Hello, Ex! I Finally Found My Worth! - Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Arrested?

“Emma!” Claire called out, striding toward her.

Emma, who was instructing the driver to wait for her, turned, momentarily startled, then smiled. “Claire? I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” she said honestly.

“And I didn’t expect to see you either,” Claire said warmly. “What brings you here? I hope no one is disturbing you about all Jake did on Saturday.”

Emma hesitated, momentarily considering whether she should tell Claire about the ordeal at the gym, but after a second’s thought, she decided not to.

“After everything that happened, I just wanted to check in with Alex. I hope the damage wasn’t that serious?” she asked, thinking about how worried Alex had been when he was told the company was affected by the rumors.

Claire’s expression softened. “That’s thoughtful of you. The rumors would’ve done a great deal of harm to Alex, but you’ll be glad to know things are finally under control. We had Jake arrested.”

Emma’s eyes widened in surprise. “Jake? Arrested? What for?”

Claire nodded, her tone firm. “Yes. It turns out he’s been embezzling from the company for years,” Claire said, and Emma pressed her lips together.

“If he has been doing it all these years without your knowledge, how then did you manage to find out?” she asked curiously.

“Alex got one of his guys to get some information on him, and that’s what they found, along with the fact that he was also the one who gave out that false information about you, Alex, and Vanessa. Can you imagine that? Stealing from a company that belongs to his family,” Claire said with a shook head, feeling even more disappointed as she explained.

“That’s serious,” Emma said, not surprised to know that he was the one who had triggered the rumors.

“It is. To think he had the plan to use this against Alex and have the board vote against him. Thankfully, Alex got the update early enough, and we confronted him during the board meeting. When he tried to deny it, we presented the evidence and turned the tables around. It’s over for him now.”

Emma sighed and took a long pause, trying to find words to say. After what felt like forever, she cleared her throat and said, “I’m so sorry to hear that. I knew Jake was kind of crafty, but I didn’t know he would go that far.”

“I really don’t care if he’s my nephew at this point. He needs to be taught a lesson. He should spend some years in prison. Maybe he will learn how to protect the family’s business rather than make all efforts feel useless,” Claire said, her anger increasing as she spoke.

Emma blinked, processing the news. “I know I shouldn’t be saying this, but honestly, considering all he’s done to me, I’m relieved. He’s caused so much harm,” Emma said and then raised a hand to her mouth when she realized what she had just said.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean it that way….”

“It’s okay, Emma. I totally understand, and I don’t hold it against you. Just like you said, Jake has caused so much harm, and I am even relieved he’s been taken care of. He won’t be able to cause any harm now,” Claire assured her.

“And I should have seen through his act sooner. But better late than never.” She paused, then placed a hand on Emma’s arm. “I’m sorry again, Emma, for everything. You’re a strong woman to be still standing here after everything he did,” Claire said, and Emma waved it off.

Emma smiled faintly. “It’s fine, really. I’m growing to forget about it. With time, I will,” Emma said, and Claire nodded.

“Will you be free for our lunch on Friday?” Claire asked, her gaze on Emma as she anticipated her response.

Emma thought about it and gave her a nod. “Sure, I will.”

“Good,” Claire said with a nod. “We’ll talk more then.”

Emma watched Claire leave, a mixture of emotions swirling within her. Relief at Jake’s downfall mingled with a deep pang of sympathy for Alex. She couldn’t imagine how he must be feeling after everything.

She shook off the feeling almost immediately and headed to Alex’s office so she could comfort him and also talk to him about why she was there.

As she walked towards the elevator, stares and whispers were exchanged, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was to see Alex.

When she got to Alex’s office, she stopped in front of George’s desk. “Good afternoon, ma’am,” George greeted as soon as he saw her.

“Hello, good afternoon. Is Mr Sterling in?” Emma asked, her eyes focused on Alex’s office.

“Yes, ma’am,” George said, his expression unreadable.

“Alright, I will go in to see him now. Thank you,” Emma said and walked into Alex’s office immediately.

When Emma reached Alex’s office door, she hesitated before knocking.

“Come in,” Alex called.

Emma stepped inside to find Alex seated at his desk, his expression guarded. His eyes narrowed slightly as he saw her.

“Emma?” he said, surprised. “What are you doing here?” he asked, and Emma shrugged.

“I wanted to know how you’re handling the backlash of the scandal,” she said, and Alex nodded.

He leaned back against his chair. “You should’ve called, especially since we’re keeping our distance. Coming all the way here was totally unnecessary,” he said, his voice colder than he intended.

Emma felt a pang of guilt course through her, and she winced. “I know you’re mad at me, and I’m sorry. I came because I just… I also wanted to apologize for what I said yesterday.”

“There’s no need for that,” Alex said, his tone clipped as he sat up and started going through the documents in front of him, pretending to be busy.

Seeing this, Emma sighed but insisted, determined to earn his forgiveness. “Yes, there is. What I said was wrong. I was anxious, and I let it get the better of me. That’s no excuse, but I hope you’ll let me off this time. I really didn’t mean all I said.”