Chapter 627
Ava Bennett and Ethan Sterling Are Together
Julian Sterling unceremoniously pinched her, and Claire Bennett cried out in pain.
"So it's not a dream!"
"Thirty million! With these thirty million, Maison Verne has basically gotten its ticket to break into the high-end market, right?"
Julian Sterling nodded.
"More or less, but whether you can actually establish yourself depends on your future designs and the quality of the jewelry. Don't celebrate too early."
Claire Bennett was tipsy from drinking and threw her arms around Julian Sterling's neck.
"Ms. Lane was introduced by you. Tell me honestly, was this something you planned in advance?"
This guy—Sterling International had just launched, and he had more things on his plate than he could count, so busy every day his feet barely touched the ground, yet he still somehow found the time to help her bring in connections.
Just then, Victor Bennett suddenly appeared in the parking lot. When he saw Claire Bennett and Julian Sterling, his expression paused. He hadn't planned to go over, but Ava had suddenly disappeared, and he was worried. Just as he was about to call out to stop them, Claire Bennett suddenly turned her head and saw him.
The expressions on both father and daughter froze. Claire Bennett instinctively turned her head back, not wanting to deal with him, pretending she hadn't seen him.
Victor Bennett got angry on the spot when he saw that.
"Stop right there!"
"I'm your father, after all. What kind of attitude is that when you see me?"
Originally, Victor Bennett had felt a tiny bit guilty toward this daughter, but Claire Bennett's attitude, as always, still made him feel upset.
Since he'd already spoken, Victor Bennett simply took the initiative and walked over to them.
"Earlier, at the entrance to the venue, I saw that you and Ava arrived one right after the other. Do you know where she went?"
Claire Bennett wanted to laugh when she heard that. "How would I know where Ava Bennett went?"
But the more she said that, the more Victor Bennett felt she definitely knew something.
"I know you can't stand Ava, but she's your biological younger sister after all."
"If something happened to her or she ran into danger, wouldn't you feel even a little guilty?"
Claire Bennett's relationship with Victor Bennett had eased somewhat before, and the two had even gotten along peacefully for a time, but she hadn't expected that in such a short time, Victor Bennett would make her dissatisfied again.
She didn't hold back at all and shot back coldly, "Guilty? Why should I feel guilty?"
"First, she's an adult. Her actions have nothing to do with me. If she's in danger, call the police. What good is finding me?"
"Second, so what if she's my biological younger sister? We didn't come out of the same mother's womb. Has Ava Bennett ever treated me like a real older sister?"
Before coming to the cocktail party, that shameless woman had stolen the gown she designed and kept finding ways to make trouble for her. It was already generous enough that she hadn't called the police, and now he wanted her to be polite to Ava Bennett?
"You! Claire Bennett, how dare you speak to your father like that!"
Victor Bennett raised his hand in anger to slap Claire Bennett. His authority as a father had been challenged, and in front of Julian Sterling no less. He felt utterly humiliated.
Claire Bennett frowned instinctively, her eyes full of disgust.
How could Julian Sterling possibly allow his woman to be bullied right in front of him? Even if that person was her biological father, it still wasn't allowed.
Just as Victor Bennett raised his hand and the slap was about to come down, Julian Sterling grabbed his wrist in one motion, leaving Victor Bennett unable to move at all.
"Just try hitting her."
He forcefully flung Victor Bennett's hand away. Hannah Bennett came down from the elevator with quite a few people behind her, and the moment she saw this scene, she ran over in a furious panic.
Without bothering to distinguish right from wrong, she pointed at Claire Bennett's nose and started cursing.
"Do you have no sense of respect for elders or rank at all? He's your father, and you dare lay hands on him!"
"Claire Bennett, I can't find Ava anywhere in the whole venue. Did you and Ethan Sterling work together to take Ava somewhere?"
Ethan Sterling?
Ava Bennett and Ethan Sterling are together?
"What Ethan Sterling? I didn't see him at the cocktail party at all."
"You're lying! It has to be you. Ethan Sterling used to be your boyfriend. Were you afraid Ava would steal him and become the young madam of the Sterling family, beating you at every turn, so you tricked my Ava away?"
"Give me back my daughter, give her back to me!"
Hannah Bennett couldn't find her daughter and directly went hysterical on the spot. Some things Claire Bennett hadn't known at all before were spilled by Hannah Bennett herself, seven or eight parts out of ten.
The two of them understood as clearly as a mirror—Ava Bennett always wanted to outdo her in everything, so had she hooked up with Ethan Sterling?
Ugh, the thought of it was disgusting. She could have gone after anyone, but Ethan Sterling could never give Ava Bennett what she wanted.
Her wishful thinking had gone to waste.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'll say it again: I didn't see either of them, much less trick anyone away."