Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 436: Chapter 436

Desperate to survive, Francis scrambled after them and begged for mercy. "Mr. Chandler!" he pleaded, "I swear, I didn't know they were your guests! Please, have mercy—spare me!"
Dimitri happened to be in the adjacent VIP lounge today. For reasons unknown, he wasn't in his usual suite but had chosen the one next door instead. Thanks to this twist of fate, he got to witness the entire dramatic spectacle.
As Zoe and Shawn were ushered into the VIP lounge, they finally laid eyes on the legendary Dimitri himself.
Howard had already planned how to apologize to Dimitri, but before he could act, Francis suddenly burst in and pleaded.
Francis said, "Mercy, Mr. Chandler! I swear I didn't know these two were your guests.
"But they were so insolent—badmouthing you in public where everyone could hear. That's the only reason I dared to detain them.
"Look what they did to Howard. These two are clearly here just to cause you trouble."
While Francis was spewing nonsense, Zoe and Shawn remained unfazed. Howard, standing nearby, could barely contain his disgust. 'Unbelievable,' he thought. 'Francis will twist the truth just to save his own skin. Shameless.'
"Mr. Chandler," Howard quickly interjected, "that's not what happened. I was beaten simply because I was outmatched."
Howard thought to himself, 'Anyone Mr. Chandler wants to meet must be exceptional. Since these two are so formidable, they're clearly people he values highly. I mustn't do anything to ruin Mr. Chandler's plans.'
But Francis only cared about securing his own pardon—everyone else's fate meant nothing to him.
Francis continued, "Mr. Chandler, it was these two! They dared to say disrespectful things about you. You must punish them severely—the people outside can testify to that."
At that moment, the on-lookers were all worried they might get dragged into trouble themselves. But most of them thought that if they threw Zoe and Shawn under the bus and let them take the blame, they would be safe.
With this selfish thought, someone in the crowd said, "Francis is right. Mr. Chandler, they insulted you with filthy language."
"Yeah, that's right. We all heard it, didn't we?" others quickly chimed in.
Some timid souls knew it was a lie, but didn't dare speak up and could only stay silent. Their silence only emboldened the troublemakers further.
"They've shown nothing but disrespect to you, Mr. Chandler. They must be punished severely!" Francis, now emboldened, pressed Dimitri for judgment once more.
Only then did Dimitri look up at Zoe and Shawn. The moment his gaze landed on them, he suddenly shot up from his armchair. The crowd held their breath, convinced this was a sign of impending wrath.
Eager to win Dimitri's favor, the crowd erupted in a frenzied chant.
"Kill them!"
"Kill them!"
"Silence!" Dimitri suddenly roared.
The crowd instantly fell quiet, holding their breath in tense anticipation—they were certain he was about to erupt in anger and deliver his judgment.
"My Savior, it's really you—I finally found you!" Dimitri rushed toward Zoe, his voice trembling with emotion. "I've searched for you for so long without a single clue. Never did I imagine we'd meet again here, after all this time."
Zoe glanced at Dimitri but didn't recognize him. She had saved so many people over the years that forgetting a few faces was only natural.
Dimitri's eyes welled up with tears. "I've searched everywhere for you," he said. "I thought I'd never see you again. Heaven be praised!"
The entire crowd was stunned into silence by Dimitri's words.
Francis collapsed to his knees, trembling in terror. 'It's over. I'm doomed! I actually offended Mr. Chandler's savior—I'm as good as dead,' he thought, panic flooding his mind.
The rest of Francis's followers suddenly realized the gravity of the situation. One after another, they dropped to their knees, trembling uncontrollably with terror.