Married First, Loved Later : A Flash Marriage with My Ex’s "Uncle" - Chapter 200

Chapter 200: A Sweeping Victory
Damien’s voice was firm and resolute. “Mr. Clark, I do intend to collaborate with the rightful heir of Clark Group. That’s because I believed the successor of Clark Group would be none other than Selina, the legitimate eldest daughter of the Clark family!”

Selina?!

Katie’s face turned deathly pale, Angelica staggered backward, her lips trembling uncontrollably!

James was completely dumbfounded. “Mr. Brown, you must be mistaken! Selina is an uneducated fool! My most outstanding daughters are Angelica and Natalia…”

“Mr. Clark, I believe the one who is mistaken here is you.”

Damien enunciated each word with cold precision. “Clark Group was founded by Ms. Victoria, Selina’s biological mother. It is only right and just that Selina inherits it! Yet despite knowing full well that I intend to collaborate with Clark Group, you dared to deceive me with a mere stepdaughter?”

James felt like he had been struck by lightning. “No… No! That’s not what I meant!”

Not Angelica? How could it not be Angelica?! Selina is nothing but a nobody!

Damien scoffed. “Earlier, I was merely being polite out of respect for Selina, but it seems that has led you to some absurd misunderstandings.”

“Mr. Clark, I truly don’t understand—how could a stepdaughter, brought in by a mistress, be more important than your own flesh and blood? I must say, Ms. Bryant, you certainly have remarkable skills.”

Katie’s heart pounded wildly. She bit her lip hard, tears streaming down her face. “Mr. Brown, you’re mistaken! This isn’t what it looks like!”

Selina raised an eyebrow, watching with great interest.

Katie sobbed as she pleaded, “James didn’t make this decision lightly! But Angelica graduated from an elite school and has studied business management from a young age, whereas Selina knows nothing! If Selina were to inherit the company and squander all of Victoria’s hard work, how could I ever face her in the afterlife?”

James declared self-righteously, “That’s right! It’s not that Angelica is trying to take anything—it’s just that Selina is unqualified! If she gets the company, it will be ruined sooner or later. They’re sisters—why make such a fuss over this?”

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd.

“So that’s how it is… I’ve heard that the Clark Family’s eldest daughter is incompetent. It wouldn’t be right for her to take over the company.”

“Mr. Clark and Miss Angelica are simply thinking about the company’s future. Why is Selina being so unreasonable?”

Katie finally felt a sense of relief.

Selina nearly laughed at the shamelessness of their words. But before she could even respond, Damien beat her to it.

With an expressionless face, Damien began to clap slowly. “Ah, so because the legitimate daughter doesn’t know how to run a business, you think it’s perfectly reasonable to hand over the company built by her mother… to the mistress and her family? Isn’t that just the biggest joke of the century?”

The room instantly fell into stunned silence.

Damien’s voice turned razor-sharp. “A shameless woman who inserted herself into another person’s marriage, stole another woman’s husband, and then took over her company—yet somehow, you’re trying to act like the victims here?!”

“Victoria Adams left a legal will explicitly stating that Clark Group was to be inherited by Selina. That means, whether she’s brilliant or incompetent, Clark Group rightfully belongs to her! And what business does a mistress have interfering?!”

Katie’s face drained of all color, her body trembling with guilt.

Angelica’s eyes filled with tears as she shook her head desperately. “Mr. Brown, that’s not what we meant! I never demanded the company; Clark Uncle was just speaking in the heat of the moment…”

Katie sobbed and wailed, clutching at her chest. “Selina, say something! No matter what, I am still your stepmother! Have I ever treated you badly? Are you just going to stand by and let Mr. Brown slander me like this?”

“If we didn’t let you inherit the company, it was a decision made by everyone! You first used Shareholder Taylor to frame Angelica, and now, right after that, you’re suddenly announced as the heir? How do you think people will see this?!”

The Clark Group shareholders suddenly snapped back to reality.

