Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex’s "Uncle" - Chapter 198

Chapter 198: The Scapegoat
Every word landed with the weight of thunder, striking Angelica like a bolt of lightning!

The reporters below the stage were in shock, unable to continue blindly defending Angelica.

That’s right—why did Angelica keep insisting she hadn’t plagiarized? Because her fans vouched for her!

But what proof did her fans actually have? Delusional celebrity stans were the most irrational people in the world!

“Looking at the design alone, I never would have guessed it was part of a couple’s set. But seeing the other half in Selina’s hands, I finally understand—some things can’t be stolen through plagiarism!”

“Does Angelica even have any shame? She doesn’t just steal someone else’s design—she wants to ruin the original creator’s life in the process. Is having fans really that powerful?”

“Her fans called Selina a disgrace and told her to go die… Now that I think about it, it’s downright horrifying. How can people be this vicious?”

“And the Clark Family—seriously? The real plagiarist is the stepdaughter, yet the whole family worked together to cover it up? What does Selina owe them? Was being the original wife’s daughter really such a crime?”

Mocking voices filled the room, stabbing into the ears of the Clark Family like daggers.

James’s face turned ghostly pale—whether from guilt or rage, even he wasn’t sure. Grandpa Clark, unable to endure the humiliation, stood up and left without a word.

Katie, filled with seething hatred, twisted her face in fury. She refused to accept this outcome and shrieked, “Lies! That little wench must have tricked everyone—filthy brat, bastard!”

The room fell silent in disgust.

“Weren’t you just bragging about how well you treated Selina as a stepmother? And now all you can call her is a ‘filthy brat’ and a ‘bastard’?”

“At this point, I’m starting to think Angelica isn’t the stepdaughter at all—she must be James’s real child! Otherwise, why has James been defending her nonstop while throwing his own biological daughter under the bus?”

“Wait… if Angelica is actually James’s real daughter, doesn’t that mean he was already cheating with Katie while proposing marriage to Selina’s mother? Oh my god—he scammed her into marriage!”

James nearly choked in shock. “Nonsense! Utter nonsense!”

“Nonsense? Get off the stage already! A plagiarist and a wicked old hag—truly a match made in hell!”

“Claiming to be a student of Star? Please! Angelica should be blacklisted from the industry!”

The accusations spiraled further and further out of control.

Katie clenched her teeth, then suddenly had a revelation. “This must be a mistake! Angelica, didn’t you say someone gave you the idea for this brooch?”

Angelica’s mind was a chaotic mess, but Katie’s words suddenly made sense.

Yes—she could pin everything on Shareholder Taylor… She wasn’t out of options yet!

Tears welled up in Angelica’s eyes. “I remember now! Shareholder Taylor gave me so many suggestions… Shareholder Taylor, why would you do this to me?!”

Selina’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Katie wailed, “Shareholder Taylor, Angelica never wronged you! Why are you trying to destroy her?”

The crowd instinctively turned their heads.

Shareholder Taylor… Wasn’t he the chairman of Clark Group’s jewelry division?

Had Angelica altered her design based on his suggestions?

Katie’s voice took on a pointed tone. “Shareholder Taylor, we all know you were one of Miss Victoria’s loyal men. You’ve always been devoted to Selina. But what did Angelica ever do to deserve this? Are you really willing to destroy her for Selina’s sake?”

Angelica lowered her lashes, shaking her head helplessly. “Mom… stop talking. I’m just a stepdaughter—I was never meant to inherit Clark Group. If Shareholder Taylor wanted to target me, I suppose I can’t blame him… I just wish he hadn’t resorted to such extreme methods.”

The crowd was confused. “What do you mean? Could it be that Shareholder Taylor deliberately ‘gave suggestions’ to Angelica just to set her up?”

“That makes sense! Now that the truth is out, Angelica is exposed as a plagiarist, which means she can’t inherit Clark Group anymore.”

“If this was all Shareholder Taylor’s scheme, then maybe Angelica really had no idea about the plagiarism.”

Shareholder Taylor met Katie’s gaze and trembled slightly before adopting a desperate, reckless expression.

“That’s right, it was me! I did everything for Miss Selina! Mr. Clark is blind—he’s been completely bewitched by this homewrecker, and now he actually wants to hand the company over to a stepdaughter! I couldn’t stand by and watch Clark Group be ruined!”

Then, he turned to Selina. “Miss Selina, I owe you an apology! My original plan was to accuse Angelica of plagiarism after the brooch was released, but her fans got ahead of us, and you ended up suffering instead!”

Angelica’s tears fell silently, as if she had endured unbearable grievances.

“I feel so bad for Angelica! So she never plagiarized at all, right?”

“It was all Shareholder Taylor’s setup, and yet Selina is still targeting Angelica? She’s such a vile woman!”

“Clark Group was always meant to belong to Angelica! How dare Selina try to take it from her? Shareholder Taylor is trash, Victoria was trash, her whole family is trash!”

Now that the supposed truth was out, everyone exchanged hesitant glances.

So, it had all been Shareholder Taylor’s manipulation… In that case, Angelica really was just an unfortunate victim.

Sure, Selina had almost been framed, too, but since Shareholder Taylor had supposedly done it for her sake, no one felt much sympathy for her.

Selina let out a cold laugh. Even at this point, Angelica still had a backup plan.

Shareholder Taylor?

She had originally planned to spare some dignity for the people her mother had left behind and deal with them later. But since he insisted on becoming Angelica’s shield, he had no one to blame but himself.

Katie breathed a sigh of relief. “James, I never expected one little inheritance dispute to cause such a mess. Our Angelica isn’t greedy. Forget about the inheritance—just let Selina have it, so she doesn’t hold a grudge against Angelica.”

Angelica followed suit with a gentle smile. “Clark Uncle, after all this, I just want to leave the Clark Family and live a peaceful life. I’ll explain everything to Mr. Damien myself.”

Damien—right, there was still Damien!

Everyone in the room had the same realization at once—

Damien had agreed to work with Clark Group.

But the condition was that Angelica had to become the heir!

James steadied himself and declared, “Enough, there’s no need to discuss this any further. This was Shareholder Taylor’s mistake and has nothing to do with Angelica. The decision about the heir remains unchanged!”

Angelica finally curled her lips into a victorious smile.

…

In the corner of the banquet hall, Logan’s expression remained indifferent.

Jack, however, was growing anxious. “Sir, if you don’t step in now, Madam is going to be bullied again!”

Would his boss really sit back and do nothing for the sake of his so-called savior?

Others might not know, but Jack was well aware—Shareholder Taylor had been bribed by Katie ages ago. This entire act was nothing more than a staged performance to clear Angelica’s name!

And with Damien about to arrive, wouldn’t that just give Angelica and Katie the perfect chance to steal the spotlight?

Just then, a commotion erupted outside the banquet hall, accompanied by the faint shouts of “Damien!”

Logan’s gaze remained fixed on Selina. “If I step in now, I’d only be disrupting her plan.”

At the center of the hall, Selina, too, had heard the growing noise.

Her eyes flickered slightly.

Damien had arrived.