Chapter 161

Ethan rolled his eyes, fuming with anger.

Rachel ignored him and turned to Michael. "Mr. Smith, I submitted my proposal, but it got swapped at your company. As the boss, you gotta take responsibility, right? Otherwise, who's gonna trust the Smith Family in the future? Who'd dare leave their stuff with you?"

"Ms. Williams is right," someone chimed in. "Mr. Smith, you really should take responsibility for this."

Michael straightened up. "The Smith Family is mainly at fault here. I apologize to Ms. Williams for our negligence." With that, he stood up and apologized to Rachel.

David followed suit. "Ms. Williams, it was my oversight that led to your proposal being swapped. I'm really sorry."

Seeing the two apologize, Rachel's expression softened a lot. She then turned to Ethan. "Mr. Brown, Mr. Smith has apologized. What about you?"

"You want me to apologize too?" Ethan's eyes widened in disbelief.

Rachel smirked. "Why not? Even though you didn't swap the proposal, who knows if you told Miss Brown to do it? And you tried to cover it up until David suggested checking the surveillance footage. So, shouldn't you apologize?"

"Ms. Williams is right. You kept insisting the proposal was yours. We know what you were trying to do, so just apologize. It'll save you from more embarrassment," someone mocked.

Ethan trembled with anger but couldn't argue, as it would only make him look worse. He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and looked at Rachel with a dark expression. "Fine, I apologize. I'm sorry. Is that enough?"

"Alright then. Even though your apology seems half-hearted, it's commendable that you swallowed your pride to give it," Rachel said with a smile.

Ethan was furious, thinking, 'I'll make you pay for this.'

"David," Michael spoke up, "From now on, if Mandy comes to the company, she has to make an appointment. Don't let her in directly."

David adjusted his glasses. "Yes."

"Michael, you..." Ethan looked at Michael in shock.

Rachel was also a bit surprised. Michael glanced at her before looking at Ethan and said indifferently, "This is the punishment for Mandy swapping the proposal."

Ethan's lips moved, but no words came out. Rachel looked at Michael with newfound respect. She hadn't expected him, who always indulged Mandy, to actually punish her. It was truly rare.

Ethan took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Michael, I'm not feeling well. I'll take my leave now." He found an excuse to leave to avoid further embarrassment.

Michael knew he was avoiding the situation and nodded slightly. "David, see Mr. Brown out."

"Yes." David responded and made a gesture for Ethan to follow.

After Ethan left, Michael clapped his hands. "Alright, let's continue the meeting." Rachel then sat down and resumed the discussion.

Ethan stormed back to the Brown Manor. Charlotte was applying a face mask and was surprised to see him return. "Honey, why are you back so soon? Is the meeting over?"

"Damn it, that meeting nearly drove me crazy," Ethan threw his briefcase onto the sofa.

Charlotte took off her face mask. "What happened?"

Ethan didn't answer and asked menacingly, "Where's Mandy?"

"She's in her room," Charlotte replied. Ethan narrowed his eyes and headed upstairs.

Seeing him so angry, Charlotte's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Mandy did something to provoke him? Thinking this, Charlotte quickly stood up and followed him.

Ethan arrived outside Mandy's room and knocked on the door forcefully.

The next second, the door opened, and Mandy appeared in a nightgown, looking sleepy. "Dad, what's wrong?"

Seeing her like this made Ethan even angrier. He had been humiliated at the meeting while she slept soundly at home.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Finally, he couldn't hold back and slapped her. Mandy was knocked to the ground, completely stunned.

Charlotte, who had rushed over, screamed and quickly went to hold her. "Mandy."

Mandy covered her face, looking up in disbelief at the stern-faced Ethan. Charlotte was the same, shocked and angry. "Ethan, are you crazy? Why did you hit her?"

"Why did I hit her? Ask her what she did!" Ethan's hand trembled as he pointed at Mandy.

With Charlotte's help, Mandy stood up, tears welling up in her eyes. "Dad, what exactly did I do?"

