Chapter 236 Debra's Dismissal

Overnight, Debra blew up the trending topics again, and every time it was some jaw-dropping scandal.

And get this, she single-handedly tanked the Wellington Group's stock by hundreds of millions in just one day. That was quite a "stellar achievement."

That night, Ada went public, saying she was ditching the hotel partnership with the Wellington family.

Next day, the drama kept brewing, Wellington Group's stock nosedived, and the internet was roasting Debra non-stop.

[Ms. Taylor is gorgeous, sweet, and talented. She can run a hotel and design jewelry. But some folks only know how to be shady and sneaky. Ada's first trip to Mugden, and it's an international embarrassment!]

[Don't even try to compare Debra to our lovely Alex, okay? She ain't even close!]

[Debra's antics don't shock me one bit. When the top's crooked, the bottom's bound to follow. Everyone gets it.]

[Is there anyone decent in the Wellington family? What a bunch of villains.]

Three days after the mess, Edward flexed his presidential muscle and called an emergency high-level meeting without giving Patrick a heads-up.

At the conference table, Debra's seat was empty. She'd been playing the sick card, probably too embarrassed to show her face.

"I'll keep this short," Edward said, leaning forward, his fingers interlaced on the table, his deep eyes radiating authority. "I'm sure everyone here knows what went down at the last KS World Hotel charity event."

The room was dead silent, everyone on the same page.

"Now, on behalf of the Wellington Group, I'm announcing the consequences," Edward's eyes darkened as he signaled Bart, who immediately pulled out a document and started reading,

"Effective immediately, the Wellington Group announces the punishment for Director Miss Debra Wellington for causing severe negative impacts on the group. Miss Debra Wellington is removed from her director position, her hotel project planning rights are revoked, and she must actively cooperate with the police investigation. The serious consequences of her mishandling Ada's wedding planning are considered her personal actions, and the Wellington Group will not be held responsible. Any losses caused to KS WORLD Hotel due to infringement of their rights will be borne by Miss Debra Wellington herself, and the group will not provide any assistance!"

Everyone was floored! The room erupted!

Debra was the chairman's daughter, Edward's sister. Even if they were half-siblings, this punishment was brutal!

"No! I do not accept this punishment!" A sharp, piercing voice cut through the noise as Tiffany, decked out in jewels, stormed in furiously.

Edward shot her a cold look, his voice dripping with icy disdain, "People who ain't part of this meeting need to get out. Bart."

"Got it, Edward!" Bart stepped up, blocking Tiffany, "Please leave now."

"Who do you think you are, telling me to leave?" Tiffany, fuming over the punishment, lashed out at Bart, grabbing and yanking his collar, "I'm the chairman's wife of the Wellington Group! This whole place belongs to the Wellington family, why should I leave?"

Everyone in the room turned to watch the furious Tiffany.

If she hadn't mentioned she was Patrick's wife, folks would've thought she was just some crazy lady.

Edward's lips curled into a slow, mocking smile, his eyes cold, "The Wellington Group doesn't have a position called 'the chairman's wife.'"

"Edward, you!" Tiffany's eyes filled with tears of rage.

The room filled with low chuckles.

"I've already issued the official document about Debra's punishment, and it'll hit everyone's inbox soon." Edward leaned back, his eyes sharp as a blade, "This punishment isn't a joke. It won't change just because you don't like it, Aunt Tiffany."

Tiffany's face went pale, like she'd been smacked upside the head, stumbling back a step, her eyes burning with hatred.

'Edward, in front of everyone, calls me 'Aunt Tiffany' instead of 'Mrs. Wellington'? He's totally humiliating me!' Tiffany thought.

Sure enough, everyone's gaze shifted, showing traces of contempt.

"Even if you're the president, you can't just handle the group's directors on a whim. That's the chairman's call! How can you act first and report later?" Tiffany had no choice but to bring up Patrick to try and shut him down.

Edward's lips lifted in a slight, weighty smirk, "Aunt Tiffany, are you saying the chairman will let Debra slide? Even if she's involved in commercial theft, fraud, and tanking the Wellington Group's stock overnight, the chairman will still keep her as a director just because she's his daughter?"

Each question was like a knife, cutting deep!

The room's eyes turned sharp, scrutinizing Tiffany.

She was so mad she felt a chill all over, her scalp tingling with shame and anger, like she was being stripped naked in public!

"I know, there's no absolute fairness in the workplace. The fairness we see is like a fancy robe, but underneath, it's full of lice." Edward's eyes blazed, his words powerful, "But as long as I'm in the president's seat, I won't let those lice come out and cause trouble. As long as I'm here, they'll never see the light of day."

He didn't curse Tiffany with a single word, but she felt like she'd been thoroughly cursed out.

As his words hung in the air, the room went dead silent.

A few seconds later, the attendees, moved by Edward's righteous speech, erupted into thunderous applause.

After the meeting, word of Tiffany's meltdown spread like wildfire through the group, and everyone gathered to mock her clownish behavior.

