Chapter 87

“Sarmiel,” Sophia said angrily, hitting the floor with her cane, “I trusted you with the company because I believed in you. But you have deceived me by hiding something so serious! A matter this significant, and you think you can hide it from me?”

Isabel, taken aback by Sophia’s misunderstanding, felt a surge of frustration. “Grandma, how can you trust William so blindly? My dad is your son, too! You know his character! How could he deceive you? It’s William who’s trying to stir up trouble. Instead of blaming him, you’re unfairly accusing my dad! Last night, the neighboring property caught fire, yet you refuse to believe this and insist it was ours. Your intentions are so obviously malicious.”

“Isabel, you have some nerve to talk to Grandma like that!” Guinevere interrupted sharply.

Isabel stood her ground. “Guinevere, you claim without any doubt that the fire was ours and that we are hiding it. How about we make a wager?”

“Fine! What do you want to bet?” Guinevere replied confidently, sure of her information. A fire had occurred last night, and Isabel was bound to lose.

“If it turns out to be true, my dad and I will leave the company. If it isn’t true, William must apologize to my dad, and you, Guinevere, will kneel before me and slap your own face ten times, admitting you were wrong.”

“Isabel, how can you even suggest such a thing?” William exclaimed, trapped; there was no way he would agree.

But Guinevere, unusually confident, accepted. “I accept, Isabel. Remember what you said.”

“I will definitely remember,” Isabel replied, “but first, we need Grandma’s approval. Grandma, will you witness this?”

Sophia’s expression hardened; she did not want to be a witness. “Please, Grandma, just agree!” Guinevere urged.

“Fine,” Sophia conceded.

With Sophia’s approval, Isabel opened the office door to find a crowd of management staff waiting outside.

“Isabel, what’s going on?” Guinevere asked.

“Not only Sophia, but also the company’s management is here to witness. If it was indeed our warehouse that burned and we tried to hide it, then we will leave the company. Is that acceptable to you?”

“That would make me very happy!” Guinevere responded quickly, seeing Isabel’s boldness as a mere show. With so many people present, she hoped to witness Isabel’s expulsion.

“Then, let’s go to the warehouse. There, we will find out the truth!” Isabel declared.

William, also curious, steadied Sophia. “Mom, let’s go see. This issue affects the company, and you have a right to know.”

“Certainly!” Sophia agreed, leaning on her cane as they made their way to the warehouse.

Guinevere shot a nasty look at Isabel, confident that signs of last night’s fire would still be visible.

When they arrived at the warehouse, Samuel exclaimed, “Mom, look here! The warehouse looks untouched. Where is the supposed fire? This is all a lie; what could William be scheming!”

Both Samuel and Guinevere were shocked. Guinevere went inside and saw the workers carefully packing goods. There was no sign of a fire. “How can this be… David clearly said there was a fire…”

“David told you about a blaze last night, but everything looks perfectly fine now, doesn’t it?” Isabel said, standing beside Guinevere.

“Isabel, what are you planning?” Guinevere clenched her fists, glaring angrily.

“I’m not scheming anything! I have been taking care of the company’s affairs while you accuse us of hiding a fire that obviously never happened!”

“Last night, everyone saw the flames!”

“I have said many times that the fire was at the nearby factory, not ours. From a distance, it might have looked like our warehouse was on fire, but it was completely unrelated.”

Isabel turned to Sophia. “Grandma, my dad runs the company well, while William and Guinevere are the ones harassing us. You need to be fair! I suspect William knows more than he’s letting on. Last night, two guys did try to start a fire in our warehouse, but we caught them. I haven’t mentioned this until now, but William and Guinevere rushed to blame us. William, are you aware of this? Are those two involved with you? I never imagined you would put the company’s interests at risk just to get rid of my dad and me! That’s simply cruel!”

Isabel’s words stirred irritation in William. “Isabel, stop making unfounded accusations! Why would I ever send someone to harm the company? A fire would only bring loss, which benefits me in no way! Mom, don’t believe her.”

“Enough!” Sophia shouted, her eyes fixed on William and Guinevere. “You two are absolutely shameless, causing me so much distress while wrongly blaming Samuel and Isabel—have you truly lost your minds?”

“Mom, I—”

“Get out!”

As William and Guinevere prepared to leave, Isabel called after them. “Wait! Guinevere’s expression turned dark; she had anticipated this escalation. Guinevere, about our wager, Grandma witnessed our agreement. You cannot just walk away from this! Grandma, what do you say?”

Sophia glared at Guinevere. “You two should hurry up and apologize.”

William, his pride crumbling, stepped forward and addressed Samuel. “Samuel, I was completely unaware of today’s events. I only learned about them through Guinevere. I meant no harm! My only intention is to protect the company.”

“William, are you apologizing, or making excuses?” Isabel challenged coldly.

William, having already lost face, conceded. “Samuel, I apologize. I was wrong!”

“William, in the future, do not assume things without solid proof. Such unfounded rumors are harmful,” Samuel advised sternly.

“Indeed, I will take your words to heart!” William replied, turning to Guinevere. “Guinevere, you also owe Samuel an apology!”