Chapter 198: The Scapegoat Every word landed with the weight of thunder, striking Angelica like a bolt of lightning!
The reporters below the stage were in shock, unable to continue blindly defending Angelica.
Thatâs rightâwhy did Angelica keep insisting she hadnât plagiarized? Because her fans vouched for her!
But what proof did her fans actually have? Delusional celebrity stans were the most irrational people in the world!
"Looking at the design alone, I never would have guessed it was part of a coupleâs set. But seeing the other half in Selinaâs hands, I finally understand âsome things canât be stolen through plagiarism!"
"Does Angelica even have any shame? She doesnât just steal someone elseâs designâshe wants to ruin the original creatorâs life in the process. Is having fans really that powerful?"
"Her fans called Selina a disgrace and told her to go die... Now that I think about it, itâs downright horrifying. How can people be this vicious?"
"And the Clark Familyâseriously? The real plagiarist is the stepdaughter, yet the whole family worked together to cover it up? What does Selina owe them? Was being the original wifeâs daughter really such a crime?"
Mocking voices filled the room, stabbing into the ears of the Clark Family like daggers.
Jamesâs face turned ghostly paleâwhether from guilt or rage, even he wasnât sure. Grandpa Clark, unable to endure the humiliation, stood up and left without a word.
freÑwebnovel.com Katie, filled with seething hatred, twisted her face in fury. She refused to accept this outcome and shrieked, "Lies! That little wench must have tricked everyoneâfilthy brat, bastard!"
The room fell silent in disgust.
"Werenât you just bragging about how well you treated Selina as a stepmother? And now all you can call her is a âfilthy bratâ and a âbastardâ?"
"At this point, Iâm starting to think Angelica isnât the stepdaughter at allâshe must be Jamesâs real child! Otherwise, why has James been defending her nonstop while throwing his own biological daughter under the bus?"
"Wait... if Angelica is actually Jamesâs real daughter, doesnât that mean he was already cheating with Katie while proposing marriage to Selinaâs mother? Oh my godâhe scammed her into marriage!"
James nearly choked in shock. "Nonsense! Utter nonsense!"
"Nonsense? Get off the stage already! A plagiarist and a wicked old hagâtruly a match made in hell!"
"Claiming to be a student of Star? Please! Angelica should be blacklisted from the industry!"
The accusations spiraled further and further out of control.
Katie clenched her teeth, then suddenly had a revelation. "This must be a mistake! Angelica, didnât you say someone gave you the idea for this brooch?"
Angelicaâs mind was a chaotic mess, but Katieâs words suddenly made sense.
Yesâshe could pin everything on Shareholder Taylor... She wasnât out of options yet!
Tears welled up in Angelicaâs eyes. "I remember now! Shareholder Taylor gave me so many suggestions... Shareholder Taylor, why would you do this to me?!"
Selinaâs eyes narrowed slightly.
Katie wailed, "Shareholder Taylor, Angelica never wronged you! Why are you trying to destroy her?"
The crowd instinctively turned their heads.
Shareholder Taylor... Wasnât he the chairman of Clark Groupâs jewelry division?
Had Angelica altered her design based on his suggestions?
Katieâs voice took on a pointed tone. "Shareholder Taylor, we all know you were one of Miss Victoriaâs loyal men. Youâve always been devoted to Selina. But what did Angelica ever do to deserve this? Are you really willing to destroy her for Selinaâs sake?"
Angelica lowered her lashes, shaking her head helplessly. "Mom... stop talking. Iâm just a stepdaughterâI was never meant to inherit Clark Group. If Shareholder Taylor wanted to target me, I suppose I canât blame him... I just wish he hadnât resorted to such extreme methods."
The crowd was confused. "What do you mean? Could it be that Shareholder Taylor deliberately âgave suggestionsâ to Angelica just to set her up?"
"That makes sense! Now that the truth is out, Angelica is exposed as a plagiarist, which means she canât inherit Clark Group anymore."
"If this was all Shareholder Taylorâs scheme, then maybe Angelica really had no idea about the plagiarism."
Shareholder Taylor met Katieâs gaze and trembled slightly before adopting a desperate, reckless expression.
"Thatâs right, it was me! I did everything for Miss Selina! Mr. Clark is blindâheâs been completely bewitched by this homewrecker, and now he actually wants to hand the company over to a stepdaughter! I couldnât stand by and watch Clark Group be ruined!"
Then, he turned to Selina. "Miss Selina, I owe you an apology! My original plan was to accuse Angelica of plagiarism after the brooch was released, but her fans got ahead of us, and you ended up suffering instead!"
Angelicaâs tears fell silently, as if she had endured unbearable grievances.
"I feel so bad for Angelica! So she never plagiarized at all, right?"
"It was all Shareholder Taylorâs setup, and yet Selina is still targeting Angelica? Sheâs such a vile woman!"
"Clark Group was always meant to belong to Angelica! How dare Selina try to take it from her? Shareholder Taylor is trash, Victoria was trash, her whole family is trash!"
Now that the supposed truth was out, everyone exchanged hesitant glances.
So, it had all been Shareholder Taylorâs manipulation... In that case, Angelica really was just an unfortunate victim.
Sure, Selina had almost been framed, too, but since Shareholder Taylor had supposedly done it for her sake, no one felt much sympathy for her.
Selina let out a cold laugh. Even at this point, Angelica still had a backup plan.
Shareholder Taylor?
She had originally planned to spare some dignity for the people her mother had left behind and deal with them later. But since he insisted on becoming Angelicaâs shield, he had no one to blame but himself.
Katie breathed a sigh of relief. "James, I never expected one little inheritance dispute to cause such a mess. Our Angelica isnât greedy. Forget about the inheritanceâjust let Selina have it, so she doesnât hold a grudge against Angelica."
Angelica followed suit with a gentle smile. "Clark Uncle, after all this, I just want to leave the Clark Family and live a peaceful life. Iâll explain everything to Mr. Damien myself."
Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex's 'Uncle'
Damienâright, there was still Damien!
Everyone in the room had the same realization at onceâ
Damien had agreed to work with Clark Group.
But the condition was that Angelica had to become the heir!
James steadied himself and declared, "Enough, thereâs no need to discuss this any further. This was Shareholder Taylorâs mistake and has nothing to do with Angelica. The decision about the heir remains unchanged!"
Angelica finally curled her lips into a victorious smile.
...
In the corner of the banquet hall, Loganâs expression remained indifferent.
Jack, however, was growing anxious. "Sir, if you donât step in now, Madam is going to be bullied again!"
Would his boss really sit back and do nothing for the sake of his so-called savior?
Others might not know, but Jack was well awareâShareholder Taylor had been bribed by Katie ages ago. This entire act was nothing more than a staged performance to clear Angelicaâs name!
And with Damien about to arrive, wouldnât that just give Angelica and Katie the perfect chance to steal the spotlight?
Just then, a commotion erupted outside the banquet hall, accompanied by the faint shouts of "Damien!"
Loganâs gaze remained fixed on Selina. "If I step in now, Iâd only be disrupting her plan."
At the center of the hall, Selina, too, had heard the growing noise.
Her eyes flickered slightly.
Damien had arrived.
ï¤Chapter 197: Presenting Evidence, Delivering a Brutal Slap Apocalypse: The Supporting Actress Made a Comeback ï¤Chapter 739 - 395 Bite back Shadow Slave ï¤Chapter 2468 Home Bitter Home