“Can you sign it now?” Rachel asked.

Although Yvette was reluctant deep down, she didn’t dare gamble on this. If Rachel really lost her temper and exposed the truth, forget everything else–Yvette might end up spending the rest of her life in prison.

Yvette bit down hard on her lip, her eyes full of rage and resentment. She then signed the form.

“Happy now?”

Rachel handed the document to Cecilia. “You can start work tomorrow.”

Cecilia was overjoyed. She hadn’t expected things to go this smoothly. She had been worried that Yvette might refuse to let her join the company, but she didn’t want to put Rachel in a difficult spot. If that happened, this whole thing might fall through. Yvette’s willingness to sign caught her off guard.

With her goal achieved, Rachel was ready to leave. But just as she turned, Yvette suddenly called out to her.

“Rachel, wait…!”

Rachel knew exactly what Yvette wanted to ask. Her voice turned cold as she gave her a warning.

“Yvette, if you know how to keep your head down, I’ll let this go for now–but don’t push me.”

With that, she grabbed Cecilia and opened the office door without looking back. Just as she stepped out, Yvette shouted after her.

“Are you with Tyler now?”

Rachel didn’t answer her; she just paused for a moment before leaving.

Yvette clenched her fists tightly. She looked furious. That pause had to mean Rachel was with Tyler now. Why else would it be such a coincidence? They had just argued at the office entrance, and now suddenly all those gossip articles had spread online, each one vicious enough to ruin her reputation.

Yvette had worked at the company long enough to know how these things worked. Those people were finished. They could forget about staying in the industry. Even she would have to face questioning from the shareholders. When the time came, what could she possibly say? Even if she came up with an explanation, the bigger issue was, how was she going to cover the gap this caused?

‘Damn you, Rachel!’

Yvette had almost ended up with Tyler. She had been so close!

Chapter 496 +15 BONUS

It was all Rachel’s fault. Now she was back, trying to snatch away Yvette’s spot as the Lloyd family’s heiress. Sure, Rachel was only an illegitimate daughter, but who was to say things wouldn’t turn out better for a biological child in the long run than for an adopted one? She had to make plans fast.

As Rachel and Cecilia walked out, the employees who had badmouthed Rachel earlier were visibly panicking.

“Oh god, what do we do now? How did this even get exposed?”

“We’re screwed! Are we going to get blacklisted? Who’s behind this?”

“Who else could it be? It’s obviously her! We just argued with her outside, and the next second, all this stuff went viral online!”

One of them, worried about losing their job, didn’t care about pride anymore. They rushed to Rachel and tugged at the hem of her blouse.

“Please, I’m begging you, Ms. Lloyd. Just let me off this time. We really didn’t mean what we said earlier.”

“Yes, I’ve got a whole family to feed! I can’t afford to lose this job.”

“I’m sorry, okay? I’ll apologize! Just please give me another chance!”

If this had happened five years ago, Rachel might have felt sympathy and let them off. But now, she didn’t feel that way at all.

She said coldly, “We’re all adults here. Shouldn’t we be responsible for our actions? Didn’t you know it’s wrong to badmouth someone behind their back?”