Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 423: Chapter 423
You are reading Their Mistake, Her Rise, Chapter 423: Chapter 423. Read more chapters of Their Mistake, Her Rise.
Aileen paused, and the stunned crowd finally snapped back to reality. There was no way they'd buy that the Wadden Group's Chair was a girl. Zoe looked way too young for that kind of power.
Being Clusian made it worse. She already looked young for her age, and now people wondered if she was old enough to buy a beer.
"If you're the Chair, then I'm the Queen," Aileen sneered at Zoe's claim, rolling her eyes in disdain.
The crowd burst into laughter. "This kid's got balls. I'll give her that."
"The Chair? She's lost her damn mind."
"She's the chair? Then my daughter's the President."
"People like her, who lie through their teeth, deserve to be taught a lesson."
"Ms. Carleton, we're with you. Kick this fraud out of the company."
Aileen felt bolder with the crowd on her side."See? Nobody's buying what you're selling. I'm just waiting to hear what other wild stories you'll cook up now." Aileen looked at Zoe like she was something stuck to her shoe.
Zoe could tell Aileen was just waiting to watch her crash and burn. And it wasn't just Aileen. Everyone else had that same expectant smirk.
Unfazed, Zoe said calmly, "There's someone here who can verify who I am."
Even though no one believed her, a seed of doubt was planted. They were standing in Wadden Group headquarters. If Zoe was lying, she'd get called out fast.
Nobody clung so stubbornly to a lie that was already exposed. Unless maybe it wasn't a lie at all.
Aileen still thought Zoe was full of it, but Zoe's calm made Aileen second-guess herself. She leaned over to whisper to Silas, "Uncle Silas, you're tight with Terry, right? Have you ever seen her around here before?"
Aileen figured if Zoe really was the Chair, she might be in serious trouble. The Carleton family business was neck and neck with Wadden Group in terms of power around Merilunia.
But from what Silas had said, Wadden Group might be edging ahead. They were growing fast, and at this rate, they could easily break into the global top ten.
Seeing Aileen waver, Silas strode forward, jabbed a finger at Zoe, and sneered, "She's a fraud. I've never seen this girl at Wadden Group before."
The whole place went quiet. Then Aileen exploded into laughter. "Zoe, wow. And to think I was actually getting worried," she mocked. "So you're not the Chair after all. Just another pathetic liar who thought she could fool me."
The employees around them freaked out for a second. They worked for Wadden Group. If they'd just helped some outsider trash-talk their actual boss, they'd be so screwed.
Realizing it was all fake hit them like a relief wave. Then some of them got pissed and started tearing into Zoe.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Why lie to us like that?"
"Yeah. You scared us half to death. We want compensation for trauma."
"We got beaten up because of you. You better cover our medical bills, lost wages, and everything else."
As their insults got uglier, Zoe just stared back at them, completely unfazed, and pulled out an ID card. At Wadden Group, every employee carried one. It was their official employee credential.
Aileen's triumphant smirk faltered as she saw how calm Zoe was, even with everyone attacking her. 'Wait, could she actually be telling the truth?' Aileen wondered to herself.
"That's fake."
"That looks nothing like our IDs."
"How'd she even get past security?"
"Think about it. We barely have any Clusians here. If she was some kind of exec, we'd know her face."
Doubt after doubt piled up, and Aileen figured she'd nailed Zoe. With a sneer, she said, "Well, well, so you don't even work here? So everything about you is fake, right?"
Zoe just stared at Aileen, letting her hurl one insult after another without saying a word. Her silence screamed guilty to Aileen, making her even more sure Zoe was a con artist.
"Check this out, everybody! This woman's a world-class scammer. She had the nerve to say she was the Chair of Wadden Group," Aileen shouted for the whole lobby to hear.
Just then, a team of about a dozen people strode in. Aileen barely glanced their way, but the second Silas saw who was leading them, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Mr. Kaylor," Silas gushed, scrambling over.
Elmer Kaylor, Wadden Group's deputy CEO, was second-in-command to Terry himself. He shot Silas a cold glance.
Silas rushed up to him. "Mr. Kaylor, when you've got juicy projects coming up, don't forget about me. We've done business before. You know I'm good for it."
