Chapter 86: Who Says There’s No Proof?

Zachary clenched his fists angrily. “I considered you a good friend, yet this is how you treat me? You bastard!”

Seeing he was about to rush Jared again, I stopped him.

“I’ve already figured out the specifics,” I told him. “Leave the rest to me.”

I gave him a reassuring look before looking at Jared without wavering.

“Since we’re the ones claiming that you stole the core technology, we naturally have the evidence to support that claim,” I said calmly. “I can give you a chance, Mr. Ladley. If you’re willing to admit to your theft publicly, I can choose not to press charges. But if you insist on claiming innocence, it’d be better for us to hand this matter over to the police. As for whether that would affect your reputation and new job, we wouldn’t know.”

As I said this, I glanced at Jared’s boss—the old man who had been speaking to Eric.

The boss was smart. He seemed to realize something and smiled, reaching out to touch Jared’s shoulder.

“I recall you telling me that the core technology you brought was something you designed and developed yourself. Surely you weren’t lying to me about that, right?” he asked.

Guilt washed across Jared’s eyes. He was going to say something, but Eric walked over to me.

“I believe in the integrity of the people under Ms. Brown,” Eric declared before Jared could speak. “Since this incident occurred on Flint Group’s territory, I also hope it’ll be resolved appropriately.”

With those words, everyone immediately understood Eric’s stance. Considering Eric’s support, it would do Jared no good to escalate the situation by refusing to admit guilt.

As expected, Jared was growing increasingly pale. He gritted his teeth, looking as if he was about to explode. However, with so many eyes on him, he could only swallow his anger and force a smile.

“Mr. Flint, you certainly have a sense of humor. I spoke nothing but the truth,” he said. “There wasn’t the slightest lie in my claims! Mr. Sinclair is accusing me of stealing his core technology purely because he’s jealous of me!”

Unexpectedly, he still stubbornly refused to admit guilt.

I pulled out my phone to call the police when Eric spoke.

“It appears you still don’t comprehend the severity of the situation, Mr. Ladley. Once the evidence is laid out, you’ll be faced with more than just compensation and detention. Also, this matter involves Ms. Brown, and I’m definitely not going to allow her to suffer any injustice.”

Jared took a few steps back, looking fearful. Seeing this, I quietly tugged on Eric’s sleeve.

“Let’s just call the police,” I suggested. “I don’t actually have any evidence and only said that to frighten him. If he really won’t admit it, there’s nothing much we can do.”

I hoped handing the case over to the police would buy me time to investigate.

Eric glanced at me, his lips curving into an imperceptible smile. “Who says there’s no proof?”

I stared at him, stunned.

The next second, Eric produced a flash drive and ordered his men to play it on the big screen. In the video, a suspicious-looking figure was shown sneaking into Zachary’s office and stealing the technology. Upon leaving, his face was captured by a surveillance camera. The man was undoubtedly Jared.

Jared turned pale, not daring to speak.

Zachary looked extremely surprised. “I clearly remember that the surveillance feed had already been deleted, so how does this video exist? What exactly is going on?” he asked in confusion.

I was astonished as well. Although Eric could definitely restore a video with his resources, how did he know to prepare the evidence beforehand? Had he already known I would stand up for Zachary?