Chapter 968: Chapter 968 The Rainbow After The Rain
The couple clung to each other, tears streaming down their faces as the weight of regret crushed them. Why had they ever believed the words of an unrelated adopted son over their own flesh and blood?
Why had they treated Logan with such coldness, as if he were their enemy? They couldn’t answer, not truly. This wasn’t even the first time the thought had crossed their minds, but back then, they dismissed it, convincing themselves it was only natural for their child to obey them unconditionally, to follow without question.
They had believed it was their right.
But now... now everything felt different. Fear gnawed at them, the fear of losing Logan forever because of their foolish mistakes. Yet what could they do? Logan had broken free of the chains that once bound him.
It wasn’t that he lacked filial piety, nor that he was heartless. No, he had simply chosen himself this time. He was choosing his own peace of mind, learning to love himself before others. And once he had tasted that freedom, that self-worth, he knew he could never again accept being second to anyone.
While Logan’s parents wailed in regret, Hera merely raised an eyebrow as she scrolled through the trending topics. Thanks to UE’s preparations and her early warnings, everything on their side was going smoothly; they hadn’t missed a single opportunity or overlooked the smallest detail.
When she brought Logan out of his parents’ house and into the artist dormitories, Hera had insisted he take all his gadgets with him, including the equipment he used for recording songs. Later, she sent his devices in for a thorough check, and sure enough, they discovered malware and hidden apps installed on them.
It became clear that Lucas had used his allowance to hire a programmer to create a custom app, one designed specifically to monitor Logan’s work. It explained how Lucas was able to release stolen songs, covering his tracks just in case Logan grew suspicious after his first album.
But the moment Logan left home, Lucas’s connection to the app was severed. He assumed Logan was simply too busy with vocal training and music workshops to record anything new, unaware that Hera had already confiscated Logan’s devices.
To be safe, Hera gave Logan a temporary replacement device until the old ones were fully diagnosed. Luckily, Logan had been smart enough to back up all his files, not just on his device but also in a private cloud storage, one Lucas didn’t know existed.
Even more damning, Sasha’s checks revealed that Lucas had already deleted some of Logan’s files from his device long ago. Fortunately, since no technician had tampered with it before, Sasha was able to recover everything.
From the very start, Hera had her suspicions, and she didn’t waste time second-guessing herself. She acted immediately, and sure enough, she had been right. Lucas was the plagiarist.
The only reason he had gotten away with it for so long was because of his strong interpersonal connections; he always had seemingly flawless witnesses and fabricated proof to cover his tracks.
In the original novel, Logan had never met Hera, and so he had no one to rely on. The evidence he managed to gather was weak and easily dismissed, not nearly enough to condemn Lucas.
Worse, Lucas likely deleted every digital copy of Logan’s work, and even if Logan had backup files, Lucas found ways to sabotage those as well. With no one willing to stand by him, Logan lost the court battle, and that crushing defeat only dragged him deeper into despair.
Now that Hera had carefully cleared every landmine in Logan’s path and guided both him and the Music Director from the very beginning, they no longer had to deal with all those exhausting setbacks.
All that was left was to wait for Lucas to make his move, only to be caught in the trap they had set for him, a trap that would drag him deeper and deeper into the sinkhole he had dug for himself.
Because of this, Hera felt no guilt in bringing Lucas down. On the contrary, she felt a quiet triumph in saving an innocent life. And with this outcome, her belief in her own ability to change her own fate only grew stronger, her confidence soaring higher than ever.
As Hera smirked to herself, she didn’t notice that Leo had been watching her the whole time. His gaze softened as he studied the woman before him, looking every bit like a mischievous cat that had just stolen a fish from someone she despised, smug and irresistibly cute.
Who would have guessed that the mastermind behind Lucas’ downfall was quietly sitting in this hospital, hidden in the shadows?
No one—not even Rafael—realized that Hera had foreseen this outcome long ago. She had counted on Rafael to eventually side with Logan, because that was the only way he could protect Minerva from being caught in the crossfire.
After all, Minerva had been the one to bring Lucas into the company.
Hera also knew it was Rafael’s doing and arrangement that subtly pushed netizens to drag Alice into the mess. By clarifying now that Lucas had been introduced by Alice and not Minerva, he could redirect the blame and allow Minerva to free herself from the scandal.
And besides, it wasn’t as though he had lied. Alice really had been the one to introduce Lucas to Minerva, even pushing her to hire him.
She was relying on memories from her previous life, where Lucas rose to fame as a so-called genius singer-songwriter who basked in endless accolades and praise. Hoping to cozy up to Minerva, Alice kept praising Lucas, raising her expectations until Minerva finally agreed.
In truth, Minerva only wanted to help her brother, but Alice was the one who steered Lucas into her path.
So, clearing Minerva’s name now mattered more than anything because Minerva’s rising career was only just beginning. Her streaming and vlogging had finally been monetized, and she had just signed her first advertisement deal. If she were pulled into Lucas’s mess, everything she had worked for would come to an abrupt end.
More than that, Hera trusted that Rafael would also consider her position. That trust pushed her to prepare thoroughly, ensuring Lucas would have no escape this time and would finally taste the same suffering he once forced Logan to endure in the novel.
No one could call him innocent, nor claim Hera had gone too far, because if she hadn’t intervened, Lucas would still have treated Logan exactly the same way as in the novel. In truth, Hera had given Lucas countless chances to step back, Logan as well.
That was why Logan didn’t immediately respond to the online uproar and instead followed Hera’s arrangements. But Lucas’s greed ran too deep. He craved fame and a bright future without putting in the effort, and expected to always step on Logan to climb higher.
By now, it had become second nature to him, making it impossible for him to simply change.
After learning the outcome of the matter, Hera remained in high spirits, idly brushing Rafael’s hair while humming to herself without even realizing it. Her soft tune, however, reached Leo, who had been watching her every move.
At first, he glared at the sleeping Rafael with jealousy, but the gentle sound lulled him into drowsiness until, eventually, he too drifted off. When Hera glanced up, she noticed that Leo was no longer sulking with his back turned; at some point, he had shifted to face her instead.
She couldn’t help but chuckle softly at the sight. She wanted to get up and adjust Leo’s blanket for him, but Rafael was still using her lap as his pillow, leaving her trapped. And though she worried he might have a hard time getting up later, there was nothing she could do, as she was currently bound to her wheelchair; she could only let things be and silently hope someone would come into the room soon.
As if on cue, Zhane walked in to check on Leo, only to find Hera looking helplessly between Rafael and Leo. The stern expression on his face softened into a chuckle as he approached. "What are you doing?" he asked, though he already understood the situation. Still, he wanted to hear Hera admit what she wanted so he could lend her a hand.
"Umm... could you help me put Rafael on the bed and fix Leo’s blanket?" Hera asked, her eyes soft and pleading. Without hesitation, Zhane moved to help.
He hooked Rafael’s arm over his shoulder and lifted him with ease, carrying the man to the bed as if he weighed nothing. Hera wasn’t surprised because she long knew that Zhane was working out; she knew how heavy Rafael was, yet Zhane handled him like a sack of potatoes.
Still, Rafael didn’t stir, proof of how exhausted he must have been.
"This guy’s sleeping like a log," Zhane muttered under his breath. Once he laid Rafael down, Zhane didn’t stop there—he removed Rafael’s askew tie, slipped off his coat, and even took off his shoes, sparing Hera the effort. When he was done, he turned to adjust Leo’s blanket as well.