Aileen felt a pang of embarrassment when she saw Silas fawning over Elmer. 'Since when do Carletons grovel like this?' she thought.
But her gaze flickered back to Zoe, and a nasty little idea sparked in her mind. "Uncle Silas," she cooed, "aren't you going to make an introduction?"
Silas couldn't answer fast enough. "Aileen, this is Mr. Elmer Kaylor, deputy CEO of Wadden Group."
Elmer looked sharp and all-business, a young and accomplished man in his thirties.
Aileen stepped forward and said, "Mr. Kaylor, perfect timing. I caught a con artist red-handed in your building. You can help us verify her identity."
Elmer's face darkened. He was wondering who had the nerve to cause trouble here.
Silas could read a room like a book. Seeing Elmer's expression turn ugly, he shot Aileen a warning look and signaled for her to be quiet.
But Aileen thought the Carleton name meant everything and treated Elmer like he was nobody special. She breezed right past Silas's warning.
She said haughtily, "Mr. Kaylor, our family is very selective about our partners. We don't just work with any company. Help me bust this impostor, and I'll make sure my uncle throws way more business your way. Easy money, right?"
Silas was so embarrassed he wanted the floor to swallow him whole. "Mr. Kaylor, please ignore her. She's just running her mouth. She doesn't know what she's saying."
"Then take her home and teach her some manners," Elmer snapped, his anger flaring. "What does she think this is? Her personal playground?"
But Aileen kept pushing, totally blowing off Silas's panic signals. She scoffed, "Mr. Kaylor, getting angry won't help. This impostor is in your company. Shouldn't you be the one fixing it?"
Elmer finally turned his cold stare on Aileen. "Where's this impostor?"
Aileen jabbed her finger at Zoe. "Right there. She had the nerve to claim she's the Chair of Wadden Group, but she's not even a real employee. I want you to have this con artist thrown out of here immediately, Mr. Kaylor."
The employees were now fully convinced Zoe was an imposter. They started hurling insults at her.
"I've never seen a more shameless scammer. How dare she?"
"Game over. Mr. Kaylor's definitely met the real Chair. She's toast."
"We're getting one hell of a show. They're gonna toss that liar out on her ass. No, wait, they'll rough her up first, then toss her out."
"Forget that. She's going straight to jail."
Being Clusian made it worse. She already looked young for her age, and now people wondered if she was old enough to buy a beer.
"If you're the Chair, then I'm the Queen," Aileen sneered at Zoe's claim, rolling her eyes in disdain.
The crowd burst into laughter. "This kid's got balls. I'll give her that."
"The Chair? She's lost her damn mind."
"She's the chair? Then my daughter's the President."
"People like her, who lie through their teeth, deserve to be taught a lesson."
"Ms. Carleton, we're with you. Kick this fraud out of the company."
Aileen felt bolder with the crowd on her side."See? Nobody's buying what you're selling. I'm just waiting to hear what other wild stories you'll cook up now." Aileen looked at Zoe like she was something stuck to her shoe.
Zoe could tell Aileen was just waiting to watch her crash and burn. And it wasn't just Aileen. Everyone else had that same expectant smirk.
Unfazed, Zoe said calmly, "There's someone here who can verify who I am."
Even though no one believed her, a seed of doubt was planted. They were standing in Wadden Group headquarters. If Zoe was lying, she'd get called out fast.
Nobody clung so stubbornly to a lie that was already exposed. Unless maybe it wasn't a lie at all.
Aileen still thought Zoe was full of it, but Zoe's calm made Aileen second-guess herself. She leaned over to whisper to Silas, "Uncle Silas, you're tight with Terry, right? Have you ever seen her around here before?"
Aileen figured if Zoe really was the Chair, she might be in serious trouble. The Carleton family business was neck and neck with Wadden Group in terms of power around Merilunia.
But from what Silas had said, Wadden Group might be edging ahead. They were growing fast, and at this rate, they could easily break into the global top ten.
Seeing Aileen waver, Silas strode forward, jabbed a finger at Zoe, and sneered, "She's a fraud. I've never seen this girl at Wadden Group before."
The whole place went quiet. Then Aileen exploded into laughter. "Zoe, wow. And to think I was actually getting worried," she mocked. "So you're not the Chair after all. Just another pathetic liar who thought she could fool me."
