Chapter 276

Is she really interested in this project?

I sneered inwardly.

What Sarah cared about probably wasn't the project itself, but the glory it would bring her—something to give her an edge over me.

"Maybe," I said flatly, "she's already complained to him."

Emily's head shot up, her eyes widening even more. "You mean George ignored her?"

I didn't answer, just picked up my cold coffee and took a sip.

Emily's face registered a sudden realization, quickly followed by a look of schadenfreude. "Serves her right! Acting so arrogant, thinking she could rely on George for everything. And what happened? Mr. Smith couldn't care less about her problems."

I didn't laugh.

I felt uneasy.

Someone like Sarah could hold back for a while, but never forever.

Her current calm seemed more like lying low, a disguise while she waited for the right moment and gathered her strength.

Sure enough, the next morning at the project team meeting.

Sarah arrived unusually early, even ahead of most people.

She sat in that corner seat, wearing a proper business suit with perfect makeup, her laptop and notebook in front of her, looking ready to attend the meeting seriously and work actively.

She wasn't late, didn't complain, and even managed to squeeze out a smile for colleagues who greeted her as they passed by.

Just when I thought she really planned to bide her time for a while, William walked into the conference room right on time.

His face showed no expression as he sat down in the main seat, his gaze sweeping around the room before finally landing on her.

Sarah seemed to sense something and sat up slightly straighter.

William didn't look at her, but spoke directly:

"Before the meeting starts, I have an announcement to make."

Everyone quieted down and looked at William.

Only then did William's gaze formally turn to Sarah, his tone calm:

"Ms. Wilson, starting today, you are no longer a member of our Star Tech smart campus project."

"Your work will be taken over by other colleagues. After the meeting, please go to HR to handle the relevant procedures."

"What?"

The conference room immediately erupted in discussion.

Everyone was stunned, looking at William in disbelief, then at Sarah's deathly pale face.

Sarah froze in her chair, stunned for a full three or four seconds before suddenly standing up.

Because of how quickly she moved, the legs of the chair scraped against the floor producing harsh sounds.

"Mr. Jones, you... what do you mean?" Her voice trembled mixed with extreme shock and anger to the point where it cracked. "Why? What did I do wrong? What gives you the right to fire me?"

Her fingers pointed to Williams, then suddenly moved to me, her voice was shrill and it carried the madness of betrayal and humiliation:

"Is it because of her? Did Grace tell you to do this? You can't fire me just to cover for her, just to please her! This is personal revenge! This isn't fair!"

As if grasping at her last hope, or throwing caution to the wind, she shouted:

"Besides! George invested five hundred million dollars in you! Five hundred million! Firing me now means disrespecting him! Slapping him in the face! Do you dareoffend George for a woman?"

The conference room fell silent, everyone holding their breath, watching this confrontation.

The air seemed to come to a stand still, tense enough to suffocate.

William's face showed no anger at being challenged, not even a frown.

He just looked at Sarah the way you'd look at a clown.

"I spoke with Mr. Smith on the phone last night and explained everything in detail."

He paused, his gaze like a knife cutting across Sarah's suddenly pale face:

"Mr. Smith's exact words were: the project decisions are ours to make."

"So, you can go now. Understand?"

Honestly, when I heard William relay George's words, my heart skipped a beat..

Not from joy or satisfaction, but from the absurdity of it all.

George had personally insisted that Sarah take on this project, using that five hundred million as leverage, paving the way for her, even using Violet's favor, all to back her up and establish her authority.

But now, when we proposed firing her, he didn't even offer a word of defense or question. He just casually tossed the decision back at us and even implicitly giving his support.

His support undoubtedly secured that five hundred million investment.

At least in the short term, George wouldn't withdraw the money over this.

This was probably William's biggest confidence in daring to fire Sarah so decisively.

But George—what was he after?

Didn't he know that doing this meant completely trampling on Sarah's dignity, and also meant publicly slapping himself in the face?

Look, the person you championed—we can reject her whenever we want, and you don't dare say a word.

Sarah's expression was even more shocked than mine, and much worse.

She probably never imagined that one day George wouldn't stand by her side, would so easily abandon her, even choosing to stand by and watch—or even tacitly approve—when others bullied her.

Hadn't she always gotten whatever she wanted?

Wasn't she George's beloved?

Was she not the one he'd rather hurt Milly and I to protect?

How had he changed now?

Sarah stood frozen, her face going from deathly pale to flushed, then from flushed to ashen.

She bit her lip hard until she tasted blood.

Those eyes that always carried calculation or smugness were now hollow, looking from Williams to me, as if unable to comprehend what was happening.

No, she wouldn't accept this.

She suddenly pulled out her phone, her fingers trembling as she scrolled through the screen, found George's number, and called him without hesitation.

In the conference room, everyone held their breath as they watched.

It rang over ten times with no answer, then automatically disconnected.

Sarah's face grew even paler.

Unwilling to give up, she dialed again.

This time, it went straight to a message saying the number was busy.

Clearly, he'd hung up or blocked her.

Sarah's fingers gripping the phone turned white at the knuckles, veins bulging on the back of her hand.

As if all her strength had been drained, she staggered and had to hold on to the chair to steady herself.

She looked up, her gaze like a poisoned blade, viciously cutting across William and me.

The hatred