Chapter 264 I Choose to Resign
The room went dead silent. Everyone's eyes were glued to Adeline, trying to read her mind.
"Adeline," Jasper said from the head of the table, his gaze cold and indifferent. "What's going on?"
Yesterday, when he picked her up from the police station, she seemed genuinely shocked by the video online. It didn't look like she was faking it.
But now, the person who uploaded the video was Adeline's closest assistant, Anne.
Either Adeline was a master manipulator, fooling even him, or Anne had been bribed.
Jasper glanced at Anne, who stood next to Adeline. She looked pale, drenched in sweat, and trembling. If she wasn't gripping the table, she might've collapsed.
Jasper frowned. An assistant like Anne, who wore her emotions on her sleeve, couldn't have been bought to betray Adeline.
So, he turned his gaze back to Adeline. Their eyes locked.
Adeline clenched her fists at her sides. She took a deep breath, her words coming out painfully slow: "I had no idea about this. And Anne didn't upload any video."
Adeline turned to Anne, "Anne, tell everyone what you just told me outside!"
Anne hesitated, her voice shaking, "Mrs. Foster said her email wouldn't work, so I helped her..."
Stella, from across the room, raised an eyebrow, her voice dripping with disdain, "What nonsense is this? Our network has never failed. How could an email go wrong?"
Anne glared at Stella, tears welling up. "It was you!"
"I'm just an assistant. Without your permission, how could I touch your computer?"
"You said the email wouldn't work and asked me to do it for you!"
Stella smirked, leaning into Jasper's embrace, her eyes full of contempt, "Such a baseless accusation."
"Even if I had trouble sending an email, I'd contact IT or maintenance."
"Why would I come to you? You're just Adeline's assistant."
Anne, feeling hopeless, broke down in tears, "I didn't do it!"
"I work for Adeline, whom I've always respected. How could I film a video accusing her of plagiarism?"
"Mrs. Foster, you can't frame me like this!"
"Anne," Adeline frowned, grabbed Anne's hand tightly, and shook her head. "Don't panic."
Then, she looked at Jasper and said, "Mr. Foster, we'll find out the truth, whether Anne is responsible or not."
"Adeline's right." As Adeline finished, Stella couldn't help but smile elegantly, "Anne is just a pawn. The real villain is the one pulling the strings."
"Yes!" Scarlett quickly chimed in, "Anne is young and naive, easily manipulated."
"We need to expose the person using Anne as a pawn!"
"This person is despicable, making Anne upload the video with Mrs. Foster's computer, trying to frame Mrs. Foster for leaking company secrets!"
As Scarlett spoke, the room buzzed with whispers.
Anne was close to only Adeline in the company. So, it was obvious who the mastermind was.
Adeline smiled wryly. Though no one outright accused her, the implications were clear in everyone's words.
So, why not step up herself?
Taking a deep breath, Adeline walked confidently to Jasper. "Since everyone thinks I had Anne do this, fine." She turned to Lucia. "Go get the computer."
Lucia hesitated, then quickly left with a male employee to fetch it.
Stella gave Adeline a light smile. "Miss Wilson, what are you..."
"Maybe you doesn't know?" Adeline smirked. "The man behind you, Mr. Foster, is actually a skilled hacker."
"If Anne uploaded the video, her account must've been logged into on your computer. Otherwise, she couldn't have done it."
"And if you set up a program to auto-upload videos, it could still go live even if you weren't at the computer."
"But every action leaves a trace. Even if you delete the software, a skilled hacker can find traces."
Stella's face began to pale, while Scarlett, standing nearby, also looked uneasy.
Soon, Lucia and the male employee brought over the computer labeled 52.
Adeline chuckled, glancing at Jasper. "Mr. Foster, please."
But Jasper stayed seated, his deep, unreadable eyes meeting hers. "How did you know I'm a hacker?"
Adeline paused, instinctively glancing at Ryan behind Jasper, who quickly shook his head, signaling her not to reveal what she knew.
Adeline understood and smiled slightly at Jasper. "Maybe you don't know how?"
"Maybe I overestimated you. Someone who could match my hacker friend might not be you."
Jasper stared at her, his eyes deep and impenetrable.
Adeline yawned, then turned to Lucia. "Contact the IT department. Find a skilled programmer."
Lucia hesitated, then got up to make the call.
As she reached the door, Jasper, who had been silent, chuckled softly. "That's enough."
He glanced briefly at Anne. "Regarding filming a video, uploading it with someone else's computer, and framing others, because you're young and this is your first offense, I'll deduct three months of your bonus as punishment."
Jasper rubbed his temples. "I'm tired. No one brings up this again."
Anne hesitated, then turned to Adeline with a dazed look. Adeline narrowed her eyes.
Jasper's attitude was clear. He knew Stella was behind this; by claiming he didn't know how to hack and lightly punishing Anne, he was protecting Stella.
Adeline clenched her fists.
Stella had schemed against her with such cunning. Should these matters be dismissed just because Stella failed?
Taking a deep breath, Adeline spoke solemnly. "Mr. Foster, Anne didn't film the video or frame anyone."
"As the CEO of Foster Group, you should be fair and just, not arbitrarily convict employees to protect certain individuals." Adeline took off her ID badge and slammed it on the conference table, making a loud noise. "If you don't cast out a thorough investigation, my assistant will bear a false accusation. So, I resign."
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
