Chapter 292
You'd Better Not Cry and Beg for Mercy
Willow Lane swept away the gloom on her face from just now and walked up happily, saying to him with a hint of shyness, "You're here."
But the President Sterling who had come was not Julian Sterling. It was Wes Mercer.
After reporting everything to Julian Sterling, he had happened to run into someone from Maison Verne coming to invite someone over. Since Julian Sterling couldn't show up conveniently, he could only let Wes handle it.
When Chloe Carter saw Willow Lane crowd around Wes Mercer, she assumed this was Julian Sterling.
He still hadn't met Julian Sterling before.
The president of Sterling International was simply too mysterious. Even among Sterling International employees, very few had seen him. Victor Wells, the subordinate who appeared in public on his behalf, was actually more well known than he was.
Quite a few people immediately put on ingratiating smiles and hurried forward too, warmly greeting him. "President Sterling, hello."
Faced with everyone's enthusiastic siege, Wes Mercer put on Julian Sterling's usual cold and aloof manner and merely gave a slight nod.
Even though he didn't respond warmly, all of Maison Verne's employees became excited.
"President Sterling! I've finally had the honor of seeing President Sterling!"
"Although he's a little different from what I imagined, I still think President Sterling is pretty good."
"I can't believe Willow Lane really latched onto President Sterling. Oh my god! I'm so jealous I could die!"
...
Seeing that Willow Lane had someone backing her up, Chloe Carter's eyes also showed envy. This feeling was just too maddeningly jealous-inducing. If only she could have an opportunity like this too.
But it didn't matter. As long as she properly sucked up to Willow Lane, there definitely wouldn't be any shortage of opportunities for her in the future.
Thinking that, she glanced at Claire Bennett and sneered mockingly, "See that? President Sterling is here. Let's see how long you can keep acting tough now. Later, you'd better not cry and beg for mercy!"
Claire Bennett's gaze darkened slightly.
President Sterling was Willow Lane's boyfriend, so it was indeed very possible he would help her.
But she wasn't in the wrong in this matter. Even if she quit today and resigned from this job, she still had to prove her innocence!
Her eyes gradually grew resolute, and she fully steeled herself mentally.
Over there, Willow Lane and the others had already finished greeting him and were now walking this way with Wes Mercer and a few others.
Seeing the envious looks from the Maison Verne employees around her, Willow Lane felt indescribably smug. Her expression carried a lofty arrogance, as if she were a queen standing at the top of the pyramid.
Chloe Carter also started throwing her weight around with borrowed power. After coming up to Claire Bennett, she immediately said viciously, "Claire Bennett, now that President Sterling is here, you need to write a letter of apology right now, publish it admitting your mistake, and then pack your things and get out of Maison Verne!"
When Wes Mercer heard Chloe Carter's words, he almost spat blood.
Cold sweat broke out all over his back.
What was she saying??
If Julian Sterling found out he had dared treat Claire Bennett like this, he was probably finished.
He was here to back Claire Bennett up!
After saying that, Chloe Carter looked at Claire Bennett with a smug expression.
Claire Bennett merely looked coolly at the Chloe Carter hopping around like a clown. She was finally getting to see a living lapdog.
She crossed her arms over her chest, slanted a glance at Chloe Carter, and said flatly, "What breed of dog are you? You sure can bark."
"You!" Chloe Carter's face turned black with anger. Claire Bennett had actually called her a dog!
Grinding her teeth, she called to the people beside her to summon security, wanting to force Claire Bennett into confessing guilt.
She had handled this matter so beautifully this time that she would definitely earn a different level of regard from President Sterling.
Afraid of provoking Claire Bennett's displeasure, Wes Mercer hurried forward and said coldly, "Shut up!"
Wes Mercer's scolding of Chloe Carter shocked everyone.
They almost suspected they had heard wrong.
Had President Sterling just told Chloe Carter to shut up?
Chloe Carter also froze in place. Looking at Wes Mercer's grave expression, she looked as if she'd been struck by lightning. The mocking words she had just wanted to continue hurling at Claire Bennett died before they could leave her mouth.
Only after a long moment did she come back to her senses, and she cast a questioning look at Willow Lane.
The meaning in her eyes seemed to ask Willow Lane what exactly was going on.
Why was President Sterling helping Claire Bennett?
Wes Mercer had no time to care how other people saw him. He only knew Claire Bennett could not be offended.
He said to Claire Bennett respectfully, "Miss Bennett, regarding this major mistake with the draft, we will definitely conduct a strict investigation. Please try not to worry. We will not casually wrong any innocent person."
"..." Claire Bennett was stunned.
What was going on?
She hadn't expected President Sterling not to help Willow Lane. From the sound of what he was saying, it seemed like he would handle this impartially?
But on second thought, she understood what was going on. Although Willow Lane was President Sterling's girlfriend, President Sterling was in charge of such a huge Sterling Group, so of course he couldn't ruin his own reputation over a romantic relationship.
At once, Claire Bennett's impression of President Sterling improved even more.
Did that mean he might also be able to prove her innocence?
Claire Bennett narrowed her eyes and probed, "If I have evidence that can prove my innocence, will you punish the mastermind behind this?"
She knew this matter was Willow Lane's doing and hadn't hoped President Sterling would punish her. As long as he could handle things fairly and restore her innocence, she would already be completely satisfied. She couldn't hope for too much beyond that.
Wes Mercer nodded. "Of course! Sterling International is not a place that bends the law for personal gain."
As soon as he said that, Willow Lane's face went pale behind him.
She had never expected President Sterling to help Claire Bennett. Although she desperately wanted to ask him what exactly was going on, she didn't want to embarrass herself further in front of so many people, so she could only forcibly swallow her anger.
When Chloe Carter saw that President Sterling wouldn't even give Willow Lane face, she looked utterly disbelieving. "President Sterling..."
Wes Mercer ignored them and looked at Claire Bennett in puzzlement as he asked, "Miss Bennett, do you really have evidence that can prove your innocence?"
Claire Bennett nodded with a cool gaze. "Of course!"
After saying that, she said to Molly Lee beside her, "Molly, take out your phone and open the thing I told you to record every day before."
Hearing that, the confusion and urgency on Molly Lee's face gradually faded, replaced by surprise and excitement.
Right!
How had she almost forgotten? Claire Bennett had previously told her every day to record the process of restoring the painting draft, and she had posted all of it on her alt account.
Molly Lee had also seen that the painting draft had been tampered with, but because she was anxious, she hadn't thought of that right away.
At the time, she had even wondered why Claire Bennett had her record all that. Now it seemed Claire Bennett had been preparing for a rainy day!
Claire Bennett really was farsighted!
At once, Molly Lee said nothing more. She directly took out her phone and opened the alt account where she had kept the records.
Next, everyone saw the videos on Molly Lee's alt account.
They clearly recorded every step of Claire Bennett's restoration process. Although it was tedious and lengthy, there was absolutely no fakery in it!