Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 424: Chapter 424

The onlookers were stretching their necks like giraffes, making sure they didn't miss the best part.
Aileen figured Elmer might not spot Zoe in the crowd and started moving to drag her over. But Elmer beat her to it and headed straight for Zoe himself.
Aileen grinned like she'd already won. "Game over, Zoe. Let's see you lie your way out of this."
The whole crowd expected Elmer to give her a piece of his mind. Instead, the moment he reached her, he performed a deep, formal bow.
With a flourish, Elmer held out his hand. Zoe placed her fingers on his palm, and he kissed her hand like she was royalty.
"Madam," he breathed, his voice choked with emotion. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting you. I was starting to think I'd never get to see the Chair of Wadden Group in person.
"That bastard Terry... He knew you were coming and didn't say a thing. No call, no text. If my guy hadn't tipped me off, I would've missed this completely."
"Straighten up," Zoe said, her voice flat.
Elmer stood up, his eyes glistening with moisture. The whole thing had everyone's jaws on the floor.
Aileen glanced from Zoe to Elmer, her face a mask of furious disbelief. "Mr. Kaylor, what is this? Are you serious? She can't be the Chair.
"You're just helping her keep up this lie, right? This girl is a con artist. She's not worth protecting."
The crowd was freaking out watching Elmer bow and scrape to Zoe. Some of the more nervous ones were even sweating.
They could see their careers going up in flames. If Zoe was really the Chair, they were all about to get fired on the spot.
In that moment, all they wanted was to slap themselves, wishing they could disappear and forget this whole mess.
And it wasn't just the employees sweating bullets. Silas was drenched in it. Sure, the Carleton empire was still standing, but they weren't making half the money Wadden Group was pulling in these days.
They had just royally pissed off Zoe, which meant their new partnership with Wadden Group was probably dead in the water. That would be a massive blow to the Carleton family.
Silas said, "Mr. Kaylor... And, Madam, this was all a huge misunderstanding. A complete mistake. We didn't mean to offend you. I'll discipline my thoughtless niece immediately.
"And I hope... I hope you'll still think about the Carleton family for your next big projects." He started groveling like his life depended on it, practically ready to shove Aileen's head down and make her bow to Zoe.
But Aileen wasn't having it. "I'm not apologizing. She's an impostor. Why the hell would I apologize to her?"
Seeing her act like a total brat, Silas cracked a sharp slap across Aileen's face. "The Carleton family has spoiled you rotten," he hissed, "and this is the result."
Aileen was completely stunned. She thought, 'What just happened? Did he just hit me?'
Zoe and Elmer still looked pissed, so Silas yelled at his muscle, "You idiots just gonna stand there? Get her out of here before she humiliates herself any further."
"Not so fast," Elmer cut in, his voice like ice. "She hasn't said sorry yet, and you think you can just walk off? You really don't care about Wadden Group, do you?"
Silas wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and asked nervously, "Mr. Kaylor, what do you suggest?"
"She apologizes," Elmer stated flatly. "In front of everyone."
"I won't..." Aileen started, her voice trembling.
She was on the verge of tears, humiliated. 'How did I become the punching bag here? That's insane,' she thought.
Silas was done playing nice. The family business mattered more than her feelings. He smacked her again, harder. "Aileen. Apologize. Now."