Winnie flares up at Katrina"s response."Insult who? You?" she scoffs. "Stop playing the fool! You keep pretending to be kind and soft-spoken, but I never expected you to be so unscrupulous!"
"If you didn"t seduce your Uncle Anderson, why would he include you in his will and leave you ten percent of our property? Ten percent! That"s enough for you to live comfortably for the rest of your life!" she exclaims.
"If you didn"t seduce your Uncle Anderson, why would you go to his office in secret?" she demands. "As an orphan, you must be proud to get ten percent of our property, aren"t you? If I hadn"t found out earlier, you would have succeeded in bewitching your husband! If I hadn"t found out earlier, you could have taken away everything we have!"
No concessions can be made on Carl"s will regarding the division of property.
At that moment, Winnie works herself up to a fevered state.
After all, she has lived with Carl for so many years. She has been by his side through every step in building his company. There is no way she will let a strange woman get a piece of their property so easily.
Winnie"s previously gracious face becomes vicious.
Hearing Winnie"s words, Katrina"s colleagues begin to be persuaded.
The Anderson family adopting Katrina is indeed charity. Katrina has graduated from college and now has the ability to live independently. The Anderson family has done more than enough for her. There is no need for them to do it anymore.
But for Carl to give her, a complete stranger, ten percent of his wealth?
It definitely seems suspicious.
What exactly is Katrina"s relations.h.i.+p with Carl Anderson? Why would he generously give her a portion of his family"s vast wealth?
People start to doubt the truth.
Katrina is also shocked at the sudden revelation.
Is Carl giving her ten percent of his property? This is the first time she hears about it. How could she explain something she has no idea about?
"Aunt Green, I don"t know anything about the division of the Anderson property. Even if what you say is true, you can rest a.s.sured that I will not take anything from you. I will go to Uncle Anderson and make things clear with him. I swear that if I get any money from you, I will be run over by a car!"
Katrina takes a deep breath and continues calmly, "I never go to Uncle Anderson"s office in secret. While I was on duty one time, I stumbled upon Eva while she was on her way to deliver doc.u.ments to Uncle Anderson. But she was suffering a cramp in her leg, so I made her go home and sent the doc.u.ments in her place. My colleagues can testify to me."
She fixes Winnie a stern look.
"I never had private exchanges and interactions with Uncle Anderson. I respect you as an elder and as my adoptive parent, but your unfounded accusations have seriously affected my reputation! If you think I have an inappropriate relations.h.i.+p with Uncle Anderson, please show me proof, instead of running your mouth like this. You can"t just insult my innocence, yell at me, and attack me randomly!"
Although Katrina isn"t shouting, her voice is firm with conviction.
Katrina"s response calms down her colleagues" suspicions. They go over the events and contemplate the truth of the matter.
When Winnie came in like a whirlwind, it looked as if she had caught someone committing adultery in the act. Then she slapped Katrina on the spot, telling her off for seducing her husband.
But what are the facts? What evidence does she have? Nothing.
Ten percent of the property? There"s no confirmation about that.
As for Katrina visiting Carl"s office, Katrina had indeed gotten out of the car to help the maid of Anderson Family, who was suffering cramps in the middle of the road.
They saw the scene themselves.
At any rate, they can"t casually doubt their colleague"s innocence until the matter is investigated thoroughly.
Everyone takes Katrina"s side.
One of the policemen says, "Madam, as soon as you entered the door, you slapped Miss Miller without cause. You could be charged with causing a public disturbance and malicious injury. Worse, you could be charged for a.s.saulting a police officer!"
Another officer adds, "Stop slandering Miss Miller unless you have enough evidence. Your actions today are enough for Miss Miller to bring the case to the court."
Filled with anger, Winnie wants to question Katrina further, but she is refuted by the threat in the policemen"s words.
Katrina"s response is clear from beginning to end. She explains her visit to Carl"s office and denies having a personal relations.h.i.+p with Carl Anderson.
Furthermore, she says that she won"t accept any money from the Anderson family.
Winnie confronted her aggressively because she was afraid that Katrina was coveting her family"s property. Now that Katrina has said otherwise, what can Winnie do?
When she saw Carl"s will, she jumped to the conclusion that Katrina has been seducing Carl without any real evidence.
She is currently surrounded by policemen who are prepared to detain her if she causes any further disturbance.
Defeated, Winnie can only grit her teeth and say, "Katrina, you"d better remember what you said today!"
If Katrina dares to accept a penny from the Anderson family, she will be hit by a car!
At that moment, Katrina feels extremely downhearted.
She likes her work, her colleagues, and everything about her job.
But Winnie and Sophie rushed in regardless of everything, slapped her in front of all her colleagues, and questioned her integrity and relations.h.i.+p with Carl.
Her self-esteem shatters in an instant. She feels disgraceful.
Despite the burning pain on her face, the pain in her heart hurts more.
Even though Katrina has explained herself, she doesn"t know if her colleagues will look at her differently because of this.
As the saying goes, the tongue is boneless, but it can break bones. Irresponsible rumors like this could cause misunderstandings and be blown out of proportion.
As Katrina wallows in bitterness and disappointment, a big warm hand wraps around her shoulder and pulls her tightly against someone.
She looks up and sees Marcellus standing next to her.
"Mrs. Green, Katrina is my girlfriend! I know best what kind of person she is! In the future, please be responsible for your own words and actions. Otherwise, I will take this to court to defend her innocence!"
Marcellus"s handsome young face is serious and cold. Although his tone is polite, there is a hint of anger in his voice.