SWNOVELS Chapter 221-230
Chapter 221
The gentleman’s eyes swept over various pieces of jewellery, eventually settling on a uniquely designed pink diamond necklace.
“Girls should like diamonds and pink, right?”
“That’s the one.”
Julian was somewhat surprised. This was their first meeting, and the boss had already personally chosen a three–million–dollar necklace for his sister?
It seemed like the boss had truly accepted his sister.
The helicopter flew back to Solterra, finally landing on top of the Collins Fashion headquarters skyscraper.
As soon as the gentleman got off the plane, there were thirty senior managers waiting on either side.
Because of his arrival, all the group’s employees were on high alert, very careful, afraid of making a mistake.
On the other side….
Romeo held Arabella in his arms, opened his phone for her to choose from, “these are QY’s new products, see if there’s anything you like.”
On the phone screen, it showed QY’s newly launched jewellery series.
Arabella didn’t even look at it and directly refused, “I already have a lot of jewelries.”
She herself didn’t like to wear jewelry, thinking it was a hassle.
And, these pieces of jewelry were all her own designs… there was no point for her to buy her own designs.
Romeo looked down at her gently, “Bella, you are so excellent, of course, you should be rewarded.”
Rewarded?
“Your piano piece is really good…”
Arabella understood. He must have found out that she was Melody.
“When will you play a piece for me?” As Romeo’s chin gently stroked her hair, thinking of her superb piano skills in the video, his eyes became even softer. His Bella was truly exceptional and unique.
“We’ll talk about it when I have time.”
“How about this one?” Romeo’s eyes fell on a uniquely designed pink diamond necklace, “It suits you very well.”
Arabella’s skin was very delicate and smooth, wearing such a necklace, her temperament would be even more outstanding.
“Thank you, but…”
“You can keep it even if you don’t wear it.”
“There’s really no need…”
In the conference room of the Collins Corporation headquarters, all the senior managers listened quietly to the future development direction and solutions after reporting this quarter’s work.
Not until Hans Collins said “dismissed” did everyone breathe a sigh of relief and leave the conference room.
“The boss’s aura is too strong, I was sweating the whole time…”
“Me too, look at the sweat on my forehead…”
“Every time the boss comes back, I feel like I’m going to collapse, but as soon as he leaves, I start missing him.”
“Stop dreaming, the boss wouldn’t like ordinary people. Even if he were to get a partner, it would be a noble lady of equal social status…”
“I wonder what kind of woman could withstand the pressure of the boss, I find it very scary…”
Julian followed the boss out of the meeting room in a hurry, “Boss, I’m sorry, I was a bit slow, the necklace has been reserved by someone else.”
Upon hearing this, there was no change on Hans Collins‘ face, “Raise the price.”
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“Until they’re willing to fork it over.”
“That guy ain’t exactly hurting for cash, Julian added, “Word is he’s a top–tier member at QY…”
“We gotta get it by sundown.”
“Roger that.” Julian knew that whatever the boss wanted, he’d get it. Even though QY claimed the guy had some serious clout, and not someone you’d want to cross…
But then again, was there anyone you’d dare to cross when his boss?
“Oh, by the way, boss. There’s a national fashion design competition, and they’re hoping to have you as a judge.”
Though the Collins family business wasn’t exactly fashion–oriented, Hans Collins was a big shot. He also made a splash in the fashion industry last year with his exceptional design talent. A shirt he designed back in his younger days was quite the sensation.
But ever since he took over the company, he’s been all business all the time, frequently out of the country and barely even home.
The organizers needed some big names on the judging panel, and landing Hans Collins would surely turn heads for this national competition.
1 ain’t got time for that,” Hans wasn’t keen on wasting his time on such a competition. This trip back home was mostly to see his sister. He’d be up to his eyeballs in work for the next few months and might not make it home for a good while.
“Got it, I’ll turn them down.”
Just as Arabella got back to the office, her assistant Dean rushed up to her, “Ms. Bennett, we’ve got a major issue! Out of the 33 new designs we’re launching tomorrow, 23 of them are identical to our competitor’s new releases! Worst part is, they launched theirs today! They’re flying off the shelves on live–streaming platforms and online stores! I did some quick math, they’ve already sold nearly eight thousand pieces! At this rate, they’ll hit ten thousand in no time!”
Arabella’s face turned stone cold. It was impossible!
Out of nowhere, how could 23 out of 33 of their new designs be identical to their competitor’s?
Someone’s definitely playing dirty tricks behind the scenes!
“I’m not quite sure what’s going on yet!” Dean was as jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof, “Because all 23 identical designs were done by Designer Molly. Mr. Oscar just held a meeting and gave Molly a real tongue lashing, she, she…”
“What happened to her?”
“She got so upset she started crying!”
Arabella dashed into the elevator and headed straight to the design department, where she heard Oscar still shouting at Molly.
