Chapter 91 Disappointment

Chapter 91 Disappointment
A bodyguard knocked at the door. After a while, the door opened, revealing Pamela. She was startled to see a crowd outside her door. She frowned at the masculine men.

"Yes?" she asked.

The men in black uniforms stepped aside, revealing two people behind them. 

"Mr. Blake?" Pamela's face turned pale after seeing Xander.

She smiled awkwardly, trying to compose herself. 

"You're here, Mr. Blake. Do...do you have any work for me?" she asked.

"Yes." Toby answered instead of Xander.

Pamela swallowed as she looked at him. "Oh. You could've summoned me."

Toby stepped forward. "Can we come inside? We need to talk."

"Sure," Pamela said before moving aside.

Toby and Xander entered the room, closing the door behind them. The other body guards remained outside. Pamela was sweating.

"Please take a seat, Sir." she pointed to the couch.

However, Xander didn't sit. He walked around the apartment, taking in the surroundings.

"Let's talk." Toby said, drawing Pamela's attention. 

Pamela nodded and looked at him.

"We were looking for the person who informed the media about Miss Ariadne's discharge from the hospital. And look at what we discovered." Toby said, raising a brow.

Pamela wiped the sweat off her face. "What, Sir? And why are you telling me this?" she asked.

"Because it was you who informed them... or, more accurately, Miss Crystal Miller."

"What? No. I didn't inform anyone of anything."

"Oh... really?" Toby paused. "Five years ago, you were the gynecologist who treated Miss Crystal's miscarriage. Aren't you?" 

"Yes..yes sir." Pamela replied, stumbling.

Toby nodded and moved towards her. "We discovered that you and Miss Crystal are very close as well."

"There's nothing like that. She's just my client."

"A client who takes good care of you." Toby smirked. "Miss Pamela, please explain why Miss Crystal transferred eight million dollars to your bank account recently?" 

Pamela's face had lost it's color.

"We also heard you wanted to learn about Alexander Miller."

Pamela swallowed.

"Tell us what you know about Crystal and her shady activities." Xander said, interrupting them.

He got straight to the point. "We know you know something, or perhaps everything. And don't try to trick us. It will not be good for you." he warned her.

"I know nothing, Sir."

"Fire her from the hospital and make sure she never gets a job anywhere." Xander clenched his jaw as he instructed Toby.

"No, no, Sir. Please don't do this to me. I know nothing." 

"Make a case against her and take her to the police." Xander added.

"No. Please don't do this, Sir," Pamela knelt in front of Xander.

"Then speak. If you give us the information we need, we will let you go." Toby said.

"Okay, I'll tell you everything. Please don't hand me over to the police." she begged.

"Tell us everything you know." Xander ordered her.

Pamela nodded. "Five years ago, Miss Crystal Miller planned her miscarriage to frame Miss Ariadne Miller... but.. Mr. Blake wasn't the father of the child."

"We already know this. Why did she give you that much money?" Toby interrupted her.

Pamela gulped and lowered her head. "I...I had a video of her during a conversation in which she revealed all of her plans. I recorded the conversation in order to blackmail her later."

Toby and Xander exchanged glances.

"Show us the video?" Toby stated.

"I no longer have that video, Sir. Miss Crystal paid me, so I gave all of the copies to her a few days ago." Pamela cried as she explained.

"Don't you have any spare copies?" Toby asked.

"No, Sir, but if you want, I can be a witness. Please don't hand me over to the police." 

Xander kicked the chair next to him and muttered under his breath. After much searching, they finally found Pamela, only to be disappointed. He ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. Toby looked at him with sympathy. They were late. If only they had discovered her sooner. Pamela wouldn't be an effective witness because there was no evidence to back up her claims about Crystal. He sighed. 

.......... 

"We can't ignore the chaos and it's effects on the company. We need to make the right decision. We can't let the company perish for the sake of one person." Mr. Cranely said.

"What do you mean?" William asked sharply. 

All board members had gathered in a meeting to decide what they would do to control the chaos.

"I'm simply stating that Blake Corporation have a long history of respectability and success. We can't let that legacy be destroyed. The accusation made and proven against Mr. Blake is extremely serious. People are demanding his removal from his position."

"Are you saying that you all want to remove Xander from the position of President of the Blake Corporation?"

"If this's the only way to save the company, we should consider it."

