Chapter 238 Escalating Conflict
The Clark family's servants were totally floored, gasping and covering their mouths in shock!
Tiffany, feeling all high and mighty with Patrick's backing, was trying to stir up some serious drama in the Clark family.
Everyone, including a stunned Sophia, turned to look at Jessica.
"Jessica, is what Mrs. Wellington said true?" Sophia asked.
Jessica quickly put on her best innocent act, pouting and denying, "Sophia, I swear I didn't do it! The whole idea of faking jewelry to win over Ada was Debra's plan from the start!"
Debra, seeing Jessica twist the truth, was livid. She glared at Jessica and shouted, "Jessica, you're lying! You were the one who said you wanted to help me win over Ada and take down Evelyn, and that's why you came up with the idea to fake Alexa's jewelry!"
"Evelyn? What's she got to do with this?" Sophia asked, surprised.
"I..." Jessica was momentarily speechless, a thin layer of sweat forming on her forehead.
'This idiot Debra, bringing up Evelyn like that, she's really trying to ruin everything!' Jessica thought.
"Mrs. Wellington, do you think this is the place for you to shout and scream?"
A cold, bone-chilling voice suddenly cut through the tension, like a sharp sword through Debra's heaving chest!
Eric's deep eyes and a rebellious smirk appeared as he walked in smoothly from the front door and said, "If you don't mind losing face, don't drag the Clark family's dignity down with you."
"Mr. Clark!" The butler and the servants all bowed and greeted him in unison.
"Eric!" Jessica looked at him like he was her savior, her eyes brimming with tears.
'Eric has always hated Debra and spoiled me since we were kids; he'll definitely have my back!' Jessica thought.
"Mr. Clark! You and Edward are like brothers, and the Wellington family and the Clark family have a good relationship. How can you be so rude to me?" Tiffany was furious.
"My friendship with Edward is between us, what does it have to do with you? You're not the one who raised Edward." Eric tilted his neck and sneered, "I don't usually see you being so good to Edward, but now you're using him to make a point. Do you think I'll fall for that?"
Tiffany never expected Eric to have two faces! He was polite to her at the Wellington family, but here he was a completely different person, showing undisguised disdain and disgust!
She had Patrick backing her now, but if one day Patrick stopped favoring her, she would be nothing in the eyes of these younger people.
Tiffany felt a chill down her spine, like she had stepped into a void.
"Eric! Debra has gone too far! She got herself into trouble and now wants to drag me down with her, falsely accusing me!" Jessica ran into Eric's arms, hugging his waist tightly, "Eric, I was wrong. I know I was wrong! You told me not to hang out with Debra, but I didn't listen. Now I've suffered and realized how foolish I was! I won't act on my own anymore. I won't be willful! I'll listen to you from now on!"
"Jessica, is what Debra said true?" Eric's penetrating gaze fixed on Jessica, his voice tense with suppressed emotion, "Were you the one who had someone forge the jewelry to harm Evelyn?"
"No! It wasn't me! It was all Debra's idea!" Jessica's face turned pale, and she shook her head frantically.
"Stop lying, Jessica!"
Debra pointed angrily at Jessica's fake innocent act, her eyes blazing with rage. "The guy who forged the jewelry is Alexa's apprentice, a Yatuok native! Even if I wanted to fake it, I could only find someone local because of the rush. How could I find someone in Yatuok? You studied there, only you have the connections! If you don't fess up, I'll bring that guy Tyler here, and we can hash it out face-to-face!"
"Hash it out?" Jessica's eyes widened in anger. "You dare say that 'cause you must've prepped in advance. Maybe you've already bribed that guy, and bringing him here is just to frame me!"
"Miss Clark, your plan to kill two birds with one stone is pretty slick!" Tiffany knew arguing was pointless, so she shifted the heat to Evelyn. "You used Debra as a pawn against Evelyn, trying to use our competition with KS World Hotel to trip her up. If the plan worked, you'd be thrilled. If it flopped, you wouldn't lose anything and could blame Debra! If Evelyn weren't Alexa herself, your scheme would've worked!"
Jessica's heart pounded, her face turning red. "Mrs. Wellington! I respect you as an elder, how can you slander me like this?"
"Jessica, were you really plotting against Ms. Taylor?" Sophia asked, utterly shocked. Her health was already fragile, and the shock made her grab the stair railing to steady herself.
"Sophia! Eric! I have no beef with Evelyn, why would I go after her?" Jessica stomped her foot in frustration, throwing a tantrum at Eric like she did when she was a kid.
In the past, whenever she threw a fit like this, Eric would be helpless.
No matter how big her screw-up, as long as she threw a tantrum, Eric would always end up comforting her and letting it slide.
But Eric's gaze on her now made her heart tremble with fear.
"No beef? You have a huge grudge!" Debra decided to spill all of Jessica's dirty thoughts. "Because you like Edward, you're jealous that Evelyn is his ex-wife! You saw Edward treating Evelyn well and ignoring you, so you schemed against her to satisfy your grudge!"
"But you forgot one thing." Tiffany, enraged, laughed and escalated the conflict again. "Evelyn is not only important to Edward but also to Mr. Clark. If I remember right, Mr. Clark even pursued Evelyn, right? Although he didn't succeed, I believe Mr. Clark is a man of honor and wouldn't let anyone harm the woman he likes, right?"
"You, you all!" Jessica's lips trembled with anger, her fists clenched tightly. "Eric! Don't believe them! I do like Edward, but they are divorced, why would I target Evelyn?"
Eric took a deep breath, his handsome face darkening like a stormy sky.
Despite Jessica's desperate denials, he couldn't bring himself to believe her.
Just as the tension hit its peak, Eric's secretary, Ellen, hurried in.
"Eric, the police are here," Ellen said and glanced at Debra. "They must've been to the Wellington family and found out Debra was here, so they followed."
"Police." Debra's legs went weak, almost collapsing!
Tiffany's face also turned pale, and she clung tightly to Debra's trembling arm, shouting, "Debra!"
As soon as the words fell, two plainclothes officers swiftly entered the scene and said seriously, "We've received a report that you are involved in the KS WORLD Hotel commercial secret leak case. Please come with us to assist in the investigation!"
