Chapter 45 Sabotage
Charles listened from the side, watching Wesley and Emily's increasingly animated conversation, jealousy burning hotter in his chest as possessiveness surged through him.
He suddenly pulled Emily closer, addressing Wesley, "Wesley, sorry to interrupt, but Ms. Johnson needs to attend to other guests. Please excuse us."
Emily, who had been looking for an escape from Wesley's probing questions about children, immediately seized the opportunity. "I'm so sorry, I really should attend to our guests. Let's catch up later."
As Charles led her away, Emily felt a wave of relief.
Emily assumed Charles was genuinely concerned about her neglecting other guests and had rescued her accordingly, completely oblivious to the fact that Charles was simply jealous.
Charles was satisfied seeing Emily comply so readily. He deliberately wanted Wesley to understand that Emily was connected to him, and this woman could only be close to him, no one else.
Meanwhile, Wesley watched their retreating figures with a thoughtful smile. Though Emily's reactions had been flawless, he was now even more certain that Emily, Charles, Ethan, and Emma were connected somehow. He'd have to find another way to get to the truth.
The opening celebration's excitement was still buzzing when Emily was escorting Carol through the showroom, only to hear a commotion at the entrance.
"Get out of my way! I'm Bentley Morris, former director of Obscura Fashion. What right do you have to stop me?" A well-dressed but hostile man was pushing past security, followed by several cameramen with their lenses trained on the showroom's centerpiece.
Emily frowned. This was indeed Bentley Morris, Obscura Fashion's former director.
She calmly signaled David to escort Carol to the VIP lounge while she walked toward the crowd. "Mr. Morris, what an unexpected visit. Why didn't you give us a heads-up?"
Bentley roughly shoved the security guards aside, slamming a document onto the display table, coffee stains splattering across the haute couture gown. "Emily, cut the act! What underhanded methods did you use to steal my position? These designs were concepts I finalized before leaving. You just rehashed my work and called it your own!"
Reporters' camera flashes exploded instantly. Bentley pointed at the featured collection in the window, his voice distorted with rage. "Everyone, look! This Metamorphosis series—I presented the concept sketches at an international forum last year. She just added a few feathers and dares to call it original!"
Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted, "I knew something was fishy about her suddenly running Obscura Fashion—turns out she's a plagiarist!"
"I heard she stole Clara's clients when she was at Mirage Fashion—dirty tactics!"
"And people are saying she has questionable morals, sleeping her way to the top with Mr. Windsor."
These voices rippled through the crowd like stones thrown into a pond, creating waves of unrest.
Elodie rushed to Emily's side, whispering urgently, "It's Clara. I just saw her assistant stirring up trouble in the crowd!"
She glanced at the cameramen, her brow furrowed with worry. "They brought their media. If we forcibly remove them, it'll create a scandal on opening day, damaging Obscura Fashion's reputation."
As she finished speaking, several more people of varying appearances pushed to the front. The woman leading them waved a photocopy overhead, shouting, "Everyone look! Emily's design award from overseas is completely fake! I had a friend verify it; her name isn't on any of the winner lists from that year!"
"I heard the same thing. She couldn't make it abroad and came back here. Her whole international experience is fabricated!" someone immediately chimed in.
Rumors spread like wildfire, with more and more people joining the accusations.
"No wonder the design style looked familiar. She copied Bentley's!"
"Even her awards are fake. What kind of character is that?"
"I don't think this Obscura Fashion is worth our time. Let's not waste it here."
Some clients who had been on the fence now looked suspicious, quietly backing away, clearly starting to believe the rumors.
Seeing this, Bentley became even more brazen, stepping closer to Emily. "Emily, do you dare produce evidence to prove yourself? If you can't, get the hell out of Obscura Fashion!"
The reporters behind him crowded forward, microphones nearly shoved in Emily's face. "Ms. Johnson, is what Mr. Morris said true?"
"What's your explanation for the rumors about fabricated awards?"
"Did you really use improper methods to get this position?"
Emily found herself surrounded, backing up until she hit the display table.
Camera flashes strobed incessantly before her eyes while sharp questions pierced like needles, forming an impenetrable wall that trapped her completely.
Elodie was frantic, several times wanting to have security pull people away, but Emily stopped her with meaningful glances each time.
The surrounding designers all looked tense, worried about Emily and wondering if she could handle this onslaught.
Outside the crowd, Carol watched the scene through the blinds, sighing softly. "This kind of attack is meant to destroy Emily completely."
The butler whispered, "Mrs. Rose, should we step in and say something for Ms. Johnson?"
Carol shook her head. "Let's wait and see. If Emily can't handle this much pressure, she doesn't deserve to follow in her mother's footsteps."
Inside the showroom, seeing Emily's prolonged silence, Bentley assumed she was speechless with guilt and became even more smug. "What? Cat got your tongue? I knew you were a fraud!"
He reached out to push Emily, but was stopped by her cold stare.
Despite being cornered, Emily's face showed no trace of panic. Her gaze calmly swept over the crowd before her, as if all the chaos was completely irrelevant to her.
Just then, there was a slight disturbance at the entrance. Someone seemed to be approaching, but it was drowned out by the noisy crowd and went unnoticed.
Emily remained where she was, unhurried and unperturbed, as if waiting for something.
Meanwhile, at Mirage Fashion, Clara sat in her office listening to her assistant's live updates, a satisfied smile playing at her lips.
She picked up the wine glass from her desk, taking a delicate sip. "Emily, this is just the beginning. Let's see how you recover from this."
She seemed to already envision Emily's downfall, disgraced and expelled from Obscura Fashion. Her eyes gleamed with malicious satisfaction.