Julia Lawrence’s eyes were red.
She stared fixedly at Evelyn Clayton for a long time before hastily averting her gaze, like a defeated and cornered little creature.
The sharpness in Evelyn Clayton’s eyes dissipated slightly, her emotions were complex and difficult to express.
"Julia, if you don’t intend to tell me the whole story, I won’t force you anymore. I already have a solution for the current situation, which isn’t entirely bad for Gem."
Evelyn Clayton stood up, almost with an air of superiority, looking coldly at Julia, "I won’t force you, but I won’t employ you anymore either. From now on, we will each walk our own paths. I can’t wish for someone who betrayed me to have a smooth life, but I hope at least that you don’t become loathsome."
As she spoke, she was about to ask Julia to leave. Julia stood up, her chest heaving, and after a long time, she finally spat out a sentence through her teeth—
"... I’m sorry for letting you down, but I, I have no choice!" Julia nearly shouted, "What else can I do? I’ve struggled all my life, I thought I saw the light, I had a decent and stable job, with a boss and friends who truly cared for me... I thought I could pursue love, but he deceived me, he deceived me!"
Evelyn Clayton’s eyes were full of gloom, she gazed steadily at Julia.
As if she had vented, Julia covered her face, and sat back down on the chair as if drained.
Her breathing was incredibly clear in the empty meeting room, Evelyn Clayton silently watched her for a long time before turning to walk towards the water dispenser.
"Who deceived you, Soren Foster?" Evelyn Clayton poured a cup of warm water, returned, and placed it in front of Julia, "Did he approach you just to deceive you, to make you betray Gem? But Julia, you clearly had a choice, and what did you choose?"
Julia stared blankly at the glistening water surface inside the cup: "So, are you saying that it’s my fault? That I shouldn’t have been deceived by him?"
Evelyn Clayton chuckled: "I never said that. Soren is surely an asshole, there’s no doubt about it. But he can’t just directly reach into Gem, and I don’t think he coerced or threatened you, otherwise you’d probably have woken up quickly... Since that’s the case, why did you still choose to betray me?"
"Because, because..." Julia was clearly on the verge of collapse, "He told me he needed money for investment, I, I lent him the money, thinking he’d return it soon and then I could cover up... At that time, I also didn’t know it was Lucy Carter who got that dress! I had no idea!" Googlᴇ search novel·fire·net
The disappointment in Evelyn Clayton’s eyes grew heavier: "Julia, snap out of it! Do you know what you’re saying?! Even if it wasn’t Lucy Carter who got that dress, could we just disregard the customers who bought our Gem clothes?"
Julia covered her face, sobbing softly.
By now, Evelyn Clayton had just about figured it out.
Indeed, Soren Foster had been orchestrating behind this, and as for why that dress ended up in Lucy Carter’s hands, it probably had something to do with Soren as well.
"My parents forced me to marry a forty-year-old man... I thought he was coming to save me."
Suddenly, Julia said this out of nowhere.
Yet Evelyn Clayton no longer had the patience for Julia’s misguided trust.
"Julia, your actions have already constituted embezzlement. If I report this to the police, this matter can be closed." Evelyn Clayton pointed at the camera, her expression indifferent, "I forgot to tell you, the recording and video functions of the camera have been on the entire time."