She Might Sacrifice the Pawn to Save the King

"Exactly. A woman like that, willing to do anything for status—she's probably been passed around already. So disgusting."

When Molly Lee and Sienna Shaw saw these people saying such ugly things, both their eyes turned red with anger and anxiety.

Sienna Shaw said, "Manager Song, how about I go to Bennett Group and get the people who knew what really happened back then to come out and explain everything clearly? We can't let you suffer this kind of injustice."

Sienna Shaw also knew about what happened back then. She had watched the whole thing unfold and knew it wasn't what Willow Lane claimed at all.

Claire Bennett gently shook her head. "No need. Ava Bennett is in charge of Bennett Group now. Do you think she'd let you have a chance to clear things up when this is such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? It'd already be pretty good if she doesn't take the chance to kick me while I'm down."

Claire Bennett knew very well how much her stepsister Ava Bennett disliked her. She had no hope at all.

Sienna Shaw said anxiously, "Then what do we do? Are we just going to let Willow Lane smear your name like this?"

Molly Lee also said, "Willow Lane seems like she's deliberately targeting you now, like she came prepared. I suspect that information about you at Bennett Group getting out earlier was just to build momentum, and now this is the real move against you. If this isn't handled well, it'll seriously affect Maison Verne's reputation. If word about us spreads all through the industry, no one will want to join us later either..."

Claire Bennett fell silent for a moment. Molly Lee's concern wasn't unreasonable.

Although she had already had Molly Lee recruit several designers, they still didn't have enough people. There were still follow-up hires for other positions and so on. The impact of this matter was simply too great.

After thinking for a long while, Claire Bennett said, "Don't panic yet. Let me think carefully about the best way to handle this."

Actually, the best way was to have Ian Walsh come forward and clarify things, but the message he sent last night still disgusted Claire Bennett.

Just then, Claire Bennett's phone suddenly rang, pulling her thoughts back.

She picked up her phone and glanced at it. It was Julian Sterling calling.

He had probably heard about this too.

Claire Bennett walked into the office and swiped to answer. "What is it?"

"Don't be afraid."

As soon as the call connected, Julian Sterling's deep, magnetic voice came through. Those were the first three words out of his mouth, like a huge boulder settling into place.

Claire Bennett froze for a moment and tightened her grip on the phone in her hand. Everyone around her had been asking what she was going to do, but only Julian Sterling told her not to be afraid.

After finding out about this, the first thing he did was not question her, but comfort her. That proved he believed her!

Julian Sterling really was...

A faint stirring suddenly rose in her heart, gradually spreading through her limbs and bones, as though she had been filled with an immense sense of security.

Claire Bennett curled her lips into a smile and said softly, "Mm. I'm not afraid."

The second thing Julian Sterling said was, "Leave this to me."

"Don't get involved in this. It won't be good if you get dragged into it too. I'll try to handle it myself first."

Claire Bennett paused, already preparing for the worst. "If there's really no way to resolve it..."

Perhaps she would sacrifice the pawn to save the king and keep Julian Sterling from being implicated.

Afraid that her emotions would show and make Julian Sterling worry about her even more, Claire Bennett quickly said, "All right, hurry up and get back to your work. I still have a lot to do too, so that's it for now."