Chapter 156: She Is a Professional in Technology
"Emily, if you’re gonna stand up for this woman, she better be worth it! Otherwise, you’re just being ungrateful, trusting an outsider over your own brother. If she’s innocent, let her prove it."
"And if she can't, find people who can back her up!"
Chase's words gave his friends a reason to jump in, their voices dripping with sarcasm.
Emily's earlier comments had made Chase a little worried about the plagiarism issue, but his friends' words brought back his confidence.
He was sure Emily wouldn't find any evidence or witnesses. After all, everyone who was there at the time was either his crew or the bar staff, who were loyal to him. No way they'd support Wren.
Thinking of this, Chase suddenly had an idea and spoke up.
"How about we make a bet? If Wren can prove we harmed her, I'll not only compensate but also personally apologize. If she can’t, you need to provide evidence online to prove I didn’t plagiarize."
So that's his plan.
Emily didn't back down.
Just as she was about to agree, Wren worriedly grabbed her hand and shook her head.
"Emily, maybe we should let it go. Finding evidence will be tough. The bar manager is on their side, and there weren't any witnesses because they cleared the place out."
Wren was clearly distressed.
Emily felt for her. In that situation, Wren had no choice but to protect herself.
But Emily wasn't about to give up.
She turned to the police, "Can we get the complete video footage from that night?"
She knew it wouldn't be easy. If it were, Wren would have already been cleared.
The police had found the footage, but it wasn't complete. The beginning was missing due to a supposed equipment malfunction. That missing part was crucial—it showed Chase starting to harass Wren.
The bar manager and others claimed Wren had tried to seduce Chase and attacked him out of frustration.
Chase smirked, "Now it's clear she's lying, right? She's not worth much, and her friends aren't either. Once you prove I didn’t plagiarize, I'll ask our parents to let you come home. Behave yourself!"
As if letting Emily come home was a favor.
Emily didn’t care anymore.
And she had a plan.
"Hey Wren, when Chase first started bothering you, were there other people around? The clearing out happened later, right?"
Wren’s eyes lit up, "Emily, you're right! Someone was filming with their phone. There were plenty of witnesses, but they were all chased away. Finding them might be hard."
Emily turned to the police, "Officer, I suspect the footage wasn’t faulty. We need to recheck it and investigate other witnesses."
Chase wasn’t worried about the footage but about finding witnesses.
His friends frowned.
Even if there were witnesses, they could only prove Chase initially tried to force Wren to drink. It wasn’t a big deal. They reassured Chase.
"Chase, don't sweat it. Even if there are witnesses, they can't prove we did anything serious. At most, they'll show your invitation was a bit off."
Chase felt reassured.
He thought he could just hire a lawyer to handle it.
Chase called Aiden to avoid involving Eli.
The police started investigating the bar staff.
Emily reviewed the footage and quickly found the problem.
She smiled knowingly.
"Why are you smiling? The footage has gaps. There's nothing to see."
"Really? We'll see about that."
Emily's fingers flew across the keyboard, almost a blur.
With a final keystroke.
"Got it. The complete video was forcibly deleted!"
Emily stepped aside, letting the full video play.
Chase's friends panicked, some even tried to stop it, but the police wouldn't let them.
Chase glared at Emily. He knew what was on the deleted footage. He didn't need to see it.
He was angry at Emily for meddling. She used to defend him. When did she become so cold, ignoring their family ties?
Emily felt Chase's glare but wasn't fazed.
Not by his anger, but by the vile things Chase said to Wren in the video.
She had suspected Chase of harassing Wren, but never imagined he was so rotten.
Chase's public persona was just a facade. Drunk, his true nature showed.
"Officer, now that the truth is out, can we charge them? I demand severe punishment for those who lied."
Emily's voice was full of anger.
"Emily, you wouldn't dare!" Chase's face darkened.
Emily sneered, "Why wouldn't I? Officer, they're still threatening us."
"Behave yourselves. Bullying a girl and then lying about it. Instead of seeking forgiveness, you make things worse?"
The police were disgusted with Chase's group.
Chase stopped threatening.
But he insisted, "She wasn't hurt. We're the ones who got hit. Let's drop the charges on both sides. I was drunk. Otherwise, let my lawyer handle it. My status doesn't allow me to stay here long. My lawyer will bail me out."
Chase was confident.
Emily saw he had no remorse and dared to rely on his lawyer.
Just then, Chase's lawyer arrived with Aiden.
Aiden scolded Chase, "Do you know your situation? You can't afford to make trouble. Stay home until we clear the plagiarism charges."
He apologized to the police and started the bail process.
Then he turned to Emily, "Emily, your friend wasn't harmed. We'll compensate. Let's end this here."
"Wren, do you want to drop it?"
Emily respected Wren's decision, giving her a lot of support.
Wren thought, "If I pursue this, will it affect you?"
Emily smiled, "Don't worry. Follow your heart."
Wren decided, "I want to pursue it."
Aiden's face darkened, "Our lawyer says we can split this incident into two parts. The harassment didn't harm you, but you did hurt Chase."
"Your lawyer might lose his job."
Suddenly, someone walked in and snapped back at Aiden.