After Divorce I Married a Tycoon-Chapter 187: She’s Too Terrifying
Mr. Yates recorded his entire conversation with Benny.
Meanwhile, Benny’s every word and action in the hallway were also being secretly recorded from start to finish.
Back in the venue,
Joel Jennings had pinned all his hopes on Benny.
After all, Benny was well-connected in the industry, with both status and influence.
Unlike him, who was just a humble pawn in someone else’s game.
His part was now over. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
He would leave the rest for Benny to handle.
All he had to do was watch the show from the sidelines and chime in at a critical moment.
No matter how much Claire Mercer struggled or tried to argue senselessly,
as a newcomer in the design world with absolutely no background to speak of, she couldn’t possibly make any waves.
Besides, she was foolishly confronting Benny head-on.
She really didn’t know her own place.
With Benny’s current connections and status in the industry,
crushing Claire Mercer
would be as easy as crushing an ant.
But she couldn’t even recognize the situation or see her own position.
Publicly refuting and talking back to Benny... it was practically a death wish.
’She’s completely ruined her own future now.’
’She can forget about ever making it in the design world again.’
’Benny has already stepped out to make a call.’
’He must have already figured out a way to resolve this. I just need to wait quietly.’
The thought of Claire Mercer finding it impossible to take even a single step in the design world from now on,
and becoming a plagiarizing dog despised by everyone...
made the corner of Joel Jennings’s mouth curl into a gloating smile.
But what he didn’t know was that Benny had already brought the fire upon himself.
Soon, he wouldn’t even be able to protect himself, and his future would be utterly destroyed.
Claire Mercer didn’t miss the gloating look on Joel Jennings’s face.
’She was utterly disgusted with both him and Benny.’
’She hadn’t expected the two of them to be so thick-skinned.’
’She had just clearly stated her position: the so-called evidence had to be made public.’
’Yet these two acted as if her words were just hot air.’
’They didn’t take her seriously at all, so they simply turned a deaf ear to her demands.’
’In that case, she had no choice but to call the police.’
"I apologize. What’s happened today has delayed the normal proceedings of the competition."
"However, I’ve been publicly slandered and framed. Joel Jennings and Benny are unwilling to show the evidence to me or the other judges, so I have no way to obtain the proof I need to clear my name. Therefore, my only option is to call the police and let them handle it."
With that, Claire Mercer took out her phone.
Seeing that she was about to call the police, Joel Jennings finally started to panic.
’Why isn’t Benny back yet?’
’Didn’t he make that call to handle this exact situation?’
’It’s been several minutes. He should be back by now.’
’Now Claire is about to call the police. If they actually show up, this whole thing will get even more troublesome.’
’He had framed Claire in the first place.’
’The evidence he provided had been cleverly altered to make it look like Claire had plagiarized Instructor CC.’
’If it were actually shown to Claire and the other professional judges from the design world, and they carefully compared it with Claire’s and Instructor CC’s past works, they would definitely spot the trick.’
’If this ends up at the police station, given the amount of public discussion it’s generated, I’ll probably go to jail.’
At this thought, Joel Jennings truly began to panic.
Seeing Joel Jennings’s uneasy and extremely nervous expression, Claire Mercer knew he had finally realized the gravity of the situation.
’Did they really think she was a pushover they could mold and flatten as they pleased?’
’She wasn’t afraid to offend the Mercer and Sinclair Families and expose their ugly masks to the public, so why would she be afraid of Joel Jennings and Benny?’
"I’d like to have a private word with Joel Jennings."
The host nodded.
Claire Mercer then slowly walked toward Joel Jennings.
After turning off her microphone, she spoke to him in a calm, unhurried manner.
"Joel Jennings, I don’t know what deep-seated hatred you have for me that would make you publicly slander me at such an important event."
"You know perfectly well whether I plagiarized or not."
"Since I didn’t plagiarize, yet you openly slandered me in front of so many contestants, judges, and audience members... and on a live television broadcast, no less."
"I’m sure you’re well aware that your actions constitute defamation of character."
"If I really call the police and sue you, given the nature of your crime, the impact it has had on me, and the level of public discussion it has stirred, you will definitely go to jail."
Joel Jennings knew full well that if Claire Mercer actually sued him, he wouldn’t get off easy.
He had chosen to slander Claire Mercer purely because he was acting under someone’s orders.
He just never expected things to develop this way.
Benny still wasn’t back, and Claire Mercer had her guns aimed directly at him.
Judging by her relentless pursuit, it was clear she wouldn’t rest until she had cleared her name.
He remained silent, not saying a word.
The smug look he’d given Claire Mercer was gone, replaced by a very complicated expression.
Claire Mercer knew her words would shake Joel Jennings.
’Once he starts to waver, he’ll begin to weigh the consequences of this incident and whether he can bear them.’
’She had originally planned to sue Joel Jennings directly.’
’But she knew someone had to be pulling the strings behind him.’
’Her purpose in talking to him now was to make him personally expose the mastermind.’
’And that person was undoubtedly Scarlett Jewel.’
’As long as Joel Jennings exposed Scarlett Jewel, she wouldn’t even have to lift a finger. Scarlett would inevitably become a public target.’
’Then, Joel Jennings and Scarlett Jewel would probably start shifting blame and pointing fingers at each other.’
’That way, the two of them would inevitably turn on each other... a dog-eat-dog situation she would be delighted to see.’
With this in mind, Claire Mercer continued speaking to Joel Jennings.
"I know you were likely put up to this. After all, you and I have no grievance between us. There’s no reason for you to risk jail time just to slander me."
"And that person wouldn’t be Benny. I’ve never had any conflict with him either, and he’d be even less likely to risk his own future just to frame a newcomer like me."
Hearing this, Joel Jennings finally, slowly, raised his head to look at Claire Mercer.
He suddenly felt that this woman, who was several years younger than him, was terrifying.
’She not only has the courage and guts to confront the power of wealthy families, but also the resolve to fear nothing.’
’Moreover, she’s calm in a crisis, sharp-witted, and silver-tongued.’
’Even when she’s in a perilous situation, she can maintain absolute rationality, clarity, and composure.’
’A person like that is not easy to deal with.’
Claire Mercer continued.
"I know that if I ask you to hand over the evidence now, you’ll feel like you’re just slapping yourself in the face."
"But if you don’t hand over the evidence and clear my name right now, I’m going straight to the police."
"At that point, what you did will still come out, and you’ll also be eating prison food. Your future will be ruined, and when you get out of jail, you’ll find it even harder to get back on your feet."
"However, if you’re willing to hand over the evidence and expose the person who put you up to this, I can agree to a private settlement and not hold you responsible."
"Of course, if you want to take all the blame yourself, I don’t mind that either."
"Whether you choose to expose the mastermind or bear all the consequences yourself—think it over carefully. I’m only giving you two minutes."
"Everyone’s time is precious. They don’t want to watch this kind of cheap drama."
Joel Jennings listened to Claire Mercer’s words in complete silence.
He didn’t say a word the entire time, his expression grim as he sank deep into thought.
The deeper he thought, the more conflicted he became.
He neither wanted to go to jail nor publicly admit that he had used fake evidence to slander Claire Mercer.
Right now, his only hope was that Benny would hurry back and resolve this matter quickly and properly.