Meanwhile, the news of Debra's dismissal hit everyone's inbox.

Back in the office, Bart was practically bouncing with joy, "Mr. Wellington! Seeing Tiffany take such a big hit and become the laughingstock of the whole group makes me so happy!"

Edward gave a faint glance.

"Has the investigation started?" Edward asked, walking over to the sofa and sitting down gracefully.

"I heard William's already handed the evidence to the prosecution, and they've issued a travel ban. Debra's got nowhere to run now," Bart said, grinning.

Edward's eyes were deep, his expression still calm.

After all, it wasn't him who dealt with Tiffany and Debra, but Evelyn.

He just wanted to help her out a bit, do what he could.

"By the way, Mr. Wellington, I checked the hospital records after that day. Mrs. Wellington had a stomach spasm and stayed in the hospital until late at night," Bart said, frowning.

Edward's thin lips tightened, his heart gripped by an inescapable worry, tightening more and more.

"So, do you want to find an excuse to visit Mrs. Wellington? Or should I buy some medicine, so you can send it to her?" Bart asked.

"Do I need an excuse to see her?" Edward's brows furrowed with irritation.

Bart quickly backtracked, "Ah, no, no."

"Besides, why should I send it to her?" Edward's stiff lips twitched, his dark eyes bitter, "Doesn't she have Gilbert by her side? And if not, she has a bunch of brothers. Why should I go?"

Bart blurted out, "Mr. Wellington! You have no favorability left in Mrs. Wellington's heart! If you don't go now, you won't be able to win her back!"

Before he could finish, Edward shot him a murderous glare.

"Divorced means divorced. I never planned to win her back," Edward's heart was stifled, "If she was mine, she wouldn't leave me. If she wasn't, chasing her is pointless. Letting her go, I have never regretted it, never."

Tiffany returned to Riverside Villa full of resentment, crying as soon as she entered, and clung to Patrick in the study, sobbing.

"Patrick! How can Edward be so heartless! Debra is his own sister! It's bad enough that he didn't help, but how could he also dismiss Debra? How can Debra hold her head up in the group in the future? He wants to dominate the group, and since he became president, he has increasingly disregarded you!" Tiffany wailed.

"The dismissal order was given by me," Patrick, feeling annoyed, gently pushed her away and said, "I told Edward to dismiss Debra."

Strangely, Tiffany's tears used to work on him every time, but now seeing her cry made him uncomfortable, wanting to find a quiet place alone.

At times like these, he couldn't help but think of Edward's mother, Amanda, a woman with a cold and stubborn nature.

She never shed a tear for him, nor did she ever look at him with the affectionate, clingy eyes Tiffany did.

Patrick's biggest regret in life was that he never truly conquered Amanda.

And Tiffany showed up at that sensitive time, satisfying his vanity and desire for conquest as a man.

If only Amanda had softened towards Patrick back then, they wouldn't have ended up like this.

He clearly loved Amanda too, even more so.

"Patrick, what did you say?" Tiffany raised her tear-swollen face, full of shock.

"After this incident, how can I still support Debra's rise? If I forcefully support her, where is my authority as chairman? Where is my prestige? How would the outside world view the Wellington Group?" Patrick's voice was cold and stern, clearly showing anger.

Tiffany tearfully questioned, "Is the child more important, or is your chairman's prestige more important?"

"I am the child's father!" Patrick turned away, pinching his throbbing temples, "But I am also the head of the Wellington Group! You can spoil the child endlessly, but I cannot disregard the entire Wellington family's reputation!"

"Patrick! How can you say such things? Are you tired of me? Do you not love me anymore?" Tiffany, in a fit of anger, asked a very foolish question, one that many men find most annoying.

"Now Charlie is clearly backing Evelyn to the end, and he might even sue us. I'm busy and stressed, I don't have time to argue with you about this!" Patrick, full of resentment, suddenly stood up, causing Tiffany to fall onto the sofa, "Instead of crying and making a scene here, why don't you properly discipline Debra! Over the years, how many messes has Debra caused? How many troubles has she stirred up? When she was young, I helped her with these messes. Now she's twenty-five, do I still have to help her with no reason?"

Tiffany said, shivering in fear, "Patrick."

"I just don't understand. Why is Amanda's child so worry-free? Over the years, Edward has managed the group so well, even surpassing the always equal Alexander Group! But what can Debra do besides causing trouble for the family? For the next few days, don't go running around. Stay home and reflect on yourself!" With that, Patrick decisively left the room.

The door slammed shut, and Tiffany's bloodshot eyes filled with angry and sorrowful tears, rolling down in large drops.

"Amanda, Amanda, you still can't forget her! But what good is it if you can't forget? She still died at my hands!" Tiffany cried and laughed, looking like a mentally disturbed patient.

She thought of what Edward said to her at the meeting today, and her anger grew. "Amanda, it's not enough that you're dead. I want your only son, Edward, to be destroyed by me too!"