Chapter 174 Expulsion
Rachel clutched her phone, her fingertips trembling slightly, yet she didn't dare slow her steps for even a moment.
As the elevator numbers climbed floor by floor, her heart rose and fell with them. But the closer she got to the top floor, the harder she tried to pump herself up.
Mr. Grant calling her back so urgently—there had to be a reason.
Maybe he'd heard about how she obediently went to the flower shop and humbled herself to please Aria. Maybe he thought she'd finally learned her lesson, finally grown sensible, and was ready to move her back to her core assistant position.
Sophie had told her that as long as she kept Aria happy and saved Arthur the trouble, she could escape her current marginalized, sidelined situation and return to work by his side.
Aria's cold face, her disdain—none of it mattered. As long as she could go back, she was willing to endure anything.
Right now, Rachel had completely forgotten that Arthur had already warned her last time not to go to Aria's flower shop. She had no idea what kind of storm was waiting for her.
As she walked, she rehearsed over and over in her mind what she would say.
She even quietly straightened her collar and smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt, a trace of almost humble hope hidden deep in her eyes.
The moment she pushed open the office door, sunlight poured in through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, falling on Arthur, yet carrying not a hint of warmth.
He sat behind his wide, dark desk, his posture upright, his presence cold and sharp. When he looked up at her, there wasn't a trace of the gentleness she'd imagined, no forgiveness, no promotion, and certainly no intention of restoring her position.
Only a frighteningly heavy coldness.
Rachel's heart tightened. The panic she'd just pushed down surged back up.
She lowered her head, trying hard to maintain an obedient, docile appearance, her voice soft and gentle. "Mr. Grant, you wanted to see me?"
Arthur didn't ask her to sit, didn't even spare her an extra glance. His fingertips lightly tapped the desk, the rhythm slow, but each tap felt like it was striking her nerves.
"You went to Serenity Blooms Studio."
Not a question. A statement.
Rachel quickly nodded and pulled out the explanation she'd prepared. "Yes, I thought since you've been thinking about Ms. Hall and Jasper lately, I wanted to visit them on your behalf. I figured it would be my way of..."
"Your way of what?"
Arthur suddenly spoke, his voice cold as ice, cutting her off directly.
Rachel froze, the rest of her words stuck in her throat.
"Seems like you've forgotten what I told you. I said if you dared go to the flower shop one more time, I wouldn't let it slide. Besides..."
Arthur paused before continuing, "I've never mentioned that child to anyone."
His gaze was sharp as a knife, piercing straight through her. "In the entire company, aside from me and my inner circle, no one knows about this child's existence.
How did you find out? And how dare you use his name and act under my banner to approach them?"
Last time Rachel went to the flower shop, Lance was watching Jasper. He never revealed anything—how did she know that was his child?
He'd never mentioned this, and besides, she'd been in the logistics department these past few days. How could she still know he was thinking about Aria and them, sending allergy cream...
Ha.
Looks like someone's fox tail is showing...
Rachel's face turned deathly pale in an instant.
She never imagined that the first thing Arthur would latch onto was this most fatal question.
She panicked, at a complete loss, her mind blank. She could only grasp at a random excuse. "I... when I was organizing files before, I saw an investigation report sent back from Iceland. It mentioned... I just happened to see it."
The Iceland report.
The moment those words left her mouth, Arthur's expression turned completely dark.
When Aria was in Iceland, he'd specifically sent people to secretly investigate. When the report came back, he'd encrypted it directly. No one but him had clearance to view it.
He'd waited so long to get that incomplete information. At the time, he'd assumed it was because the investigation was difficult. Now, thinking back...
There was a problem here!
"The Iceland report was classified and encrypted."
Arthur's eyes darkened suddenly, the chill in his voice almost freezing. "No one but me had clearance to view it or access it."
"You didn't just look at it—you secretly altered the contents too, didn't you?"
Thinking back to that investigation material that didn't quite match up, Arthur understood everything!
Rachel's legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the floor.
It's over!
This matter has finally been discovered!
"I didn't! Mr. Grant, I really didn't!"
She shook her head frantically, tears nearly forced out. "I just wanted to help you. I just wanted to make up for my mistakes. I wanted to come back and be your assistant."
"Those things you sent."
Arthur didn't give her any chance to make excuses. His tone was cold and hard as iron, each word hammering into her heart. "I never instructed you to do that, never asked you to pass on messages for me. What you did—was it your own idea, or did someone put you up to it?"
Those last few words, Arthur deliberately emphasized, his gaze fixed directly on her, not missing any change in her expression.
Rachel's lips trembled as she bit down hard, not daring to mention Sophie's name.
Once she gave up Sophie, she'd completely lose her last bit of usefulness and would be abandoned even more thoroughly.
She was still making a final struggle, still naively thinking that Arthur was at most angry, at most would scold her, at most would make her stay in the logistics department.
She thought that as long as her attitude was sincere enough, he would eventually soften.
But the next second, Arthur looked at her, and the last trace of tolerance in his eyes completely vanished.
He spoke slowly, his voice clear, cold, and without any room for negotiation. "Rachel, you're fired."
"From this moment on, you are no longer an employee of Grant Corp! HR will immediately process your termination. All your access will be frozen."
"From now on, you are not allowed to set foot in Grant Corp again!"
"You've repeatedly overstepped, spied on classified information, acted on your own, and ignored warnings.
Grant Corp cannot keep you."
One sentence completely shattered all her fantasies.
Her imagined redemption, her imagined return to her position, her belief that as long as she pleased Aria, she could be valued by Arthur again...
It turned out that from beginning to end, it was all just her one-sided joke.
This man she'd looked up to for so long didn't hesitate for a moment, didn't show a trace of reluctance. With just one sentence, he cut off all her hopes, all her escape routes.
What she'd been waiting for wasn't a transfer, wasn't a return to his side, but a complete, permanent expulsion with no chance of recovery!
Rachel stood frozen in place, as if all the strength had been drained from her body. She could only barely hold herself up against the edge of the desk.
Those cold sentences echoed repeatedly in her ears.
The world seemed to fade before her eyes, leaving only a buzzing ringing in her ears.
She gasped desperately for air, her fingertips shaking, her heart feeling like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand. Even breathing brought sharp pain.
Overwhelming regret instantly drowned her.