Chapter 97: Explosion
On the high-definition screen, Annie’s votes quickly increased, surpassing Leonardo to become number one in votes.
Underhanded and terrifying, indeed.
Several players wore expressions as if they had seen a ghost, guessing that Annie’s move was likely inspired by the real-world case of Carol versus Trump.
On April 25, 2023, 79-year-old American female writer Carol filed a lawsuit in the federal court of New York Manhattan, accusing former United States President Trump (at that time still a New York businessman) of committing coercive actions against her in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
Despite the long time passed, lack of key physical evidence, and Carol’s own unclear memory about the exact date, only recalling that it was around the mid-90s,
because she filed a civil suit, not a criminal one. The jury decided that Trump bore some responsibility and ordered him to pay Carol 2 million US Dollars for sexual assault damages and 3 million US Dollars for defamation.
(According to United States law, criminal proceedings in such cases require concrete physical evidence, while civil proceedings only require unanimous jury opinion for a penalty)
Trump was extremely dissatisfied with the outcome, repeatedly publicly disparaging Carol, and on January 16 of the following year, the federal jury in New York Manhattan decided to order Trump to pay a total of 83.3 million US Dollars to Carol for defamation damages and penalties.
Watching her votes rise dramatically, Annie smirked inwardly. Evidence? Screw evidence. Setting aside the facts, are you not responsible?
The so-called spread of rumors takes just a movement of the mouth, debunking them breaks your legs, those who wrong you know even better how wronged you are. This whole thing was fabricated by Annie on the spot, how could Irfan possibly have evidence?
Even if Irfan provided photos or other physical evidence to prove he hadn’t been to Boston City two years ago, Annie could instantly change her story, claiming maybe she remembered the timing wrong due to long-term psychological torment, perhaps it was three, or four years ago.