Chapter 218 I Am the One Who Leaked the Data
Leo smirked. "Relax, just follow my lead, and Harper will be fine."
Ashley glared at him, teeth clenched, eyes full of hate. "Leo, you broke your promise. I can't believe I ever liked you!"
She thought about how Leo had forced her to borrow $200,000 from Sharon and dreaded what he'd make her do next. Despair washed over her.
'Is there no way to expose Leo for who he really is?' she wondered.
Leo looked at her tear-streaked face without a hint of sympathy, just annoyance.
He grabbed her chin and said, "Tomorrow morning, report her to Silvercrest Group. The $200,000 she sent you tonight is hush money."
Ashley's eyes widened. "No, I won't help you with this!"
She finally understood why Leo made her borrow the money. Her hair stood on end, and she trembled.
'Leo's out to destroy Sharon!' she thought.
"When you called her, you were already helping me. Even if you don't, she won't forgive you once she knows the truth."
"I won't do it!"
"Fine, get ready to pick up Harper's body."
Leo turned to leave.
Fear gripped Ashley. She knew Leo would follow through because he was a madman now.
She quickly stopped him. "Fine, I agree!"
"Don't try anything funny, or you'll end up six feet under!"
Leo's dark eyes trapped her like a net.
"I won't."
Ashley trembled as she spoke. Just seeing Leo now filled her with fear, not a trace of her old affection.
Leo smiled, satisfied, and left.
Once he was gone, Ashley collapsed, drenched in cold sweat.
The next morning, Sharon got a call from Paul asking her to come to the office.
When she arrived, the receptionist led her to the conference room.
Seeing Seb's grim face, Sharon had a bad feeling.
Paul looked at her and said, "Sharon, Ashley claims you sent an email to someone at Pacific Wellness Institute. To keep her quiet, you gave her $200,000 in hush money. What do you have to say?"
Sharon stared at Ashley, shocked and disbelieving.
"Didn't you say the $200,000 was for your dad's surgery and you were borrowing it?"
Ashley looked down, avoiding Sharon's gaze. "That was hush money, Sharon. I'm sorry, but I can't go against my conscience. Sending the company's experimental data to others is illegal."
Sharon was speechless. 'Last night, after Ashley's call, I transferred the money without a second thought, and now it's hush money?'
"Why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to you?" Sharon asked, eyes full of disappointment.
Ashley bit her lip and finally looked at Sharon. "Sharon, you've been good to me, but I can't ignore right and wrong. You've cost the company billions. I can't cover for you just because we're friends."
Seeing Sharon's agitation, Paul spoke up, "Sharon, do you have anything to say?"
Ignoring Paul, Sharon looked at Ashley. "Are you sure that $200,000 was hush money?"
Ashley's expression faltered before she nodded. "I'm sure."
"Fine," Sharon said, pulling out her phone. "I recorded our call last night."
Ashley's face went pale, and Leo's expression darkened. He hadn't expected Sharon to be so cautious.
Sharon placed her phone on the table and played the recording. The conversation echoed in the silent room, and Ashley's face turned ashen.
When the recording finished, Sharon put her phone away and looked at Ashley coldly. "If you don't admit it, I have the timestamp, or we can call the police to retrieve the call records."
With each word, Ashley's face grew paler.
The room went dead quiet, all eyes on Ashley. The mocking and suspicious gazes felt like daggers.
"It seems Ashley leaked the data. Why else would she frame Sharon?"
"Women always scheming against each other. So troublesome!"
"If she did it, she should pay for the billions lost. If not, let her go to jail!"
The chatter crushed Ashley.
She looked at Sharon with tear-filled eyes, full of guilt. "Sharon, I'm sorry. The real person who leaked the data is..."
Before she could finish, she saw Leo playing with a gold ring. Her hand clenched tightly.
Ashley knew Leo was threatening her. If she revealed it was him, Harper would be in danger.
Tears welled up as she choked out, "I leaked the data. I'll accept whatever punishment the company gives me!"
Sharon looked at her coldly. She had trusted Ashley, but Ashley had betrayed her.
"Why did you leak the company's data to Pacific Wellness Institute?"
Ashley was momentarily stunned before averting her gaze. "What else? Money."
"But the company investigated. Neither you nor your family received any large sums recently. How did you contact them, and why use my computer? Also, why release the data now? It doesn't benefit them."
Sharon instinctively felt it wasn't Ashley. Someone was setting her up, and she always trusted her instincts.
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