Chapter 15 No Holding Back

To everyone's surprise, Emelie simply stated, "Ten minutes is all I need." Daphne was caught off guard, and William's brows knitted. Emelie bore the pain in her leg as she leaned on the bed railing for support and approached the factory manager. "Manager, I need to speak with you in private." "Of course, go ahead," the factory manager quickly responded. Emelie said in a low voice, "Could you please call over the blogger who was taking photos in the factory? I saw him helping with bringing the injured to the hospital, and he should still be in the emergency room." The factory manager paused, then whispered, "Alright, I'll go get him now." Emelie nooded. "Thank you." Their whispered conversation went unheard by the rest. William's gaze on Emelie was cold and detached, while Daphne appeared visibly anxious. Was Emelie just bluffing, or did she genuinely have something up her sleeve? The factory manager wasn't gone for long before he returned with a black bag, piquing everyone's curiosity about its contents. He informed Emelie, "The young man said he knew why you were looking for him. Since he was unable to come, he gave this to me instead of coming himself." Emelie took the bag, opened it, and found a camera inside—the exact reason she sought him out. Surprisingly, the man had anticipated her request. Emelie began to search through the photos without wasting time on further thought. She had been right to suspect she was the focus of the photos in the camera, with the most recent ones predominantly of her. Daphne couldn't help but inquire, "What's that camera for?" "It belonged to a young man who photographed the boat today. It's his camera. I'm unsure why the secretary needed it. Maybe he captured something significant," the manager explained. Daphne clenched her fingers tightly out of sight, a flicker of unease in her eyes. Emelie scrolled through the albums until she stumbled upon a video. After watching it briefly, she paused it. She faced the camera toward Daphne, and confronted her, "You claim to have seen me tampering with the rope, yet how do you explain this?" The footage was captured perfectly, showing Emelie and Daphne near rope number 4, and Emelie's hands never once reaching for it! As everyone gathered to watch, the video's 4K clarity and unobstructed view left no doubt about what happened, nullifying any chance of fabrication. How would Daphne explain her firm assertion that she saw Emelie tampering with the rope? The room's focus shifted to Daphne, including William's. Daphne began to pale, realizing the evidence was against her. "I..." Emelie advanced with the camera in hand, pressing, "How do you explain now?" Daphne instinctively retreated, stammering, "I... I didn't expect..." "Didn't expect that I'd actually find proof, or that I'd find it so swiftly?" Daphne was at a loss and bit her lip in reluctance. How could it be such a coincidence? If not for that opportune video, Emelie would have had no escape. "So, you thought I had no way to explain myself unless by some fluke chance that someone took a picture. Is that your line of thinking?" Emelie continued. Daphne fell silent, outmaneuvered by Emelie's sharp deduction. After all, Emelie was the head secretary at Cloudex Corporation, seasoned in navigating the corporate world far before Daphne even finished her studies. Avoiding a fight with Daphne didn't mean she was incapable of winning. She had seen through far too many naive schemes like Daphne's. "Even without the video, I could have gone to the police. Would my fingerprints be on the rope? A simple test would tell," Emelie said. Daphne was rendered speechless. Emelie continued, "You thought you could frame me with a flawed and naive plot. Why did you believe it would work? Because you thought you had support, you assumed I'd just swallow the defeat as before?" Daphne was lost for words and desperate. She turned to William for support. "Mr. Middleton..." As she looked his way, Emelie's hand moved swiftly, delivering a sharp slap to Daphne's face without holding back! Daphne was caught entirely off guard, tumbling onto the bed as the room fell into stunned silence. William reacted by seizing Emelie's wrist, his voice laden with authority as he roared, "Emelie Hoven!"