Chapter 200: A Sweeping Victory Damienâs voice was firm and resolute. "Mr. Clark, I do intend to collaborate with the rightful heir of Clark Group. Thatâs because I believed the successor of Clark Group would be none other than Selina, the legitimate eldest daughter of the Clark family!"
Selina?!
Katieâs face turned deathly pale, Angelica staggered backward, her lips trembling uncontrollably!
James was completely dumbfounded. "Mr. Brown, you must be mistaken! Selina is an uneducated fool! My most outstanding daughters are Angelica and Natalia..."
"Mr. Clark, I believe the one who is mistaken here is you."
Damien enunciated each word with cold precision. "Clark Group was founded by Ms. Victoria, Selinaâs biological mother. It is only right and just that Selina inherits it! Yet despite knowing full well that I intend to collaborate with Clark Group, you dared to deceive me with a mere stepdaughter?"
James felt like he had been struck by lightning. "No... No! Thatâs not what I meant!"
Not Angelica? How could it not be Angelica?! Selina is nothing but a nobody!
Damien scoffed. "Earlier, I was merely being polite out of respect for Selina, but it seems that has led you to some absurd misunderstandings."
"Mr. Clark, I truly donât understandâhow could a stepdaughter, brought in by a mistress, be more important than your own flesh and blood? I must say, Ms. Bryant, you certainly have remarkable skills."
Katieâs heart pounded wildly. She bit her lip hard, tears streaming down her face. "Mr. Brown, youâre mistaken! This isnât what it looks like!"
Selina raised an eyebrow, watching with great interest.
Katie sobbed as she pleaded, "James didnât make this decision lightly! But Angelica graduated from an elite school and has studied business management from a young age, whereas Selina knows nothing! If Selina were to inherit the company and squander all of Victoriaâs hard work, how could I ever face her in the afterlife?"
James declared self-righteously, "Thatâs right! Itâs not that Angelica is trying to take anythingâitâs just that Selina is unqualified! If she gets the company, it will be ruined sooner or later. Theyâre sistersâwhy make such a fuss over this?"
Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd.
"So thatâs how it is... Iâve heard that the Clark Familyâs eldest daughter is incompetent. It wouldnât be right for her to take over the company."
"Mr. Clark and Miss Angelica are simply thinking about the companyâs future. Why is Selina being so unreasonable?"
Katie finally felt a sense of relief.
Selina nearly laughed at the shamelessness of their words. But before she could even respond, Damien beat her to it.
With an expressionless face, Damien began to clap slowly. "Ah, so because the legitimate daughter doesnât know how to run a business, you think itâs perfectly reasonable to hand over the company built by her mother... to the mistress and her family? Isnât that just the biggest joke of the century?"
The room instantly fell into stunned silence.
Damienâs voice turned razor-sharp. "A shameless woman who inserted herself into another personâs marriage, stole another womanâs husband, and then took over her companyâyet somehow, youâre trying to act like the victims here?!"
"Victoria Adams left a legal will explicitly stating that Clark Group was to be inherited by Selina. That means, whether sheâs brilliant or incompetent, Clark Group rightfully belongs to her! And what business does a mistress have interfering?!"
Katieâs face drained of all color, her body trembling with guilt.
Angelicaâs eyes filled with tears as she shook her head desperately. "Mr. Brown, thatâs not what we meant! I never demanded the company; Clark Uncle was just speaking in the heat of the moment..."
Katie sobbed and wailed, clutching at her chest. "Selina, say something! No matter what, I am still your stepmother! Have I ever treated you badly?
Are you just going to stand by and let Mr. Brown slander me like this?"
"If we didnât let you inherit the company, it was a decision made by everyone! You first used Shareholder Taylor to frame Angelica, and now, right after that, youâre suddenly announced as the heir? How do you think people will see this?!"
The Clark Group shareholders suddenly snapped back to reality.
Thatâs right... The entire scandal earlier about the plagiarism accusationsâwasnât that all orchestrated by Shareholder Taylor? And everyone knew that Shareholder Taylor was one of Selinaâs people! Could she really not have known?
