Chapter 133
Bella's eyes flashed with a hint of panic, but she tried hard to calm herself down.
Bella looked at Emily with cold eyes and said slowly, "Ms. Johnson, I don't know why you're saying this, but I'm sure Elia is a woman in her forties. If you don't believe me, I can ask her to take a photo with me next time we meet."
Lauren's face also showed anger as she said coldly, "Ms. Johnson, you're my guest, and I don't want to start a conflict. But if you're looking for trouble, the Redstone family won't be back down!"
Emily's face remained expressionless, her tone full of contempt. "There's one more thing I haven't mentioned. After the competition ended today, you were waiting in the lounge for the results. When the results came out after 4 p.m., my dad told me Elia had left around 2 p.m. How could you have seen her?"
Based on these two incidents, Emily was certain that Bella was lying.
Bella's face turned pale. She didn't know Elia, but she couldn't admit it now, or she would become the laughingstock of everyone.
With tears in Bella's eyes, she looked at Emily with a grievance and said, "Ms. Johnson, I don't know why you're doing this. Is it because I won first place in the design competition and you only got third place? Are you jealous of me, so you deliberately caused a scene at my celebration?"
Emily sneered, full of disdain and indifference in her eyes, and directly threw the fake signature on the ground. "What do I have to be jealous of? Jealous of your lying? If you didn't lie about knowing Elia and even made a fake signature to deceive us, I wouldn't even bother with you!"
If it were any other matter, Emily might have let it go, but Bella claiming to know Elia was something Emily couldn't tolerate.
"Do you have any evidence that I gave you a fake signature? How can you prove yourself? Do you think just saying it makes it true? "
"This design competition was hosted by the Johnson Group, and she was a judge. I asked my dad, and he told me. Do you think my dad would lie to me?" Emily replied.
As Emily's words fell, the expressions on everyone's faces in the room changed instantly.
The Johnson family must have met Elia, and there was no need to lie about it. If Bella really knew Elia, she would have immediately contacted her to testify for her instead of being unable to say anything powerful.
Lauren's face turned red as she saw her friends' disdainful gazes, and she couldn't help but look at Bella.
"Bella, you need to explain. Is the signature you gave me real or not?" one of her friends began.
Bella bit her lip, about to speak, when someone in the crowd suddenly spoke up, "I remember JM is a brand founded by Elia. Ms. Mellon must know Elia. Why don't we call Ms. Mellon and find out who's lying?"
Upon hearing this, Bella's face turned ashen. If they called Amelia, Bella's lack of acquaintance with Elia would be exposed.
Lauren, seeing Bella's expression, knew immediately that the signature was fake. Ffeeling a surge of anger, she never expected Bella to do such a thing and embarrass her in front of so many people. However, even though she knew Bella was lying, Lauren couldn't let the matter be exposed.
But Emily didn't give them time to react. She immediately dialed Amelia's number. "Ms. Mellon, I'm Emily Johnson. Someone is using a fake signature of Elia, claiming she's in her forties, but as far as I know, Elia is in her twenties, right?"
After asking, Emily put the call on speakerphone, and everyone's eyes were fixed on Emily's phone.
Soon, Amelia's voice came through. "Ms. Johnson, Elia is indeed in her twenties. Can you tell me the name of the liar who used Elia's fake signature? I'll contact Elia to see if she wants to press charges."
Emily raised an eyebrow and said, "It's not convenient to disclose that. Once Elia's age is confirmed, the liar won't be able to deceive anyone any more. Thank you, Ms. Mellon."
After hanging up, Emily looked at Bella with a smile. "Miss Redstone, do you have anything else to say?"
Bella's face was pale, her eyes filled with anger as she stared at Emily, but she couldn't utter a word.
Although Lauren's friends didn't say anything, Lauren could tell from their expressions that they would surely mock her behind her back.
For a moment, the entire banquet hall fell into a profound silence.
Finally, Emily spoke first, "I won't disturb everyone any longer. I wish you all a pleasant evening."
Garcia quickly added, "Let's not dwell on this. Bella is not that mature, and it's normal to be concerned about saving face. Let's talk about something else."
The atmosphere gradually livened up, but Lauren and Bella knew that their dignity had been completely tarnished tonight.
Lauren suppressed her anger until the guests left, and then she slapped Bella.
"Mom!"
Bella covered her face in shock, looking at Lauren with disbelief and confusion, her eyes filled with grievance and incomprehension. "Why did you hit me?"
Julian, who was nearby, was also startled. "Lauren, are you out of your mind?"
Gritting her teeth, Lauren sneered, "If you didn't know Elia, that would have been fine. But making a fake signature to deceive me and embarrass me in front of all the guests—Bella, how could you stoop so low!"
Bella looked aggrieved and cried, "Mom, I didn't want to disappoint you, but I didn't expect Emily to be so ruthless, publicly exposing me. I'm sorry for letting you down."
Julian, looking surprised, furrowed his brow. "What fake signature?"
At that time, Julian was busy discussing business with partners and didn't pay attention to them.
Lauren sneered, explaining the situation to Julian, then stormed off to the bedroom in a fit of anger.
Julian remained silent for a moment, then looked at Bella. "Bella, this isn't a big deal; don't let it bother you. Everyone will forget about it soon."
Bella nodded, lowering her gaze. "Dad, I understand."
"All right, I have work to do. I won't be back tonight. Get some rest early." With that, Julian walked out.
After Julian left, Bella returned to the bedroom with a sullen face, feeling angry. She thought it was Lauren who had pressured her to get the signature, but now she was blamed for everything.
Her phone suddenly rang. Seeing it was Jasmine, whom she hadn't contacted for a long time, Bella's eyes showed a hint of surprise.
As she answered, Jasmine's voice came through with a smile. "Bella, I heard you won the national design competition. Congratulations!"
"Thank you, Jasmine. How have you been lately?" Bella asked.
"It's been good. I've filmed a few movies recently and hired a performance coach. After the movies are released, it should be easier for me to get more roles," Jasmine replied.
Bella smiled and said, "That's great. You're so beautiful. You'll surely be loved in the entertainment industry."
"Thank you for your wishes. I have a night shoot coming up, so I need to get ready. Bye!" Jasmine said, her voice filled with delight.
After hanging up, Bella opened her chat with Felix, who hadn't attended the event tonight or sent any congratulations.
It seemed that Felix's heart was truly leaning toward Gianna.
Bella's gaze turned cold as she stared at the screen. After a while, a cold smile crept onto her lips. Bella made her decision that no matter the cost, she wouldn't let Felix be with Gianna.
Meanwhile, Gianna had just finished showering and was about to go to bed when Faith called.
"Gianna, I have something interesting to tell you," Faith began.