“All you do is crying, what are you crying for? Don’t act like I’m framing you!”
“Here are the 33 designs our competitor launched today! I had someone buy 23 of them! Take a good look, am I framing you?”
Oscar threw all 23 designs at Molly.
Molly was dumbstruck, staring at the designs in disbelief, “I don’t know…”
She truly had no clue what was going on.
“You must have copied our competitor’s sketches!”
“I didn’t!” Molly choked back tears as she defended herself, “These designs, they’re all my original work…
She definitely didn’t plagiarize!
“Don’t you dare make baseless accusations!” The head of the design department, Samual, retorted firmly, “Molly’s not that sort of person! She’s very talented in design. She has no reason to rip off someone else’s work!”
Molly was more than capable of coming up with these designs on her own!
“Then how do you explain all this?” Oscar pointed at the clothes scattered on the floor, skeptical, “If only one design were identical, I could chalk it up to coincidence. But these are 23 identical designs. Can you give me a reasonable explanation?”
Samual looked at the clothes on the floor, equally clueless about what was going on, but he stood firm, “Everyone in the department witnesses Molly’s design process every day…
That’s right. Molly didn’t plagiarize, I can vouch for her, these designs are all her own.”
“She often works late into the night, long after everyone else has left. I only found out because I once forgot my house keys and had to go back to the office.
“Molly truly loves this industry. She would never do anything to harm its reputation or her own!”
“I trust Molly!”
“And so do I!”
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With a mocking laugh, Oscar didn’t even give them a chance to explain. “She probably memorized all the designs beforehand and then painstakingly drew them out every day, trying to put on an act!”
“I didn’t…” Molly tried desperately to defend herself, tears streaming down her face. “I drew these all by myself. If someone’s copying, it’s them copying my designs!”
Oscar couldn’t help but chuckle at that. “Who are you up against? SY Fashion! That’s a big–shot clothing company! The designer of those 23 new styles is the famous Jason! Who are you? Just a young girl. Would they even know who you are? Where would they find your designs to copy?”
“…” Molly felt utterly helpless.
“If your designing skills are so superb, then why haven’t we seen such exquisite designs from you before?”
In a rush, Molly explained, “Before I drew these designs, I got a lot of advice from Ms. Bennett. Her tips sparked my inspiration, and that’s how I came up with these!”
If it wasn’t for Arabella’s inspiration, Molly might still be stuck.
Oscar gave a cynical laugh. “From what I’m hearing, it sounds like Ms. Bennett taught you how to plagiarize other people’s designs?”
“No!” Molly, angry and agitated, wiped away her tears. “You can twist my words, insult me all you want, but don’t you dare insult Ms. Bennett! She’s not like that! She wouldn’t do such a thing!”
“Your strong reaction is easily misinterpreted. Are you defending Ms. Bennett or scared that the truth will be exposed…?”
“You’re going too far!” Molly clenched her fists, wishing she could punch him. He was bullying her too much!
Just then, a cold voice sounded.
“Mr. Oscar, you’re a grown man. Why pick on a young girl?”
Everyone turned towards the voice. It was Ms. Bennett. Ms. Bennett had arrived!!
Everyone looked at Arabella as if she was their savior…
Before Arabella arrived, their whole department, especially Molly, had been wronged a lot!
“Ms. Bennett…” Seeing her, Molly felt a wave of emotion and loosened her fist, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Clean your tears.” Arabella glanced at Molly, speaking gently. “The upright have nothing to fear from jealousy. If you did nothing wrong, then don’t cry.”
Molly obediently nodded and quickly wiped away her tears.
Oscar watched Arabella defending Molly, scoffing. “Such a big incident happened in the company, and I just found some leads. Ms. Bennett comes in to interfere. People might think Ms. Bennett is trying to steal the credit.”
Arabella gave a cold smile. “Mr. Oscar is so eager to have someone confess, even more than the police. People might think you’re just looking for a scapegoat.”
The whole department was shocked by her words…
Oscar’s face immediately turned sour. “What do you mean by saying that? Clearly, Molly is a young, unskilled girl who plagiarized someone else’s design to make a quick buck!”
“Oh, so you’re a mind reader now? You know all of her thoughts?”
Oscar looked extremely annoyed. “I know you two are close, but she made a serious mistake. The head office has already found out about this and voiced their criticism. You can’t protect her!”
“Is it up to you to decide whether or not I can protect her?”
The head office voiced their criticism, and she hadn’t heard anything about it?
How come Oscar, as a vice–president, got the news before her?
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This old man is clearly full of crap! He’s using the headquarters to put pressure on her!
“We’ve produced 110,000 pieces of the new product, worth several millions, all sitting in the warehouse! There are 23 styles. Let’s see if you dare to launch new products tomorrow! Instead of arguing with me here, why not just submit your resignation! Asking for help from the headquarters could at least minimize some loss!”
