family."
"No, Madam." Housekeeper Miller stood quietly, like a statue.
From Cherry Miller's angle, all she could see was her mother's thin, frail back, straight and strong, as if it had never been bent by hardship.
"I want to come forward and admit that the woman in the video is me," Housekeeper Miller said. "Cherry is my daughter. My mistakes shouldn't affect her. I know if I step forward, it means my reputation is ruined, and I can never be your head housekeeper again."
"Mom!" Cherry's eyes instantly filled with tears.
Housekeeper Miller raised her hand to stop Cherry from speaking, then continued to Cecilia Gu: "I thought about this on my way here. Madam, you’ve cared for me and Cherry for over twenty years. I should be grateful. My entanglements with Kun never faded with time. Kun is my past, my stain—marks I can never wash away. I never thought he’d go this far, even after all these years, still trying to ruin Cherry’s and my future and happiness. If he wants to destroy me, I have nothing to say. I was blind to love and trust him back then. But Cherry is innocent—she’s still so young, just a child. Her future is ahead of her."
Cecilia Gu sighed softly.
When she met Housekeeper Miller in France, Cecilia herself was at her lowest point.
She was pregnant, working several jobs, and on top of that, suffering Kun's beatings.
Even that could be endured.
The worst was when Kun lost money gambling and forced his wife to pay his debts.
Housekeeper Miller finally couldn't take it anymore and fought back, but Kun broke her legs and tried to sell her to an underground organization.
That was when Cecilia Gu met her.
Desperate, Housekeeper Miller begged Cecilia for help. Cecilia rescued her, paid a sum of money, and severed Kun’s ties to both Miller and her child.
No one expected that after more than twenty years, Kun would again target Cherry Miller for money.
Poor child, forced to kill her father to protect her mother's reputation.
Yet even then, she couldn't escape Kun's revenge.
The truth of what happened back then has finally come to light.
Housekeeper Miller took an envelope from her pocket and placed it on the table. "I’ve already posted a statement on my personal page claiming responsibility for the video. Madam, this is my resignation letter. Please take good care of Cherry."