Amid this, Ariana overheard a staff member’s hushed conversation.
“What’s happening? A dozen more accounts suddenly started voting for their team, all from the same IP address. It must’ve cost
them over ten million to maneuver this.”
She asked, “May I know the location of that IP address, please?”
The staff member replied, “It traces back to somewhere in Eleymond, but I don’t have exact details.”
Their puzzled gaze met Ariana’s.
“Aren’t these your men?”
Ariana offered a sheepish smile, at a loss for words.
How could she possibly know what was happening? She was just as confounded as the rest.
Angela’s Library
In Eleymond, aside from Sarah and Tyler, were there other magnates willing to generously invest in her cause? Something
extraordinary was afoot.
Inside the conference room atop the BRD Group’s building, sitting at the end of the polished mahogany table, Holden tapped his
fingers impatiently as he waited in silence.
His steely gaze swept across the two rows of men seated in front of him. These men were all impeccably dressed, wearing
tailored suits and designer ties. Their hair was carefully slicked back. This was the typical look of elite professionals. Those who
knew the cutthroat financial world knew these men who were renowned traders, the best manipulators in the industry.
At this moment, each of them had a sleek laptop computer open in front of them, the screen of which was filled with constantly
changing data and numbers. In the corner of each screen was a small live stream window showing the glittering stage of the
talent show competition.
The men were intently focused on their computers, tapping keyboards incessantly. They were using their connections and tactics
unique to them to influence the online voting. It was only when the talent show host announced the end of the votes that these
traders finally relaxed, leaning back in their seats.
Seeing that the vote count for Ariana’s team was well ahead of that of all the other teams, Holden closed his laptop with
satisfaction.
A rare smile crossed his sharp features as he said to the men around the table, “Well done, gentlemen. Let’s call it a day.”
After that, Holden briskly strode out of the conference room. It was only then that the men finally dared to speak, albeit in low
voices.
“What was all that about? Is Ariana’s team some kind of cash cow?
Otherwise, why would Mr. Fredrick personally intervene and make us rig the votes halfway through the show?” one of the men
wondered aloud.
“No idea. And he also invested a lot of money to support them,” his colleague murmured.
“Maybe he did that for the company’s interests. Our company sponsored that reality show after all,” someone else suggested
hesitantly.
But then, another man shook his head and retorted, “Even though we sponsored that show, does the boss really need to go to
such lengths to manipulate results? Coming to think of it, it is a shame Ariana’s team got eliminated.”
The puzzled traders glanced around with furrowed brows, trying to understand what Holden was up to.
“No matter how hard I think about it, I just can’t figure out what Mr. Fredrick was thinking here,” one man finally remarked.
The men discussed like that for a while, then they packed up their things and walked out of the conference room one after the
other.