Chapter 138
The man looked truly menacing.
A long, jagged scar ran down the side of his face.
Despite his intimidating appearance, he had been completely subdued by Maxwell.
One look at Maxwell was enough to fill him with pure terror.
Utterly defeated, he hung his head and confessed. "My name... is Silas Granger. I deal in pharmaceuticals. The person who bought the Halophilic bacteria from me wasn't Isabella. It was Victoria!"
Victoria Kensington's face drained of all color.
Every pair of eyes in the room instantly snapped toward her.
Shocked murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"Victoria? Impossible! She's always been so supportive of Isabella!"
"She's the kindest person I know. There's no way she'd purchase something like that."
"This man is clearly a criminal. He could have been paid off, right?"
"Absolutely! It has to be Isabella! She's trying to clear her name by framing Victoria!"
Eleanor Kensington, ever Victoria's fierce defender, shouted at the scarred man. "Who paid you to lie about my daughter? Victoria would never do such a thing!"
Victoria snapped out of her daze, quickly adopting a mask of pitiful innocence. She addressed the man with a soft, trembling voice. "Sir, you must be mistaken. You do know that perjury is a serious crime, don't you? Are you in some kind of trouble? Facing difficulties? Tell me how much money you need. I can give you more. I can help you solve any problem. But please, don't... don't frame me for this."
Her words, though gentle on the surface, were a blatant attempt at bribery. She was offering more money to buy his silence.
Silas felt a pang of sympathy for the beautiful, distressed girl. But one thought of how Maxwell had dragged him here made him shudder violently. "I'm not in trouble! I'm not facing any hardships! And I'm not lying! I have proof!"
He fumbled for his phone, holding it up high for everyone to see. "This is surveillance footage from my security cameras! Everyone, watch closely!"
All attention focused on the screen. The video was crystal clear.
The footage showed a dimly lit basement. A woman clad entirely in black, a mask obscuring part of her face, was handing a stack of cash to the scarred man. In return, he handed her a small medicine bottle.
The woman was unmistakably Isadora Vasquez. Her height, her hair tied back in a simple ponytail, even the partially visible profile—it was all a perfect match.
A second video played. It showed Isadora walking backstage at the Mercedes Auto show, carrying a box of water bottles. She distributed them to the crew. Everyone thanked her. She even kindly helped arrange the strawberries on the display. Then, when no one was looking, she discreetly poured the contents of the medicine bottle over the strawberry tower.
The evidence was undeniable.
The atmosphere in the room erupted.
"It was Isadora! She works for Victoria!"
"Oh my god! I can't believe it! Victoria had her buy the drug and frame Isabella!"
"She pretended to be Isabella's biggest supporter. She acted so genuine, so nice! All this time, she was pure evil!"
"She's a master of deception! She played every single one of us for fools!"
"We should have realized. That drug is only stable in liquid form. The video Victoria showed earlier had to be a fake! It was fabricated!"
"Not only did they frame Isabella, but they also manufactured evidence to ensure her conviction!"
A wave of angry accusations crashed over Victoria. The crowd stared at her with undisguised contempt and disgust.
Reporters raised their cameras, flashes popping incessantly. Influencers pointed their phones directly at her, broadcasting the scandal live to their audiences.
Even Eleanor, who had defended her so fiercely, looked at Victoria with utter disbelief. "Victoria," she asked, her voice shaking. "What is the meaning of this?"
This was the daughter she trusted and cherished above all others. Could she truly be capable of such monstrous deceit?
Victoria stood frozen, her face a ghostly white.
How could this be happening?
Isadora had assured her everything was handled. How could this damning evidence still exist?