Though he said that, Oscar knew better than anyone that under such urgent circumstances, the headquarters could only mitigate some financial losses, but as for reputation… it would be a total disaster!
Sure, there’s stock in the warehouse, but if it can’t be sold and the goods don’t get to customers on time as promised, this kind of dishonest act is a big no–no for Collins Corporation!
Oscar was secretly thrilled. This girl is definitely screwed this time!
“Call a meeting!” Arabella said and left the design department ahead of everyone.
The company’s executives hurried to the meeting room. Arabella sat in the chairperson’s seat, still radiating a strong aura of leadership.
Despite the problem at hand, there’s not a flicker of panic on her face…
Everyone was secretly admiring. Ms. Bennett is really something…
“Ms. Bennett, those 23 styles from SY Fashion, from color, pattern, craftsmanship, length, and thickness, they’re exactly the same as ours! This cannot be a coincidence!”
“They even hired a celebrity spokesperson, and now their new products are selling like hotcakes. Anyone who sees the new products would naturally assume that they were first designed by SY Fashion!”
“Right now we have no evidence to prove they plagiarized Molly’s designs, instead, it looks like Molly plagiarized theirs.”
“If we can’t sell the stock in the warehouse, we’re going to lose a lot of money!”
“Ms. Bennett, the sketches were drawn by Molly, could she have been careless at some point and copy…”
“No way.” Arabella cut her off, “Molly would never do such a thing, let alone betray the company.”
“How do you know that?” Oscar retorted with Arabella’s words, “Don’t judge a book by its cover…”
“I can think clearly. Not like someone, my brain is still functioning.”
“What are you implying?”
“I’m saying you’re dumb.” Arabella said bluntly, “Which plagiarist would copy all 23 designs exactly? Can’t you use your brain and think?”
“You…” Oscar managed to suppress his rage for the moment!
He was certain that Arabella would soon be leaving that chair, and Molly would be labeled as a plagiarist. The Collins family would hold her accountable, she would not only have to compensate for the huge losses, but she might also end up in jail…
At that time, the position of general manager would be his!
Whatever Arabella does now is pointless!
Arabella swept her gaze over everyone present, “Now, I’m calling a meeting to discuss two questions. First, I firmly believe that Molly couldn’t have plagiarized. I trust her character. So, the question is, if the designs were her work, why did they appear at a competitor’s company? Why could the competitor produce them first and carry out large–scale promotions? It’s like they’re mocking us.”
After saying this, she glanced at Oscar. Oscar turned his face away, clearly not interested in what she was saying.
“Only I and the design department have seen these 23 new styles. If these designs have leaked to our competitors, then the mole must be among us.”
As Oscar was about to suggest Arabella was the most likely culprit…
Arabella immediately added, “Of course, we also can’t rule out that someone may have betrayed the company through unfair means…”
Oscar was instantly lost for words,
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“Next, we need to address this issue.”
As soon as Arabella finished speaking, Dean handed over an iPad, “Ms. Bennett, I’ve done some research. These are the past award–winning designs of the designer from SY Fashion.”
Arabella took a quick glance. The competitions she participated in were relatively unknown, and her award–winning styles were different from Molly’s fresh and ladylike style…
“Everyone, take a look. You can clearly see that this designer copied Molly’s work.” Arabella placed the iPad on the conference table.
Everyone took a look and found it was indeed the case.
“His design style is more chic and neutral, not at all like Molly’s!”
“It does seem like he copied Molly’s design…”
“But he’s such a famous designer. Why would he copy a newcomer’s design?”
Arabella found this amusing, “Famous?”
“Yes, he has won hundreds of awards over the years…”
Arabella was unimpressed, “It depends on what awards he has won. Some awards are so prestigious that one is enough, while a hundred of others are not even comparable to one.”
“But Molly hasn’t participated in any competitions. After graduation, she has been working in our company, constantly designing. How would he know about her existence and her designs?” someone asked in confusion.
“That’s why I’m saying, someone inside our company must have leaked the information. He got the design drawings, produced and launched them before we did.” Arabella stated firmly.
“This mole is way out of line! How dare he betray his own colleague!”
“If I find out who the mole is, I won’t let the person off!”
“He must have received quite a bit of benefits…”
“Ms. Bennett, what’s the point of discussing all these now?” Oscar couldn’t help but scoff, “Our focus should be on tomorrow’s new product release! If you can’t solve it, please don’t waste time…”
“Who said I can’t solve it?” Arabella raised an eyebrow, full of confidence.
Everyone was taken aback. The situation was already so bad, could Ms. Bennett really have a solution?
Oscar was stunned, clearly unconvinced, “Then tell us, what’s your plan? How can you prevent the company from losing money and reputation, and even turn the situation around?”
