Luke White asked, "Under these circumstances, Miss Claire isn’t even sincere in her apology. Are you suggesting, Mr. Yeats, that Ms. Winters and Mrs. Sloan should just swallow their grievances and let it go?
"Or that they should unconditionally play along with Miss Yeats’s act just because she feels ’guilty’? Who exactly is the slanderer here, and who is the victim?"
After Luke finished speaking, the secretaries and assistants in the CEO’s office no longer bothered to hide the utter disdain in their eyes.
Evan Yeats’s face flushed red, and a wave of dizziness washed over him.
He had grown up pampered by the Yeats family. Despite being nearly thirty, he remained incredibly naive. The Yeats never spoke a harsh word to him, and because of his status, everyone at work always catered to his every whim. Now, after being mocked by Luke with just a few sentences, Evan’s vision went dark in spots. He looked as if he were about to pass out.
"I... I don’t know..."
"Does Mr. Yeats know now?" Estelle Lockwood asked flatly.
Evan moved his lips. He wanted to say that he understood now, but Claire definitely hadn’t done it on purpose. She hadn’t intentionally targeted Estelle; she genuinely believed Estelle was wearing a knockoff and that her own dress was the authentic one.
But even as naive as Evan was, he knew that offering such an excuse would be tantamount to adding fuel to the fire.
"However—"
While Evan was still trying to figure out what to say, Estelle suddenly smiled. "However, I can go see Miss Yeats. Since she ’knows her mistake and feels guilty,’ I suppose I should give her a chance."
Estelle stood up. "Let’s go."
Evan blanked. "Huh?"
Estelle’s gaze sharpened. "Didn’t Claire Yeats want to apologize to me ’in private’? Let’s go."
Evan snapped back to his senses, a look of pleasant surprise crossing his face. "Okay, right this way."
Estelle really didn’t know if this pair of siblings was smart or stupid, especially Claire. She already knew what Claire was trying to pull.
Using her status as Miss Yeats, she had bribed an employee to rig the stairwell, hoping to send Estelle to an ’accidental death.’
Leaving aside the fact that Claire’s chances of success were miniscule, even if Estelle really did meet with an accident due to her scheming—did Claire actually think the title of ’Miss Yeats’ could cover up everything?
Evernight International, Star Group, the Kendrick family, and even the Yeats family would never let Claire off the hook.
Moreover, Estelle figured that if Claire was resorting to such ruthless measures to kill her, she must have already realized that Estelle was the missing daughter the Yeats family had been searching for.
Estelle clicked her tongue and shook her head, following Evan into a deserted stairwell.
The employee who secretly helped Claire had already slipped away, but that didn’t matter. Nathaniel Sloan had probably sent someone to apprehend them long ago.
And now, in this stairwell, Claire thought she had set everything up perfectly. Little did she know that the moment Estelle faced any danger, bodyguards from the floors above and below would rush in instantly.
Estelle then glanced at the security camera overhead and walked toward Claire.
"Miss Lockwood." Claire looked guilt-ridden. She glanced at Evan. "Evan, thank you. I’d like to speak with Miss Lockwood in private. Could you wait for me at the door to the stairwell?"
Everyone at Evernight International used the elevators to go up and down. The stairwell was an emergency exit where almost no one went during regular hours, so there was a heavy door separating it from the hallway. Evan was standing behind that very door now. It was left slightly ajar—he couldn’t see what was happening inside the stairwell, but he could hear their voices.
Meanwhile, using the excuse of ’wanting to apologize in private,’ Claire brought Estelle over to the stairs.
Claire thought viciously about how she had just bribed an employee to walk through the stairwell with a bottle of oil and ’accidentally’ drop the glass bottle on the ground, covering the entire flight of stairs in slippery oil. If someone stepped on it, they were bound to slip, and then all she had to do was give a hard shove...
Whether Estelle fell to her death or was left severely injured, it could only be chalked up to a coincidental accident. Who would suspect that the employee had shattered a bottle of oil? Who would ever think anything other than that Estelle had just been careless?
Sensing Claire approaching, Estelle abruptly turned sideways, but she was still shoved. She grabbed straight for the handrail, only to find that it was covered in oil as well. She signaled for the bodyguards downstairs to hold their positions, glanced at the camera overhead, and then went along with the momentum, pretending to fall.
Had Claire even considered anyone else when doing this?! Did she have zero regard for human life? This was a fire escape, and she had coated the emergency stairs in slippery oil! If a real fire were to break out, not only would it help the flames spread, but it would also cripple the mobility of rescue workers and anyone trying to flee.
Claire, on the other hand, was practically glowing with excitement and joy, wholly thrilled by her successful sabotage.
This woman was both stupid and malicious. She had the Yeats family backing her, along with a pair of parents who were somewhat related to the Yeats, so no one had ever properly disciplined her, right? Then Estelle would do it herself!
Seeing that the timing was about right, Claire squeezed out two tears. "Miss Lockwood, how could you be so careless and fall down? Are you okay..."
Estelle laughed.
She suddenly looked up, got to her feet, and climbed up the stairs, step by step.
Claire sneered inwardly. This idiot. Knowing full well that the stairs were covered in oil, she was still climbing up. All Claire had to do was give another gentle push, and Estelle would be—
SLAP! A crisp sound echoed through the air as a fierce slap knocked Claire’s face to the side!
Claire stumbled and feigned innocence. "Miss Lockwood, why did you hit..."
"Ah!!" Before she could finish her sentence, Claire suddenly felt her vision spin. With a heavy THUD, she tumbled straight down the stairs!
"Miss Lockwood, what are you doing?" Claire felt as if her entire body were falling apart from the pain. She struggled to get up, but because the whole staircase was coated in slippery oil, she crashed back down with another THUD.
This time, she landed flat on her face.
Ahhh!! Claire was on the verge of a total breakdown! She felt so dirty, so sticky, so smelly, and in so much pain! That bitch Estelle had actually dared to push her down!
Estelle’s eyes were indifferent. She had held back her strength when she pushed Claire, but Claire’s earlier shove had been a blatant attempt to kill her!
It was only because Estelle had noticed something was amiss and grabbed the handrail in time. But what if she hadn’t? She would be the one lying down there right now.
Claire wanted to roar in anger, but suddenly her eyes darted around, and she collapsed weakly to the floor. "Miss Lockwood, what are you trying to do..."
"I should be the one asking you that. What are you trying to do?" Estelle said coldly. "You’re trying to kill me."
Claire’s eyes were brimming with tears. "Miss Lockwood, how can you falsely accuse me? I just bumped into you accidentally. I didn’t mean to push you down the stairs, and I definitely didn’t know there was oil on them. I really didn’t know...
"Do you actually think I’m trying to kill you? Miss Lockwood, I know you hate me, but why would you treat me like this..."