That’s right… The entire scandal earlier about the plagiarism accusations—wasn’t that all orchestrated by Shareholder Taylor? And everyone knew that Shareholder Taylor was one of Selina’s people! Could she really not have known?

If Selina had schemed to frame Angelica just to take the company for herself, how could she possibly deserve to inherit Clark Group?!

Selina’s gaze turned razor-sharp. “Mrs. Bryant, you’re saying that I colluded with Shareholder Taylor to frame Angelica, and that I have poor character, is that right?”

Katie suddenly felt a wave of unease wash over her, but she forced herself to nod. “Y-Yes!”

Selina suddenly chuckled. “Hmm, I think so too.”

The crowd was stunned: “…”

Did Selina even realize what she was saying? Did she just admit that the person who framed Angelica was morally corrupt? Wasn’t she calling herself out?

“Since Damien is here, let’s clear things up once and for all.”

Selina turned her meaningful gaze toward Shareholder Taylor. “So, I bribed you to mislead Angelica and create the illusion of plagiarism?”

Cold sweat trickled down Shareholder Taylor’s back, but there was no turning back now. “Miss Selina! I have wronged you, and I will take full responsibility for everything. But this was indeed your order! I know you resent Miss Angelica, but you cannot continue down this path of wrongdoing!”

Selina’s smirk deepened. “Oh? So you claim I really bribed you? Then tell me—how exactly did I do it? How much did I pay you?”

Shareholder Taylor clenched his fists, his expression pained. “I am your subordinate. When you give me an order, why would you need to transfer money to me?”

“Oh, is that so…” Selina’s tone turned sharp, her voice laced with an authoritative chill.

“In that case, Shareholder Taylor, could you please explain the mysterious one-million-dollar transfer to your account?”

A million-dollar transfer… to Shareholder Taylor’s account?!

The next moment, the large screen behind them flickered to life, displaying Selina’s investigation records!

An account ending in 6723 had sent Shareholder Taylor three separate transactions—a hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, and seven hundred thousand dollars—totaling exactly one million.

Shareholder Taylor’s face went pale as he stumbled back. “T-This… this is my private matter, Miss Selina, you don’t need to pry into it!”

“Oh? A private matter? Now I’m even more curious.”

Selina’s voice dropped to a chillingly cold tone. “Damien helped me investigate the owner of this account, and what a coincidence—it belongs to none other than Angelica’s manager.”

Her smirk deepened, her words dripping with mockery.

“What a remarkable coincidence. Shareholder Taylor happened to receive a large sum of money as a ‘private matter.’ That money happened to come from Angelica’s manager. And at the same time, I supposedly ‘bribed’ you to falsely accuse Angelica, clearing her name of plagiarism and turning her into the innocent victim.”

Selina took a step forward, her eyes boring into Shareholder Taylor’s trembling form.

“Shareholder Taylor, how do you explain this?”

…

The livestream chat nearly crashed from the flood of comments.

[Shareholder Taylor received a million-dollar transfer from Angelica’s manager… and then Selina’s design got stolen…]

[If Selina hadn’t kept the evidence, Angelica would be cashing in on her stolen design right now!]

[It all makes sense! If Shareholder Taylor had been working for Angelica from the start, then they first stole the design, tried to pin the blame on Selina, and when that backfired, they used Shareholder Taylor’s position to shift the guilt back onto her.]

[This whole thing is terrifying when you really think about it. Selina was the victim of plagiarism, yet somehow, the entire night, everyone acted like she was the one in the wrong. The manipulation is insane…]

Shareholder Taylor staggered back, his face completely drained of color, his mind in disarray.

“It seems Shareholder Taylor has nothing left to say.”

Selina turned smoothly, her expression calm but laced with mockery. “Is this what you call Angelica’s ‘good character’?”

…

In the corner of the banquet hall.

Jack stood frozen in shock. “How… how did Madam come up with such a strategy…?”

Across from him, Logan set his wine glass down with a soft clink, his expression composed as he stated the obvious.

“She won.”

And she won beautifully.

“Sir, where are you going—?”

Logan let out a rare chuckle. “To congratulate my little one on her victory.”