Everyone thought it was impossible. There would definitely be financial and reputational losses. How could there possibly be a turnaround?
Mr. Oscar was really making things difficult!
“Indeed, there is a way to prevent the company from losing money and reputation, and even turn the situation around…”
Hearing Arabella say this, everyone was shocked. Really??
If Ms. Bennett really had a solution, she was not only amazing, she was practically a god!
“What’s your solution then? Stop keeping us in suspense!” Oscar didn’t believe she could come up with a good solution.
Arabella stood up, “I’ll figure it out! Meeting’s over!”
Everyone was shocked. Could Ms. Bennett really handle it on her own?!
Even if she could perform magic, she couldn’t possibly conjure up that many new outfits, could she?!
As Arabella walked out of the meeting room, Dean quickly caught up with her, “Ms. Bennett, are you just messing with us? Do you really have a solution? Our company has hundreds of retail stores with a large number of pre–orders. Many customers on our official website have already paid and need their orders shipped tomorrow. And then there are our partners and overseas channels. If we can’t deliver…”
“Who said we can’t deliver?” Arabella turned to look at him, smiling, “Tomorrow’s new product launch will proceed as planned!”
She already had the answer in her mind. The issue was definitely related to Oscar!
She was confident that she could expose his dirt today!
“Ms. Bennett… Do you really have a solution? That’s 110,000 new items we are talking…”
“We don’t have to sell 110,000 items all at once, no need to rush.”
Arabella raised an eyebrow, and the hope in Dean’s eyes died out once again.
Ms Bennett was just messing with him…..
They were done for tomorrow!
Just as Arabella was about to enter her office, she saw Molly standing at the door, looking wronged but still trying to hold on.
“Ms. Bennett, I…”
Arabella knew why she was here, “Come in and talk.”
Molly quickly followed her into the office, shut the door, then wiped away her tears and said, “Ms. Bennett! It wasn’t me! I didn’t copy Jason’s designs!! didn’t even know who Jason was before! The 23 new designs are all my own work! I swear!”
“I believe you.”
Molly was taken aback. She still had a lot to say, but Ms. Bennett just believed her like that?
“I trust you, and more importantly, I trust your character.” Arabella’s voice softened, “Sit down.”
Molly carefully pulled out a chair, “Ms. Bennett, before I designed these drafts, I looked at a lot of Master Queen Abby’s works and received your guidance, which led to these designs…”
She could guarantee that these designs were unique, and would not resemble any other works….
“Now, think carefully. Who has seen these designs?”
Molly thought for a moment and said, “These designs have been seen by everyone in the design department because department head Samual projected all the drafts for everyone to vote on, and my 23 drafts got high votes, so they were all adopted in the end,”
“So, everyone in the design department has seen your work…” Arabella tapped her long fingers lightly on the table.
Arabella remembered. One day, Molly came to her with red eyes and showed her the drafts. When she asked why, it was because someone had dumped trash on her father’s grave….
Later, Molly was worried about her mother’s accident, so she took a temporary leave. Arabella happened to have a partner to meet and asked Dean to drive them…
“The draft was on the desk at the time, and when I returned from handling some business, I was going to revise it before giving it to you. I remember you had a pink dress on the top of the pile, right?”
“No, no.” Molly recalled, very certain, “The first one was a pure white dress because I was most satisfied with that one, so I put it at the very front…”
“A white dress?” Arabella thought for a moment, “The last one I saw was the white dress.”
Both of them suddenly realized something.
“There must have been someone in the room.”
Molly was shocked. Someone dared to barge into the CEO’s office without permission?
“Well, can’t we just check the surveillance system?” Molly quickly found hope.
But Arabella casually said, “If this person looked at the drafts, even took them, and then just waltzed out of this door, there will only be two possibilities. One is that they turned off the surveillance system, and the other is that they deleted the surveillance records…”
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If the surveillance records were erased, they might still be recoverable.
But if the surveillance was turned off, it’s a whole different game…
“Ms. Bennett, who do you think stabbed us in the back?” Molly was puzzled.
A thought of Oscar flashed through Arabella’s mind, “There’s no solid proof yet, but at tomorrow’s new product launch, you could…”
Arabella whispered something into Molly’s ear. Molly’s face showed uncertainty, “I’m not sure I can pull it off…”
“You totally got this.” Arabella patted her shoulder, boosting her confidence, “I believe in you.”
After Molly left, Arabella pulled up the surveillance footage from that day. Sure enough, someone had intentionally deleted the records.
In fact, of all deletion methods, manual deletion is the easiest to recover. It’s because the internal formatting of the hard drive is only altered once. By following certain rules, the data can be easily restored.
Arabella’s slender fingers danced on the keyboard. In no time, all the previously deleted content reappeared on screen.
Arabella spotted a familiar figure entering her office.
It was Oscar, no doubt!