"Yes, tell us." Charlotte caressed Mandy's face, tears streaming down. "Mandy, does it hurt?"

Her delicate face bore several finger marks, a clear sign of how hard Ethan had slapped her. "It hurts," Mandy bit her lip, tears streaming down her face as well.

"You deserved it!" Ethan said coldly. "You told me I could secure the cooperation slot. I thought you had convinced Michael to make an exception for me, but I didn't expect you to have swapped Rachel's proposal."

Hearing this, guilt flashed in Mandy's eyes, and Charlotte was taken aback. But soon, Charlotte said nonchalantly, "So what if she swapped it? It's not a big deal. Did you have to hit her?"

"But her mistake was being careless. She sent David away and stayed alone in the reception room with surveillance cameras to swap the proposals. Isn't that just handing over the evidence?" Ethan looked at Mandy coldly.

Mandy's body stiffened. "I... I didn't know there were cameras."

"Do you know how embarrassed I was when Rachel pointed out the proposal wasn't mine? There were over twenty executives there. How am I supposed to make it in the business world now?" Ethan said angrily.

Mandy lowered her head, not daring to speak. Charlotte patted her back. "Ethan, it's not that serious."

"How is it not? I've lost all my dignity. Everyone knows I have a daughter who swaps other people's proposals. I've become the laughingstock of Summit Ridge District."

Ethan pointed at Charlotte. "If you go out and chat with the socialites now, they'll all look at you with ridicule."

Charlotte immediately became nervous. "No way?"

"Of course, they will." Ethan sneered.

Charlotte believed him and looked at Mandy with a complex expression.

Mandy sensed that Charlotte was starting to blame her too. She bit her lip and immediately cried, "But I did it for you, Dad. I just wanted you to get the collaboration slot."

Hearing this, Charlotte's blame dissipated, and she nodded. "Yes, Ethan, Mandy just made a mistake with good intentions."

Ethan mocked, "It's because you always spoil her that she's become like this. She's not only bad but also careless. One day, she'll drag the whole family down!"

Mandy's eyes widened. "Dad?" She couldn't believe her father saw her this way.

For a moment, a surge of hatred filled Mandy's heart, making her eyes turn red. To avoid Ethan noticing, she quickly lowered her head, looking both aggrieved and sad.

Ethan rubbed his temples, his head throbbing with anger. "Stay at home for the next few days and reflect on your actions," he said.

With that, he turned and left, planning to go downstairs to take some headache medicine.

After Ethan left, Charlotte immediately comforted Mandy. "Mandy, your dad was just angry. He didn't mean what he said. Don't take it to heart."

Mandy nodded, choking back her tears. "Mom, I want to be alone. Please leave."

"Alright." Charlotte sighed and agreed. She went downstairs and saw Ethan sitting on the sofa, taking medicine. She had initially wanted to blame him, but seeing this, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Charlotte sat down next to him. "Ethan, Mandy knows she was wrong. Please forgive her this time."

Ethan sighed. "I'm just afraid it might happen again. After all, she's not our biological daughter."

"Ethan!" Charlotte exclaimed as she interrupted him, "You can't say this again!"

Ethan shook his head. "I'm just saying, we need to be careful. If this continues, there will be problems. I can't trust her with the TriStar Corporation. Luckily, we still have Grace."

Charlotte wiped her tears. "It's been almost two days. Why hasn't Grace come to find us? Ethan, I'm afraid she thinks we've abandoned her. We need to reach out and let her know we haven't given up on her."

Ethan nodded. "Alright, I'll have my assistant post a notice online. You take a picture of your necklace for me."

"Okay!" Charlotte said, breaking into a smile as she quickly agreed.

At the second-floor railing, Mandy heard them planning to find Grace. Her hand on the railing clenched tightly.

As she suspected, Grace's existence was not a good thing. Grace hadn't even returned yet and was already vying for their parents' love and the inheritance of the TriStar Corporation. So, she couldn't let this sister who competed with her come back!

Mandy went into her room and called. "Did you find the person I asked you to find?"