Chapter 246
Willow had grown up in the old part of town. When it came to fighting, she knew what she was doing.
Once she recovered from the initial shock, she quickly grabbed Emily's wrist and twisted hard.
But Emily had already lost her mind. She couldn't even feel the pain, just kept tearing at Willow's hair relentlessly.
"Willow!" It was lunchtime. Molly had been waiting for Willow to grab food together, but when she didn't show and wouldn't answer messages, Molly came up worried to check on her. She never expected to walk into this scene.
"How dare you hit Willow! I'll show you!" Molly rolled up her sleeves and charged right in, grabbing a fistful of Emily's hair and yanking hard.
Emily felt like her scalp was about to be ripped clean off. Now she had to deal with Molly attacking from behind, too.
Finally, Willow freed up her hands.
With Molly's help, two against one, they quickly had Emily pinned to the ground.
"Let me go! Let go!" Emily struggled violently.
Security finally arrived—fashionably late.
Seeing Emily's state, the two guards barely managed to restrain her and haul her away.
"Willow, are you okay? Did that old hag Emily finally lose it? Why would she attack you in broad daylight like that?" Molly's clothes were torn from Emily's clawing, her face scratched with several marks, but she worried about Willow first.
Willow looked equally disheveled—her clothes wrinkled and pulled, her face also bearing scratch marks. She filled Molly in on what happened at the meeting.
Molly's sense of justice flared. "So it was her! She nearly destroyed the Lancaster Group's reputation, and she tried to pin it on you? Thirty million in damages isn't nearly enough—they should bleed her dry!"
Willow smiled bitterly. She never imagined that coming in just to resign would end with getting attacked.
Molly helped her gather her things. As they were leaving, Molly swept a glance around at everyone nearby and suddenly let out a loud shout.
The others jumped, startled, and looked up.
Molly curled her lip. "Oh, so you can hear after all. I was starting to think everyone in the strategy department was deaf and mute!"
Satisfied at seeing their uncomfortable expressions, she left with a flourish.
"If I were Mr. Lancaster, I'd fire everyone in that department. A bunch of social climbers and fair-weather colleagues. Not a decent person among them." Once they left the strategy department, Molly vented.
Willow nodded in agreement. "You're right. Not a single one."
Before, for the money and her vague career aspirations, Willow had thought she could just grin and bear it.
Now that she was leaving anyway, there was nothing left to tolerate.
She acknowledged that the Lancaster Group's employees were genuinely capable, but they also lacked any human warmth. Everything came down to self-interest.
Sometimes she couldn't help wondering if working there long enough would eventually turn her into one of them.
But she didn't need to worry about that anymore. She'd realized this environment just wasn't for her.
Molly walked her to the building entrance. "I'm planning to quit, too, Willow. I'll come visit you once I do!"
Willow asked, "Did things work out with the talent agency?"
Molly nodded proudly. "Their big boss said I'm a diamond in the rough. That I'll definitely make it big someday. Said they want to focus on developing me!"
Willow could practically see her tail wagging.
"Although—" Molly's tone shifted, and she laughed a bit sheepishly, "She did say I can't become a megastar overnight. Told me to start with some small supporting roles first, get my face out there."
Hearing that, Willow actually felt reassured. "Does Blake know?"
Molly nodded. "I told him. He said I could quit if I wanted, but no regrets later—he won't be cleaning up my messes anymore after this."
"Are you sure about this?" Willow asked.
Molly blinked. "Being a celebrity sounds pretty fun. I'll treat it like an adventure. I'm still young anyway—I've got time to try whatever I want."
Just as she finished speaking, her eyes shifted with a hint of mischief. "Besides, Blake might act all tough and bossy, but he's really just a big softie. There's no way he'd actually abandon me."
Willow had been about to say how much she'd matured, but hearing that, she finally understood Blake's perspective a little better.
Still, since Blake had already agreed and Molly wanted to give it a shot, there wasn't much else to say.
"Go for it. When you're a huge star someday, remember to give me an autograph." Willow smiled at her.
Molly patted her chest. "Why wait? I can sign one right now!"
She immediately started digging through Willow's box for paper and a pen.
Willow waited patiently beside her, her gaze absently drifting to the glass nearby. Her eyes suddenly focused, fixed on the reflection in the glass.
In the shadows some distance away, a white Mercedes was parked by the curb.
Gloria sat inside, phone pressed to her ear, her expression hysterical.
"You can't even handle this simple task, and you still want me to give you money? Thirty million dollars—are you dreaming?"
On the other end, Emily's voice trembled. "Then what am I supposed to do? Even if I sold myself, I couldn't come up with that much money... You promised me—you said if anything went wrong, you'd have my back. That's the only reason I agreed to help you, and now you..."
Gloria cut her off impatiently. "You having no money is your problem, not mine. Don't have the cash? Then go die! Don't contact me again. Get lost!"
With that, she hung up directly, removed the SIM card, and casually tossed it out onto the street.
As she was about to drive away, someone knocked on her car window.
Gloria whipped her head around, the viciousness on her face not yet fully dissipated. "What are you knocking for? If you damage it, can you afford to pay—"
Her words died mid-sentence when she saw who stood outside. Her expression froze. "Willow?"
How could it be her? How did she know Gloria was here?
Had she heard that entire phone call? If she gave it to Sterling...
"Get out." Willow's tone was icy.
Gloria barely pulled her thoughts together. "Who do you think you are? You tell me to get out, and I'm supposed to? Move it. Because if something happens, I'm not taking responsibility!"
She moved to start the car.
A vicious thought flickered through her mind—if Willow really didn't let go and had some kind of accident on the road, well, that wouldn't be bad for Gloria at all.
With that thought, a cold glint flashed through Gloria's eyes.
Just as she was about to start the engine, the passenger door suddenly flew open.
Gloria's jaw dropped.
Willow withdrew her hand from the half-lowered window and gave her a look. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to keep your car windows shut when you're out?"
Only then did Gloria remember—she'd been so focused on watching Willow get kicked out of the company that she'd rolled down her window for a better view and forgotten to roll it back up.
Before she could process her regret, Willow had already grabbed her by the collar.
"What are you doing? Let go of me!" Gloria twisted around, catching sight of the fighting marks on Willow's face, and felt a belated surge of fear.
Willow's voice was cold. "You were the one who put Emily up to this, weren't you?"
Gloria's expression changed. She clenched her jaw and didn't respond.
Willow knew her inside and out. One look told her this was exactly Gloria's guilty expression.
From Willow's very first day at the Lancaster Group, Emily had disliked her and caused trouble for her countless times. But she'd never dared to drag the Lancaster Group itself into it—not until now.
Of course, someone had put Emily up to this.