The office was empty at the time. He had been in there for quite some time. It was obvious that he might have been sneaking photos of the design drafts.
When he left the office, his hands were empty. But judging by his cocky strut, he probably succeeded in his scheme. He even walked out looking all smug.
Without a second thought, Arabella’s fingers danced on the keyboard again, disconnecting his office’s dedicated WIFI.
On the other side.
Oscar just finished a call. He noticed his WIFI was disconnected. After reconnecting, he sat back in his chair and sipped his coffee.
He was completely oblivious that the WIFI he just connected to was specially prepared by Arabella.
Arabella effortlessly hacked into his phone. At that moment, he was replying to a voice message from someone named Jason, “That young female designer said she has a solution. She’s full of youthful arrogance, thinking a few grand statements can showcase her abilities. In fact, the problem at hand is not even something you or I can solve.”
“If she dares to launch a similar design tomorrow, I will bankrupt her.”
“Hahaha…” Oscar enjoyed his aromatic coffee, “Don’t worry. She’s well aware of the severe consequences following the new product launch.”
“Molly does have some design talent, and I once considered bringing her into my team. Unfortunately, people who can’t be bought are of no use to us.” “She’ll soon be behind bars. But, it’s already her honor that a nobody like her could help you gain reputation with her design.”
Arabella copied all these conversations and their previous chat records as evidence.
This was damning evidence!
A while later, Oscar, enjoying his coffee and listening to music, contacted Monica, the boss of SY Fashion, asking for her cut.
“Monica, I’ve already provided you with our company’s best design plan. I heard you’ve sold thousands of products already and it will soon reach ten thousand. According to our previous agreement, I should get a cut…”
“Don’t worry.” Monica responded quickly, “You’ll get 30%, not a penny less! But we’ve agreed that once you regain the position of president, you will provide some convenience for SY Fashion.”
“Of course!” Oscar replied easily, “We’re friends. I know what to do.”
Arabella checked all the apps in Oscar’s phone, copied all the useful information, and then called Dean over.
“Go get Oscar.‘”
Dean left immediately.
A while later, Oscar strode in, “You want to ask me how to solve the current problem?”
Before Arabella could say anything, Oscar just sat opposite her, confidently smiling, “If I were you, I’d be handing in my resignation letter right now, asking for headquarters to step in…”
“You want my position? Talking about resignation again and again… You think you’re up for this job?” Arabella smiled, full of authority.
“Ha, Oscar laughed, “You’re the one who’s not up for it, right? I’d love to see how you explain to everyone if we can’t deliver tomorrow!”
That’s none of your concern.”
Arabella threw a stack of reports in front of him, “These are all the reimbursement forms since the company opened. I’ve looked through them. You claim over ten grand on average every month, especially this month, thirteen times, totaling thirteen thousand. What kind of clients are you entertaining with all this money?”
“Isn’t everything clearly written on the forms? Can’t you read? Do you need me to read it out to you?” Oscar leaned back in his chair, looking relaxed, “Like this month, I met with thirteen clients, spent a total of thirteen thousand, averaging about a thousand per client…”
“The first reimbursement form, on the 3rd of this month, you met with the vice president of a clothing company. You treated him to dinner, golf, and
sauna, spending over nine grand.”
Oscar looked innocent, “What’s the problem? I treated him so he would cooperate with us for a long time… You don’t understand these business etiquettes…”
“But this month, the VP’s wife was giving birth abroad. The VP was abroad and not in the country.”
Oscar’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this.
“Here’s the info I found.” Arabella turned the computer screen towards him, displaying pictures of the VP abroad.
“The second reimbursement form, on the 7th of this month, you met with the president of another company. You treated him to a seafood feast, and went to a night club… spending a total of thirteen hundred.”
Oscar looked a bit nervous, “So what?”
“The president had just been admitted to the ER on the 6th due to kidney stones and high uric acid. He was on IV at the hospital on the 7th, he couldn’t possibly have joined you for a seafood feast.”
Oscar’s face turned slightly pale, “Do you have any proof?”
“I called you in here because I’ve got solid proof,” Arabella continued. “Receipt number three, dated the 9th of this month. You wined and dined the head honcho of a clothing company at a teahouse, got massages, enjoyed a hot spring, and shelled out a whopping 1400 bucks.”
“And then what…”
The thing is, the dude was out of town on a business trip from the 7th to the 11th of this month. He wasn’t anywhere near Summerfield.”
Oscar was now fully aware of the pickle he was in. His body involuntarily stiffened, no longer as laid–back as before.
“This is the evidence that you’ve been cooking the books for the past year,” Arabella clicked the mouse and hundreds of files popped up on the screen. She gave a slight smile, “Got anything to say for yourself?”
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Oscar tried to snatch her mouse, but Arabella beat him to the punch. “Did you think deleting it meant I wouldn’t have copies?”
