Chapter 174
Michael sat at his computer desk with a dark expression, pointing to Nora's workstation, "Go work."
Nora's eyes were red-rimmed, unsure whether Michael trusted her or not.
"No dating!" After a long silence, Michael scolded in a low voice.
Nora turned to look at Michael and responded with a confused acknowledgment.
How old was she now? Was it even useful to tell her not to date at this point?
While Nora went to her workstation, Michael secretly downloaded the encrypted files from James's computer to his desktop, then transferred them to his phone and quickly deleted them.
"Mr. Smith, shouldn't we check the people around you?" Nora sat on pins and needles. She was afraid Michael suspected her and wanted to prove her innocence, "In this kind of situation, the computer must have gotten a virus."
Michael leaned back in his chair and tapped on the desk, "David."
Outside the door, David, who had been eavesdropping, rushed in frantically, "Mr. Smith! I'm here."
"After I left yesterday afternoon, who entered my office?" Michael asked.
He checked his computer every day, but yesterday he'd been so flustered about the paternity test that he'd left without shutting it down.
But David would help him shut it down before leaving work.
That meant someone had touched his computer after he left but before David got off work.
"No one, just me and Nora." David panicked, "It really wasn't Nora."
Nora also felt anxious, lowering her head with reddening eyes.
Michael rubbed his temples, "You can go to the desert project site tomorrow."
David didn't know what he'd said wrong again, but even at the risk of being scolded by Michael, he had to bravely speak up for Nora, "Mr. Smith, you can't suspect Nora. I really don't think this has anything to do with her."
Michael was furious with David.
Did he think he was being righteous, trying to score points with Nora?
Michael now felt that all the men around Nora were like wolves and tigers, not a single good one among them.
So he had to keep a close eye on her.
"Oh right! I remember now." David slapped his forehead, "Aria came by!"
Michael raised an eyebrow.
"Mr. Smith, you suspect Aria?" David asked quietly, "But I was only gone for the time it took to get water, and she was sitting here the whole time."
"No need to suspect, it was her." Michael said with certainty, "When the computer is on and connected to the internet without shutting down, you just need to insert a USB drive to transmit a virus. In the time it took you to get water, someone could have broken in three times."
David stammered, "Then call the police?"
"Call the police? Do you have evidence?" Michael asked back.
There were no cameras in the office.
"No." David shook his head.
"Don't say anything. Let's see what she and James are trying to do together." Michael glanced at the time, "The Clark family should be holding their press conference now. She gave me a gift, shouldn't I return the favor?"
David gasped, clearly sensing Michael's coldness.
"Mr. Smith, you..."
Michael stood up, walked to the door, and grabbed Marcus who was still eavesdropping, "Come out with me."
David turned back trembling to warn Nora, "See that? That's what happens when you cross Mr. Smith. The Clark family has provoked Mr. Smith more than once. Just wait and see what happens."
Nora's palms were also sweating, "What is Mr. Smith going to do?"
"Just wait and watch the news." David sighed, "Didn't you ask me before what Mr. Smith looks like when he's angry? Did you see how he looked just now? Scary, right?"
Nora nodded blankly.
Actually, it wasn't that scary. He just inexplicably warned her not to date.
"I've never seen Mr. Smith look so upset. The Clark family has really touched his sore spot this time." David continued boasting.
"But why do I feel like Mr. Smith is angrier at James?" Nora wondered if it was just her imagination.
It should be because James hacked Michael's computer that made him so angry.
"Just work and wait for the news." David was a bit excited, wanting to see how Michael would handle the Clark family.
Michael didn't disappoint.
At the Clark family's press conference, Aria personally appeared on behalf of Haven and Eloise to publicly acknowledge Pearl's crimes. Her speech was very artful, playing the victim while greatly downplaying how terrible Pearl's actions were.
Just as the media was about to report on it, a parent holding a memorial portrait, along with several victims who had been bullied by Pearl, all rushed out.
"Give me back my daughter's life! It was because of Pearl, she bullied people relying on her power and influence, relying on her family's wealth and status. She drove my daughter to commit suicide by jumping off a building. I have proof of what this family is really like. Pearl's mother came to us, gave us three million dollars, saying she was buying my daughter's life, saying my daughter's life was worthless, that she deserved to die because she couldn't handle being hit and scolded a few times!"
The mother who lost her daughter cried hysterically, holding the memorial portrait and releasing audio and video recordings of Haven and Eloise during the private settlement.
"Pearl has been the class bully since she started school. She led the bullying of students she looked down on. Anyone she didn't like, she would bully."
Another woman bravely stepped forward, "I thought after all these years, I could forget this hurt, but some pain can never be forgotten. I live in hell every day."
She pulled down her collar, revealing cigarette burn scars all over her collarbone.
"She and those people bullied me, made me kneel, burned cigarette scars on my collarbone, saying I was the best ashtray she'd ever used."
The woman kept crying.
Several other victims also came forward, "Just because the boy Pearl liked smiled at me once, she had people ruin my face and called me a slut."
The woman removed her mask, revealing a scar on her face, "I told the teacher, but the teacher couldn't do anything about her either. In the end, their family just paid money to settle it."
This immediately pushed the Clark family completely into the spotlight.
Aria looked at all the victims below the stage in shock and panic. How could this happen?
She had clearly told security to be on full alert to ensure everything was foolproof, just to satisfy Michael while not damaging the Wood family's reputation. How did it suddenly spiral out of control?
"Who let these people in!" Aria demanded, losing control.
The people around her didn't dare to speak.
Aria breathed rapidly. The situation was now beyond her control, "Clear out the reporters!"
"Yes."
Aria stumbled off the stage and was escorted to the lounge.
Who had this much power?
Michael?
Finding so many victims and exposing all this today—had Michael never intended to let the Clark family off from the start?
What was he thinking? Was he crazy? What good would destroying the Clark family do him!
"Ms. Clark, it was Mr. Smith who had these people let in." This hotel belonged to the Smith Group.
Aria sat trembling on the sofa. It was Michael after all, and only he had this kind of power.
Michael was going to destroy the Clark family.
How had the Clark family offended him?
Nora it must be Nora instigating things behind the scenes again.
Since Michael gave the Clark family such a return gift, she definitely wouldn't let Nora off easy either.
"Tell Walter, if he doesn't find a way to take Samuel away from Nora, I'll tell Noah about the paternity test results between Samuel and Noah!"