Chapter 58 - 58: Slander
Chapter 58: Slander
Translator: Henyee Translations | Editor: Henyee Translations
The conference room grew silent.
isla was startled; she turned and looked at Jake, whispering, “Jake, it was evident from the last gathering that Samuel and Keira have an unusual relationship. Has he come here to put in a good word for Keira and plead for Horton Group to take it easy on her?”
Jake immediately tightened his jaw and addressed the person outside the door, “Please lead Mr. Morgan to the research room. I’ll meet him once we have finished dealing with the current situation.”
The person outside replied, “Alright.”
Just as Jake was preparing to leave, a deep voice suddenly said, “Let him in.” Everyone turned towards the sound and saw Lewis, who was seated in the inquisitor’s seat, had spoken up.
Jake hurriedly interjected, “Uncle, Samuel is Dr. South’s assistant. I don’t want to make a scene about this situation as we may potentially concern Dr. South.
It would be better if we didn’t let Samuel in.”
Keira raised an eyebrow.
She had overlooked this possibility.
She hadn’t thought that Samuel might not be allowed into this meeting room. However, she wasn’t worried. As long as she revealed her true identity, they had to summon Samuel to confront her.
After all, Samuel was the only one present who had seen Dr. South in person. As Keira pondered her strategy, Lewis spoke up again, “Samuel is here at my invitation.”
Keira was perplexed.
She looked over in surprise but saw Lewis acting as calm as ever. Those deep, black eyes of his revealed nothing of his inner thoughts as he spoke.
If she didn’t know the truth, she would indeed think that Samuel was invited by him!
As Lewis finished his sentence, he glanced at Tom.
Tom instantly understood Lewis’ intention and quickly headed out.
Realizing Lewis had started to cover for Keira, Tom couldn’t resist shooting her a look.
She was a real femme fatale!
The boss was now shielding this dangerous woman.
Tom could only hope that Samuel would put up a good enough performance to stun this group and not cause Lewis to be clouded by sentiment, getting a bad reputation for condoning deceit in the process.
Soon, Samuel followed Tom into the room.
Samuel, traveling light with just a suitcase in hand, had clearly rushed here right after landing. Upon entering, his gaze landed on Keira. He cleared his throat and spoke, “There was a bit of traffic on the way, so I was delayed.”
Keira simply nodded in acknowledgment.
Realizing they were still exchanging pleasantries, Tom couldn’t help but hurriedly interject, “Mr. Morgan, are you here to attest to everyone that it was you who supplied Miss Keira with Dr. South’s proposal?”
If Samuel admitted to this, the matter would be resolved.
After all, the evidence provided by Poppy wasn’t direct proof.
If Lewis really wanted, he could just retain the person involved.
It would even seem quite reasonable.
Just as Tom was entertaining these thoughts, he heard Samuel exclaiming in surprise, “No, not at all! Why would I share Dr. South’s design proposal with others?”
Tom was dumbfounded.
Astonished, Tom stared at Samuel, silently cursing in his mind, “This utterly faithless man! Did he rush all the way here just to disassociate himself from
Keira?!”
This enraged Tom so much he was shaking all over.
Unsurprisingly, one couldn’t rely on a womanizer.
Everyone else in the room let out a sigh of relief.
The moment Samuel entered, Isla’s heart pounded fearfully in her chest, but she relaxed at Samuel’s unexpected refusal.
Jake said, “Mr. Morgan, did you come here today because you heard about the theft of Dr. South’s proposal, and you wanted to attend the hearing? Don t worry. We, at Horton Group, will undoubtedly make it right for Dr. South!
At hearing this, a sly smile spread across Samuel’s face, and he said, “Yes, you must clear my boss’s name!”
Having said that, Samuel swaggered toward the jurors’ bench and plopped down next to the vice-chancellor of Oceanion University. In a split second when no one was watching, he winked at Keira. Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.
Keira was speechless.
Engaging Samuel in conversation, the vice-chancellor said, “Mr. Morgan, we’ve long known of your reputation. Our university has always wanted to invite Dr. South to be a tutor, I wonder if you could convey our sincere invitation?”
Samuel, sighing, said, “Well, it all depends on how today’s incident is handled…”
The vice-chancellor was taken aback.
In response, the dean quickly added, “Don’t worry. We won’t shelter the student who stole Dr. South’s proposal. She’ll definitely be expelled!
The vice chancellor tightened his jaw, increasingly displeased.
Even if Horton Group accused Keira of stealing the proposal, whether to expel the student would have to be decided by the university through a meeting. How could they make such a commitment on the spot?
It felt as if they were trying to suck up to someone!
Totally disgraceful.
Samuel’s eyes grew colder, his words betraying visible mockery. “Expulsion? As a school, shouldn’t you protect your students to the best of your ability? How come you are so quick to wash your hands off the situation?”
The dean felt rebuked. “It’s because Keira made too big a mistake…”
“Oh, and what mistake is that?”
“She stole Dr. South’s proposal…”
Samuel retorted, “Is there any proof?”
The dean pointed at Poppy. “She’s Keira’s mother. She admitted to it herself. Furthermore, the CCTV footage clearly shows her stealing the proposal from Miss Isla’s computer…”
“Indeed? Is that what Miss Isla is saying?”
Isla, who had been trying to minimize her involvement in this situation, had no choice but to step forward as Samuel mentioned her/ “Yes, that’s correct.” She then looked toward Poppy. “Aunt Hill, this is Dr. South’s Assistant. If Dr. South doesn’t pursue this matter, I don’t think Horton Group will either…” Upon hearing this, Poppy seemed to understand something. She immediately rushed over to Samuel, knelt, and started to kowtow. “Mr. Morgan, please forgive Keira. I assure you she didn’t do it deliberately…
Jake tried to intervene, “Please don’t…”
However, Poppy continued to sob. “For the sake of Keira, I’ll do anything. I’m willing to kowtow, and I won’t stop until you forgive her. Keira, please admit your mistake. I’m begging you!”
“You’ll do anything?”
Finally, Keira spoke. Her voice was soft, slow, and calm. “As long as you stop tarnishing my reputation, I’ll be forever grateful.
On hearing this, Poppy choked and started crying more fiercely. “Keira, I’m tarnishing you. It’s just that I couldn’t hide it anymore!”
Jake also snapped, “Keira, how can you be so stubborn?”
The dean of Oceanion University chimed in, “Keira, watch your mouth! How can you accuse your mother of tarnishing you? You’re so reckless with your words!”
Having vented his feelings, he turned to Samuel as if to prove he was right. “Mr. Morgan, did you see? This girl lies without batting an eye. And this isn’t the first time. She often skips classes, leaves classes early, and is often reported as not returning to her dorm at night. It’s only right that we expel her!”
“Is that so?”
Samuel scoffed, “But to my knowledge, Dr. South didn’t give the proposal to Miss Isla! How did this kind and innocent mother manage to steal it?