“What the hell are you trying to do?” Oscar couldn’t help but roar in anger, his face red with fury as he glared at her.
“Calm down, I just want to clear up some things, Arabella replied, confidence radiating from her eyes. She casually asked, “Over the past year, all the fabric scraps left from our production line, did you have them all thrown into the waste site?”
Oscar guessed what she was getting at. “Why the hell should we keep useless scraps? To take up space?”
“But as far as I know, you’ve been selling them and making a pretty penny…”
Arabella confidently stated, “Every month, you’ve been sending the leftover scraps to the waste site where you meet with the recycling company’s people and sell the scraps for three bucks a hundred pounds.”
Even though it’s only three bucks for a hundred pounds…
The amount of scraps generated each month was colossal, with a weight to match…
“All year round, just by selling scraps, you’ve pocketed sixty–nine thousand dollars, am I wrong, Mr. Oscar?”
Oscar’s face turned ashen. He never thought she would dig into such a trivial matter!
There were no cameras at the waste site, and no one else was present at their transactions. How the hell did she find out?
How could this be…
Ever since this woman took over the company, he felt like she knew everything, like he couldn’t hide anything from her.
“It’s because there are records of the transactions,” Arabella answered his question in a leisurely manner.
Oscar fumed in silence. Those damned fools! He had explicitly told them not to keep records, not to leave evidence, but they didn’t listen! Look where that got them!
“By the way, do you remember the time you encouraged a bunch of employees to gamble online at the company’s first–month celebration?” Arabella smugly asked.
Before the purchasing department head, the manager, the line leaders, and the warehouse supervisor were arrested, they all mentioned it.
That night, everyone got hammered. Oscar bragged about a betting site where you could win big. He even showed everyone his withdrawal amount, which was over sixty grand…
Although everyone was initially skeptical, some people started winning a lot of money after a few bets, and could directly withdraw into their bank
accounts…
So they bet more and more, even inviting their friends and relatives.
Unexpectedly, the site kept raising the withdrawal limit. First, it said you needed fifty grand to withdraw, so they put all their money in. Then it said you needed a hundred grand, so they borrowed a ton of money. Even after betting several hundred grand, they couldn’t get their money back….
After owing a mountain of debt, Oscar coerced them into betraying the company…
They were all taken away by the police, but due to insufficient evidence, Oscar was soon released.
That’s right.” Oscar didn’t expect this little girl to care so much about it. “They were just unlucky, it has nothing to do with me! I actually made a fortune!” Arabella’s slender fingers tapped on the keyboard, then she clicked the mouse. A series of evidence appeared on the computer screen.
“I checked that site. You made a lot of money because all the funds people invested ended up in your account.”
Arabella slightly raised the corners of her mouth, looking at the man in front of her, and said, “Which means, from the beginning, you intended to scam everyone’s money!”
Oscar gaped at each transaction record displayed on the computer screen, finding it unbelievable and feeling a chill creep up his spine.
How the hell did Arabella get these records?
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These details were still so crystal clear!
He had clearly shut down the website, so by all accounts, Arabella shouldn’t have been able to find this information.
“Do you know running this kind of website is illegal, right?” Arabella raised an eyebrow, an icy and powerful aura radiating off her.
Oscar suddenly felt scared. Who the hell was this girl?
Remembering all the issues that had cropped up in the company, it seemed like there was nothing this girl couldn’t dig up if she wanted to.
Actually, for Arabella, finding this evidence wasn’t hard at all.
“Oh, by the way, about that time the warehouse manager betrayed the company, I checked the CCTV.”
Hearing this, Oscar instantly went on high alert.
“That day, at five in the afternoon, I left work. At 5:03, you called the warehouse manager to a corner that wasn’t covered by the cameras and had a little chat. By 5:11, your conversation was over. She returned to the warehouse, and at 5:13, she revoked my warehouse access.”
That night, I needed to get back to the company, but I found I couldn’t get into the warehouse. This proves that the warehouse manager’s actions were under your instructions!”
“Also, you signed off on the old purchase orders; the stock numbers were confirmed by you; and your cut of the illicit funds was the largest. Compared to them, you should be the one in jail, maybe even for life!”
In disbelief but wary, Oscar stared at her. “Who the hell are you?”
He had thought the girl sent by headquarters was just a naive girl, incompetent, and a dimwit.
But after dealing with her for a couple of weeks, he found out she was even scarier than he’d imagined.
“How did you find all this out?” Oscar gritted his teeth and asked.
Arabella gave a slight smile. “Every single thing I dug up could ruin your life! Including what you did to the warehouse manager and the procurement director.”
Suddenly, videos of what Oscar had done to the warehouse manager and procurement director popped up on the computer screen.
There were dozens of them!
All copied from his phone by Arabella!
Oscar was floored, unable to believe what he was seeing.