The employees around them freaked out for a second. They worked for Wadden Group. If they'd just helped some outsider trash-talk their actual boss, they'd be so screwed.
Realizing it was all fake hit them like a relief wave. Then some of them got pissed and started tearing into Zoe.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Why lie to us like that?"
"Yeah. You scared us half to death. We want compensation for trauma."
"We got beaten up because of you. You better cover our medical bills, lost wages, and everything else."
As their insults got uglier, Zoe just stared back at them, completely unfazed, and pulled out an ID card. At Wadden Group, every employee carried one. It was their official employee credential.
Aileen's triumphant smirk faltered as she saw how calm Zoe was, even with everyone attacking her. 'Wait, could she actually be telling the truth?' Aileen wondered to herself.
"That's fake."
"That looks nothing like our IDs."
"How'd she even get past security?"
"Think about it. We barely have any Clusians here. If she was some kind of exec, we'd know her face."
Doubt after doubt piled up, and Aileen figured she'd nailed Zoe. With a sneer, she said, "Well, well, so you don't even work here? So everything about you is fake, right?"
Zoe just stared at Aileen, letting her hurl one insult after another without saying a word. Her silence screamed guilty to Aileen, making her even more sure Zoe was a con artist.
"Check this out, everybody! This woman's a world-class scammer. She had the nerve to say she was the Chair of Wadden Group," Aileen shouted for the whole lobby to hear.
Just then, a team of about a dozen people strode in. Aileen barely glanced their way, but the second Silas saw who was leading them, he nearly jumped out of his skin.
"Mr. Kaylor," Silas gushed, scrambling over.
Elmer Kaylor, Wadden Group's deputy CEO, was second-in-command to Terry himself. He shot Silas a cold glance.
Silas rushed up to him. "Mr. Kaylor, when you've got juicy projects coming up, don't forget about me. We've done business before. You know I'm good for it."
Aileen felt a pang of embarrassment when she saw Silas fawning over Elmer. 'Since when do Carletons grovel like this?' she thought.
But her gaze flickered back to Zoe, and a nasty little idea sparked in her mind. "Uncle Silas," she cooed, "aren't you going to make an introduction?"
Silas couldn't answer fast enough. "Aileen, this is Mr. Elmer Kaylor, deputy CEO of Wadden Group."
Elmer looked sharp and all-business, a young and accomplished man in his thirties.
Aileen stepped forward and said, "Mr. Kaylor, perfect timing. I caught a con artist red-handed in your building. You can help us verify her identity."
Elmer's face darkened. He was wondering who had the nerve to cause trouble here.
Silas could read a room like a book. Seeing Elmer's expression turn ugly, he shot Aileen a warning look and signaled for her to be quiet.
But Aileen thought the Carleton name meant everything and treated Elmer like he was nobody special. She breezed right past Silas's warning.
She said haughtily, "Mr. Kaylor, our family is very selective about our partners. We don't just work with any company. Help me bust this impostor, and I'll make sure my uncle throws way more business your way. Easy money, right?"
Silas was so embarrassed he wanted the floor to swallow him whole. "Mr. Kaylor, please ignore her. She's just running her mouth. She doesn't know what she's saying."
"Then take her home and teach her some manners," Elmer snapped, his anger flaring. "What does she think this is? Her personal playground?"
But Aileen kept pushing, totally blowing off Silas's panic signals. She scoffed, "Mr. Kaylor, getting angry won't help. This impostor is in your company. Shouldn't you be the one fixing it?"
Elmer finally turned his cold stare on Aileen. "Where's this impostor?"
Aileen jabbed her finger at Zoe. "Right there. She had the nerve to claim she's the Chair of Wadden Group, but she's not even a real employee. I want you to have this con artist thrown out of here immediately, Mr. Kaylor."
The employees were now fully convinced Zoe was an imposter. They started hurling insults at her.
"I've never seen a more shameless scammer. How dare she?"
"Game over. Mr. Kaylor's definitely met the real Chair. She's toast."
"We're getting one hell of a show. They're gonna toss that liar out on her ass. No, wait, they'll rough her up first, then toss her out."
"Forget that. She's going straight to jail."
End of Their Mistake, Her Rise Chapter 423. Continue reading Chapter 424 or return to Their Mistake, Her Rise book page.