Chapter 29
After Ella saw the photos, she still played dumb. "What are you doing? You don't actually think I sent this to you, do you?"
Seeing Ella stubbornly refusing to admit it, Michael didn't care. "Whether you sent it or not, you know better than I do. I wouldn't come to you if I hadn't already had someone investigate. I don't want you pulling these tricks anymore. If you try to sabotage my relationship with Nancy again, you know better than I do what will happen to the Garcia family."
His expression was calm, but his words carried an oppressive weight that made it hard to breathe.
After Michael finished, I slowly spoke up. "Whether it was you or not, you'll know after watching this surveillance video."
On the way here, I had Mindy check the surveillance footage from the villa entrance.
Although the person in the video was fully covered up, I recognized her at a glance—it was Ella.
It was as if she knew John would come looking for me. She had been waiting at the villa entrance early on.
Only when John showed up and started pulling at me did she seize the moment to capture that scene.
Faced with such strong evidence, Ella's expression was quite a sight.
She wanted to defend herself but couldn't find a suitable excuse. "Nancy, I know I was wrong. I just felt upset seeing you about to marry Michael. He's not good enough for you at all!"
Ella looked all righteous and indignant, as if she was standing up for me.
I was not an idiot. I could tell whether she was being sincere or putting on an act. "My relationship with Michael is none of your business. If you pull these tricks behind my back again, don't blame me for not being nice."
After warning Ella, I pulled Michael away from the Garcia Villa.
I didn't believe everything was just a coincidence.
John's appearance must have been deliberately orchestrated by someone.
And John came looking for me because he learned about my wedding.
The only person who could be in contact with both Ella and John was Susan—I couldn't think of anyone else.
With that in mind, I sent a message to Annie.
Annie had been staying at the hospital this whole time and knew John's whereabouts like the back of her hand.
With just a few questions, I confirmed that the information came from Susan.
In fact, right after Susan told John about my wedding, he rushed out to find me despite his condition.
I put away my phone, leaned back in my seat, and cursed tiredly. "They're all crazy."
I really couldn't understand what these people were thinking.
Whether Michael and I were together or not, someone would be unhappy.
Did I absolutely have to be with John?
Thinking about all this just annoyed me to no end.
I really didn't want to waste my time on such meaningless, trivial matters.
But I didn't expect that after only two days of being quiet, Susan would start causing trouble again.
Taking advantage of our past friendship, Susan forced her way into the Smith Group and even brazenly sat in my chair without any hesitation.
When I finished my meeting and saw Susan in my office, my expression couldn't help but turn serious.
Tom noticed my expression and spoke up awkwardly.
"Ms. Smith, you were in a meeting earlier, and Ms. Taylor insisted on coming in. Otherwise, she would have made a scene in the lobby. The staff really had no choice." Tom explained while secretly observing my expression, afraid I would get angry.
I naturally knew Susan's personality. What she was best at was bullying others and acting arrogant outside using my status.
It wasn't surprising that the Smith Group employees couldn't stop her.
Hearing this, I nodded knowingly and waved my hand. "It's fine, you can go now."
Seeing me compromise, Susan showed a smug look. "Nancy, I came here because I have something important to tell you."
With that, she familiarly linked her arm with mine and deliberately badmouthed Michael in front of me. "I heard that recently Michael has been getting cozy with a subordinate at the company. He might secretly have another woman there."
I wasn't bothered and pulled my hand away, asking back, "Where did you hear it from?"
I knew how much Michael loved me, so I didn't take Susan's words to heart.
Before Susan could explain, I stated my position again. "I trust that Michael won't cheat, and he won't get involved with any so-called subordinate. There must be some misunderstanding."
With that, I stared at Susan intently, trying to see any flaws in her expression.
Seeing me staring at her, Susan nervously swallowed but still insisted. "If you don't believe me, we can go to the Johnson Group right now. We might even catch them in the act."
Seeing Susan so determined, I knew in my heart that she had set another trap, waiting for me to fall in.
Making things up out of thin air and stirring up trouble was Susan's most common tactic.
I happened to have prepared lunch to bring to Michael today. Since she wanted me to catch him cheating, I didn't mind playing along.
"Alright, let's go take a look." I agreed readily, and Susan didn't even have time to react.
Susan and I went to the Johnson Group together.
But before we even entered the Johnson Group lobby, Susan was stopped.
Michael had explicitly forbidden Susan from entering, but this time she unusually didn't make a fuss. "Nancy, I can't go with you. You go check out the situation yourself and tell me about it later."
I couldn't see any anger in her eyes, only full anticipation.
I put on a troubled look and reluctantly agreed. "Okay, then I'll have to go up by myself."
With that, I walked into the Johnson Group.
But I didn't rush upstairs. Instead, I secretly observed Susan.
Sure enough, I found that after I left, she was secretly contacting someone and kept looking in the direction I had gone.
After I went upstairs, I indeed witnessed quite a scene.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, I saw a woman with a curvy figure fall right in front of Michael.
Her collar had "accidentally" fallen open, revealing a glimpse of her chest.
"Mr. Johnson, I think I twisted my ankle." The female subordinate looked up slightly and spoke in a soft, delicate voice asking for help.
Hearing the female subordinate's words, I didn't rush over. Instead, I stood at the elevator entrance, observing Michael's reaction.
I believed he had no interest in the female subordinate, and I also wanted to know how he would handle it.
Sure enough, Michael's reaction didn't disappoint me. He kept a cold face and ordered his assistant sternly. "Which department is she from? Contact HR to settle her wages and have security escort her out."
Throughout the entire process, Michael didn't even glance at the female subordinate.
Perhaps even the female subordinate didn't expect that even after falling in front of Michael with her clothes in disarray, he could pretend not to see her.
Just then, Michael noticed me. Seeing me carrying a lunch box, he walked toward me happily, completely different from his cold and decisive demeanor just moments ago.