These videos were only on his phone. He hadn’t uploaded them anywhere else or shared them with anyone.
How had Arabella found them?
“And your collusion with SY Fashion, sending Molly’s designs to Jason.” Arabella looked up, casually asking, “Molly never did anything to you, so why did you pick her design?”
“Hah, I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Oscar vehemently denied. “You want me to confess? Are you recording this? I’m not that stupid!”
“I just don’t understand; Molly never had any beef with you, so why target her?”
Arabella’s tone was calm, but Oscar refused to spill the beans!
“Just because she’s close to me, you don’t like me, and her designs are the best in the design department? So you chose to hurt her?”
In reality, Arabella knew all the answers to these questions. She just wanted Oscar to admit it himself.
Chapter 229
Oscar didn’t speak a word.
Arabella unplugged the USB from the computer, held it in her hand, and said with a smile, “I’ll trade all the evidence I have for one answer from you.” Oscar was a bit tempted.
“You have three seconds to think about it.”
“How do I know you didn’t make a backup?” Oscar was enticed, but as an experienced guy, he stayed alert.
“If I said I didn’t, then I didn’t! If you don’t believe me, you can check for yourself. Arabella tossed him the mouse. Oscar quickly checked with it, and it seemed there was no record of a backup.
Arabella swung the USB stick and started to count down: “One, two,”
Immediately, Oscar grabbed the USB. His anxious heart finally settled a bit. He laughed gloomily. “Little girl, as someone who’s been around the block, I’m telling you, being too emotional isn’t always a good thing.”
Such important evidence, and she just handed it all over to him?
All for the truth about some sketches?
So young, so foolish!
“It’s your turn to talk.” Arabella watched him excitedly and said, “I swear, I didn’t make a backup.”
“If you’re lying, karma will get you, and it won’t end well!” Oscar demanded a promise from her.
“Okay.”
Seeing the confidence in the young girl, Oscar was finally convinced. He leaned back again, showing his previously calm.demeanor.
“The sketches were indeed given to Jason by me. That day, I saw you two leaving the office, so I used a spare key to get in.”
At this point, Oscar revealed a cunning smile and said proudly, “Bet you didn’t know your office had a spare key, huh? Actually, all the offices in the company have spare keys!”
“Oh.” Arabella chuckled, coinciding with her own suspicion.
“I pretended to lose my own office key, went to the HR department, the guy was so slow at finding keys, I complained a few times, and then I looked for it myself. I took your office key while I was at it.”
This also matched Arabella’s suspicion. At this point, Arabella gave a faint smile, waiting for him to dig his own grave.
“But I still don’t understand. What did SY Fashion offer you to make you betray the company?“.
Oscar laughed casually, “30% of the total sales! If it’s a million, I can get a bonus of three hundred thousand! Isn’t that better than working hard in the company?”
How much did he earn after working so hard for the company for a year?
This answer, Arabella had also seen it on his phone; she faked surprise and said, “That much?”
“Of course!” Oscar looked relaxed now, as if he thought he was the winner. “It’s a shame you were too proud before, or I could have invited you to join. We could have made money together. Why bother working hard for the Collins family?”
“Has the Collins family treated you badly?” Arabella carried on with her topic.
“Good, good for what?” Oscar began to curse, not giving a damn about the Collins family: “They called me in to take charge of the company a year ago and gave me a salary of two thousand: I’m the CEO of this company, just two thousand dollars. Can you believe that?”
Arabella didn’t seem to mind: “According to your records, you’ve only been working for a short period of time. A basic salary of two thousand is already high, not to mention other subsidies and rewards. Don’t you get more than four thousand in hand?”
“Can that compare with three hundred thousand?” Oscar leaned back in his chair, looking nonchalant. “How many years of hard work would it take for me to earn three hundred thousand?”
But by cooperating with a rival company, he can easily get three million!
“But your three million is built on the foundation of framing others. Molly might end up in jail because of this!”
“Who told her to be stupid?” Oscar said discontentedly, “That’s what you get for picking the wrong side! If she had agreed to my terms from the beginning, let me enjoy,”
“What do you mean?” Arabella frowned slightly upon hearing this.
“Before you came to this company, I asked her whether she wanted to enjoy privileges by following me or rely on her own abilities in the company, she chose the latter.”
Upon hearing this, Arabella instantly grabbed a cup of water from the table and splashed it onto his face.
“Scumbag!”
So he not only took advantage of the warehouse manager and the procurement department head but also had his eyes on young girls like Molly.
Thankfully, Molly was upright and refused to submit. She’d rather struggle in the company than bow to a villain like Oscar!
Wiping the water off his face, Oscar laughed loudly, stood up, and said, “Don’t you have any more questions? You’re leaving the company tomorrow. As someone who has experienced it, let me tell you, emotions are far less important than money! If you give up benefits for emotions, you’re an idiot!”