"Shut up, you all unfaithful people. Blake Corporation has been led by our family for decades and will continue to be so in the future as well. Not only is this company our legacy, but Xander is the most capable of you to lead it, and he has proven himself over time." William stated.

"We have no doubts about his ability to lead the company, Mr. Blake. But the character of a leader can't be overlooked. A leader should be an inspiration to the millions of people who support the company including our employees, business partners... and our families as well. However, the current situation doesn't favour Mr. Blake."

Many of the board members agreed by nodding their heads.

"We can temporarily remove him. We will come up with a permanent solution once the chaos has subsided."

Margaret, who was also present at the meeting, looked at them with shock. No one had ever had the courage to speak out against Xander in the past. And now they were talking about removing him from his position.

Xander, on the other hand, sat silently in his seat, listening to the argument between the board members. His gaze was fixed on the papers in front of him, and he seemed to be deep in thought. After the board members called the meeting to discuss the subject, William attended to see the situation. As the former President of the Blake Corporation, his words wield power. His presence was mundatary while taking big decision like this. Half of the board members had spoken out against Xander and wanted him removed as President of Blake Corporation.

"The scandals are fabricated. Do you really believe an opportunistic woman's claims against Xander?"

"Yes.... That woman is framing my son. Her goal was to marry into our family. But when her plan failed, she decided to defame him." Margaret said.

"Perhaps that's what she wanted. But all of her accusations are true. Aren't they? She also has the evidence that made her the victim in this case." Mr. Cranely said.

Margaret was rendered speechless. She looked at Xander.

"Shut up. Are you saying that my grandson is a rapist?" William yelled.

"Grandpa... calm down." Xander interrupted when he noticed him becoming agitated.

Silence fell as everyone looked at him. He sighed and shifted in his seat. 

"I've no intention of stepping down as Blake Corporation's President. We hold the most shares. So no one can force me, either." he said through gritted teeth, his gaze fixed on the papers. "If anyone has a problem with me being the President, they can leave and join a leader who you believe is morally upright." he added, raising his head as he looked at each board member. 

Many of the board members' faces turned pale in response to his intense stare. They looked at each other.

"We have known Mr. Blake for a long time. I don't believe in Miss Miller's claims. We should give him a chance to resolve this issue. We have worked together and seen the success he has brought to the company. We should not give up during this difficult time. I'm with you, Mr. Blake." Mr. Hugh said.

Mr. Cranely and his supporters fell silent as a few more spoke in support of Xander. At the end of the meeting, they agreed to give Xander some time to sort out the chaos on his own.

After the meeting ended, Xander sighed and leaned back in his seat. He sat there as everyone except his mother left the meeting room.

Margaret rose from her chair and approached him. He had his eyes closed.

"I'm sorry, son." she said.

After descovering Crystal's true face she felt ashamed of herself. Xander had long since stopped speaking with her. She regretted her actions.

Xander opened his eyes and looked at her. He then abruptly stood up and began walking towards the door. Margaret was hurt by his ignorant behavior towards her. She teared up as she looked at his back.

Xander came to a stop at the door.

"You should apologize to someone else, not me." he said before leaving. 

Margaret stood there silently. 

.......... 

Ariadne sat nervously in front of the TV. Xander had held a press conference to respond to Crystal's allegations against him. 

They were looking for evidence in the last few days. They even went to the hotel where Xander was drugged five years ago. However, the hotel's CCTV footage from five years ago had been removed. Crystal deleted the footage immediately after the incident. They never found out about it because no one suspected her back then. 

Ariadne had no idea what Xander would say to the reporters. After a while, Xander appeared on screen. The reporters were impatient. 

"You take so long to respond." 

"Are Miss Miller's claims true?" 

"Did you really force yourself on her?" 

"You're dangling between two women."

As he sat in his seat, the reporters bombarded him with questions. Xander raised his hands, and everyone fell silent.

"I'm here to answer all of your questions. But you all need to be patient." 

He paused for a moment. Everyone looked at him with anticipation.

"Will you believe me if I say that Miss Crystal Miller's allegations against me were all false? She's trying to frame me."

The reporters looked at each other, shocked.

"She has reliable evidence against you, Mr. Blake. How can you say those are false?" one of them asked.

"Yes. She has proof." he sighed.

"Before I say anything, please watch this video." he added, pointing at the screen behind him.

The reporters frowned in confusion.

After a while, the screen lit up, drawing everyone's attention.