If Selina had schemed to frame Angelica just to take the company for herself, how could she possibly deserve to inherit Clark Group?!
Selinaâs gaze turned razor-sharp. "Mrs. Bryant, youâre saying that I colluded with Shareholder Taylor to frame Angelica, and that I have poor character, is that right?"
Katie suddenly felt a wave of unease wash over her, but she forced herself to nod. "Y-Yes!"
Selina suddenly chuckled. "Hmm, I think so too."
The crowd was stunned: "..."
Did Selina even realize what she was saying? Did she just admit that the person who framed Angelica was morally corrupt? Wasnât she calling herself out?
"Since Damien is here, letâs clear things up once and for all."
Selina turned her meaningful gaze toward Shareholder Taylor. "So, I bribed you to mislead Angelica and create the illusion of plagiarism?"
Cold sweat trickled down Shareholder Taylorâs back, but there was no turning back now. "Miss Selina! I have wronged you, and I will take full responsibility for everything. But this was indeed your order! I know you resent Miss Angelica, but you cannot continue down this path of wrongdoing!"
Selinaâs smirk deepened. "Oh? So you claim I really bribed you? Then tell meâhow exactly did I do it? How much did I pay you?"
Shareholder Taylor clenched his fists, his expression pained. "I am your subordinate. When you give me an order, why would you need to transfer money to me?"
"Oh, is that so..." Selinaâs tone turned sharp, her voice laced with an authoritative chill.
"In that case, Shareholder Taylor, could you please explain the mysterious one-million-dollar transfer to your account?"
A million-dollar transfer... to Shareholder Taylorâs account?!
The next moment, the large screen behind them flickered to life, displaying Selinaâs investigation records!
An account ending in 6723 had sent Shareholder Taylor three separate transactionsâa hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, and seven hundred thousand dollarsâtotaling exactly one million.
Shareholder Taylorâs face went pale as he stumbled back. "T-This... this is my private matter, Miss Selina, you donât need to pry into it!"
"Oh? A private matter? Now Iâm even more curious."
Selinaâs voice dropped to a chillingly cold tone. "Damien helped me investigate the owner of this account, and what a coincidenceâit belongs to none other than Angelicaâs manager."
Her smirk deepened, her words dripping with mockery.
"What a remarkable coincidence. Shareholder Taylor happened to receive a large sum of money as a âprivate matter.â That money happened to come from Angelicaâs manager. And at the same time, I supposedly âbribedâ you to falsely accuse Angelica, clearing her name of plagiarism and turning her into the innocent victim."
Selina took a step forward, her eyes boring into Shareholder Taylorâs trembling form.
"Shareholder Taylor, how do you explain this?"
...
The livestream chat nearly crashed from the flood of comments.
[Shareholder Taylor received a million-dollar transfer from Angelicaâs manager... and then Selinaâs design got stolen...]
[If Selina hadnât kept the evidence, Angelica would be cashing in on her stolen design right now!]
[It all makes sense! If Shareholder Taylor had been working for Angelica from the start, then they first stole the design, tried to pin the blame on Selina, and when that backfired, they used Shareholder Taylorâs position to shift the guilt back onto her.]
[This whole thing is terrifying when you really think about it. Selina was the victim of plagiarism, yet somehow, the entire night, everyone acted like she was the one in the wrong. The manipulation is insane...]
Shareholder Taylor staggered back, his face completely drained of color, his mind in disarray.
"It seems Shareholder Taylor has nothing left to say."
Selina turned smoothly, her expression calm but laced with mockery. "Is this what you call Angelicaâs âgood characterâ?"
...
In the corner of the banquet hall.
Jack stood frozen in shock. "How... how did Madam come up with such a strategy...?"
Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex's 'Uncle'
ï¤Chapter 199: Flattery That Kills Apocalypse: The Supporting Actress Made a Comeback ï¤Chapter 739 - 395 Bite back Shadow Slave ï¤Chapter 2468 Home Bitter Home Across from him, Logan set his wine glass down with a soft clink, his expression composed as he stated the obvious.
"She won."
And she won beautifully.
"Sir, where are you goingâ?"
Logan let out a rare chuckle. "To congratulate my little one on her victory."