Like now, she had the evidence to sue him but gave it to him easily for truth.
Such a fool!
“I really didn’t make a backup, but, Arabella smirked, “You guys can come in now.”
Several people outside the office rushed in as soon as they heard the signal.
Seeing four uniformed police officers, Oscar was taken aback.
“Officers, this is the man I reported.” Arabella stood up, her aura icy cold. “The evidence is in his hand, and there’s only one copy!”
“Arabella.” Oscar pointed at Arabella. But before he could finish his sentence, his hands were seized by the officers, and the USB was confiscated.
So she really didn’t make a backup. Instead, she handed the evidence to him to deliver to the police herself!
That’s cold!
“Oh right, this is a recording of our conversation.” Arabella took out another USB and said, “He admitted all his crimes in it. It should add a few more years to his sentence.”
“You, you cunning woman, you dared to deceive me; let go of me; I’m not a bad guy; you got the wrong person. Don’t listen to her nonsense; I’m a good person, and I haven’t done anything illegal.”
“Officers, can you let go of me? People will see.”
“I’m innocent; let me go.”
Oscar’s voice trailed off in the distance.
Dean stood outside the office, watching as four cops hauled Oscar away.
He looked at Arabella with admiration in his eyes.
Oscar was a big shot in the company. How on earth did Ms. Bennett manage to get him thrown into the hands of the police?
“Spread the word; none of the employees are allowed to gossip about Oscar’s arrest. There’s even bigger news dropping tomorrow!”
Seeing the confidence in Arabella’s eyes, Dean swallowed hard and said, “Alright.”
He felt like there was nothing in this world that Ms. Bennett couldn’t pull off.
This girl was just way too badass.
Chapter 230
After dealing with Oscar, Arabella whipped out her phone and issued a decree: “No one is allowed to buy those 4 villas and 14 storefronts Attlee is selling.”
【Roger that, I’ll get the word out ASAP.】
Arabella’s expression turned a tad darker, but she still had a “surprise” up her sleeve for them.
At the headquarters of Collins Corporation,
Julian got the news and immediately popped into Hans Collins‘ office, reporting dutifully, “Boss, we got some fresh buzz from our fashion company.” Hans Collins lifted his deep–set eyes, his face still as cool as a cucumber, and asked, “Who’s the culprit this time?”
That small company had been a hot mess recently; wasn’t it being managed by a young woman?
“It’s Oscar from the headquarters,” Julian reported truthfully. “He set up an illegal gambling site and lured a bunch of our employees into it; they even roped in their friends and family, and now everyone’s down to their last penny.”
Hans Collins‘ gaze deepened.
“He also used dirty tricks on our female employees–not just one; he even filmed videos to threaten them.”
“He conned employees who were strapped for cash into his dirty deeds and betrayed the company. The old manager, purchasing manager, warehouse keeper, and group leaders from the production line all fell victim to him, and they’ve all been hit hard by the law.”
“Through selling discarded fabric from the company, he made 69,000 bucks in a year, and he even cooked the books for an entire year.”
“He even had the nerve to get employees to sell our top–quality products and produce low–quality clothes with cheap fabric, then sell them with our brand label, and most of the proceeds went into his pockets.”
“Recently, he sold our design drafts to our competitor, SY Fashion, and even tried to frame our designer, Molly.”
“Even though he’s been taken in for questioning by the police now, there’s a huge problem at the company.”
Hans Collins, with a deep voice, asked, “What’s the problem?”
“Out of the 33 new designs we’re launching tomorrow, Oscar sold 23 to SY Fashion. They’ve already produced and launched these 23 designs today, which means the millions worth of goods in our warehouse might not be able to be sold.” Julian lowered his head; his spirits were down in the dumps. Even though all these were Oscar’s doing, the company’s loss can’t be measured in money anymore.
“What does the top brass say?” Hans Collins asked quietly.
“Everyone’s at their wits‘ end, except for that young female manager. She boldly claimed in the meeting that she has a solution for tomorrow’s problem. She said she can not only prevent losses and reputation damage for the company but also make a killing.”
To be honest, Julian didn’t buy what the young female manager said, but Hans Collins was somewhat looking forward to it. Since she took up the job, she’d been full of surprises.
“I heard she got in through connections?” Hans Collins asked casually.
The boss‘ concern surprised Julian. He didn’t expect him to pay attention to such trivial matters. He replied, “Yes, and she’s actually one of your insiders.” “Oh?”
“She was handpicked by Old Mr. Collins.”
Hans Collins searched his memory but couldn’t recall any relatives or friends like that. Could it be she demonstrated outstanding management skills and was highly praised by his father, so he hired her specifically?
“What’s her educational background?”
“High school.” As soon as Julian finished, he worried the boss would question her ability, so he quickly added, “But her capabilities are plain for everyone to see, and she’s always giving her all for the company.”