Chapter 119
Cold sweat broke out on Paxton's forehead. "It's... it's near the small of the back..."
Wait, was it the back, the small of the back, or the shoulder?
He'd forgotten!
They'd clearly told him before he came—he'd memorized it in detail! But with Josephine pressing him so aggressively, his brain suddenly couldn't keep up.
"Is that so?" Josephine's smile deepened. "Then what does this birthmark look like? What shape? What color?"
Paxton completely panicked. "It's... it's red... round..."
"Wrong." Josephine shook her head lightly. "It's oval."
"Right, it's oval!" Paxton immediately corrected himself.
Nearby, Lorelei frowned.
A mocking curve formed on Josephine's lips. "Wrong again. Actually, there's no birthmark on my lower back at all."
Paxton's face went pale.
Josephine continued questioning. "Tell me, when did we first meet?"
"Three months ago..."
"What specific day?"
"It was... May twentieth..."
Josephine nodded, speaking deliberately. "That day, I was in Emberlyn attending an international scientific conference. The entire team was together. Hotel surveillance, conference recordings—all can verify this."
She pulled out her phone, displaying a photo. The large screen immediately showed a group picture—Josephine standing with a group of foreign scientists, the Emberlyn snow mountains in the background, timestamp showing May twentieth at 3 PM.
Hisses of disapproval rose from the crowd.
Josephine pressed on. "What about you? You claim we met—is it just based on a few photos that could easily be faked? No other evidence?"
Paxton was completely speechless. This wasn't how the script was supposed to go! They'd said he just needed to insist on having an inappropriate relationship with Josephine—nobody mentioned facing this kind of interrogation!
Josephine pocketed her phone and turned to face all the guests below.
"My marriage with Mr. Gideon Getty has indeed encountered problems, but not because I had an affair. I'm not comfortable revealing the specific reasons, but I think you should ask Gideon."
The moment she finished, shocked gasps rippled through the crowd. All eyes shifted to Gideon, making him feel like he had a target on his back. His face turned ashen, veins bulging in his clenched fists.
"As for this Mr. Brooks..." Josephine glanced at Paxton, her gaze as casual as if viewing insignificant roadside weeds. "I don't know him. Today is the first time we've met. As for why he would frame me, you should ask whoever's pulling his strings."
She looked in Lorelei's direction.
Lorelei's face went deathly pale. She instinctively took a step back.
On stage, Paxton suddenly shouted, "No, it's not like that! I'm not lying! Josephine and I really..."
"Really what?" A cold voice cut him off.
Cedric had already walked onto the stage, standing beside Josephine, his gaze sweeping over Paxton like a blade. "What evidence do you have to prove what you're saying is true?"
Paxton opened his mouth but couldn't speak.
He had a script, prepared statements, but faced with Josephine's consecutive rebuttals and evidence, those statements seemed so pale and powerless.
Before coming, they didn't say Josephine would be this difficult to deal with!
Cedric had already stopped acknowledging him—he was merely a clown. His cold eyes turned to the event organizer. "You need to provide an explanation for tonight's events. Slandering my employee, damaging her reputation—this behavior already constitutes defamation."
The organizer broke into a cold sweat. "Yes, we'll definitely investigate this matter thoroughly."
Cedric then looked at the reporters. They instinctively held their breath as Cedric's gaze swept across their chests, where their press badges clearly displayed their organization names.
Financial Weekly.
City Daily.
Cedric's voice carried an icy tone. "Expect lawyer's letters tomorrow morning."
The reporters' faces drastically changed.
Having said that, Cedric strode toward the exit. Josephine instinctively followed behind him. As they passed through the crowd, people automatically parted to create a path.
Gideon stood in place, watching their retreating figures, complex emotions churning in his eyes—anger, unwillingness, and... admiration.
Josephine's performance tonight—calm, clever, perfectly turning the situation around.
And he'd become the target of everyone's bombardment. Because he wanted a divorce—this was enough to set those reporters into a frenzy.
The reporters indeed swarmed forward, trying to surround Gideon and Lorelei.
Gideon reacted quickly, immediately calling security while protecting Lorelei as they left the chaos. Just outside, while Lorelei was still shaken, Gideon had already pushed her away.
Lorelei stumbled. "Gideon..."
"This was your doing, wasn't it?"
Gideon hadn't expected her to be this stupid! Setting up a scheme so crude, anyone could see through it at a glance, with evidence that could be refuted on the spot.
Lorelei bit down slightly. "You think I didn't want to expose the truth? I didn't dare, and I couldn't!"
The cold wind swept past, blowing Lorelei's hair into disarray. She roared unwillingly, "The real affair is with Cedric! I've seen them coming and going together more than once. Doesn't Josephine know what Cedric means to you?"
He was an irreconcilable enemy, the greatest rival in the fight for inheritance rights.
Thinking of images of Josephine and Cedric together, irritation rose in Gideon. "Even so, you can't use such crude tactics!"
But Lorelei caught the implication—he hadn't denied Cedric and Josephine's relationship.
"I know you still care about her, but she doesn't care about you anymore. She's with Cedric every day without considering your feelings at all. Why do you keep pining for her? They've probably already rolled into bed together..."
That last sentence struck Gideon's heart. He roughly pushed Lorelei away.
"Don't think saying these things means you can marry into the Getty family. The only reason you can still appear before me is because you're carrying a child."
Lorelei's eyes widened.
Gideon said coldly, "Jojo's body isn't suitable for childbearing. As long as Cedric still wants the Getty family inheritance, he'll inevitably have to give her up, or..."
Make the same choice he did.
So after understanding this point, he stopped panicking. He even eagerly anticipated seeing Cedric make the same choice—then Josephine would know that the one who loved her most would always be him, Gideon!
"Go back and take care of your pregnancy. Don't make another move against Jojo. If there's a next time, I absolutely won't let you off."
Having said that, he turned and hurried away.
He needed to find Josephine, let her know that today's events were entirely Lorelei's unauthorized actions, nothing to do with him.
But before he could find Josephine, he received a call saying people were starting to report on his marital problems with Josephine.
Some were even digging up old incidents.
When he'd taken Lorelei to the hospital and been photographed, it had sparked much speculation outside. Back then, Josephine had posted a clarification from her account, and only then had public opinion subsided.
Now this matter was being dug up again, sparking all kinds of speculation.
Some said Josephine had an affair, others said Gideon had, still others claimed it was all a business conspiracy aimed at destroying the couple's relationship...
All sorts of rumors began flying.
Gideon had no choice but to handle it. He absolutely couldn't let this affect the Getty family and the Getty Group. Otherwise, explaining things to David would be difficult.