Ch. 161..170

Chapter 161 Daniella Is Discharged

Nicole walked around the company. Since it was during working hours at this time, there were only a few people outside and even fewer cars on the road.

During the walk, she felt that she could finally calm down a little since her head also felt much better.

She sighed slightly. There were too many things happening these days, and it was even more troublesome than when she was in F&M Apparel.

Back at the Design Department, Scarlett walked in resentfully as soon as she returned to her desk.

Nicole knew that she didn’t really have a temper, and for her to be so angry, she probably had really encountered something serious.

“What’s wrong?” Nicole looked up and asked.

Scarlett pursed her lips slightly, then looked at Nicole and said, “Nicole, this is obviously Daniella’s fault, but now many people are taking Daniella’s side—this is just too much!”

When she listened to Scarlett’s grievances for her, Nicole kind of knew what she meant, and she figured the employees outside her office were probably discussing this matter.

She smiled. When she saw Scarlett’s angry look, she patted Scarlett on the shoulder to comfort her. “I never care about other people’s opinions. I believe that we just need to be ourselves.”

Scarlett realized her own gaffe and lowered her eyes slightly. Then, she nodded and responded, “I know. It’s just that I think they’re too much when they keep talking about you behind your back.”

Nicole shook her head helplessly. She said with a smile, “At most, I will only stay here for a few more months. When the time is up, I will return to F&M Apparel. Scarlett, you should try to keep a little distance from me. Otherwise, when I leave, you will not have a good time here.”

When Scarlett heard Nicole’s words, there was a trace of sadness on her face. After nearly a month in the department, she had seen it all with her own eyes.

Almost everyone in the Design Department were those who would change their stand according to the situation. Only Joanna was slightly better than the rest, and there was Nicole too, who was the only one with a genuine personality.

“If they are going to be like this, then I might as well not stay here!” Scarlett pouted.

Nicole smiled in mock frustration. Although this girl looked a little weak, she was still strong when it mattered.

“Alright. Let’s not talk about these bad things anymore. You can just pretend that you didn’t hear it,” Nicole said quietly. This was not F&M Apparel, so she couldn’t and wouldn’t say much.

“Okay.” Scarlett nodded.

At this moment, Tony looked up at Colton, who was sitting in the President’s office.

Colton rested his chin on one hand and twirled a pen with the other, his eyes drooping slightly. He looked deep in thought.

Earlier when Tony was still working outside the office, he was suddenly called in by Colton, presumably because there was something important.

Tony blindly guessed that it was because of Nicole, so he said carefully, “Now, there is a video Daniella Zimmer posted on the Internet, threatening Lisa that she will kill herself if Lisa doesn’t withdraw the lawsuit…”

Colton’s expression changed a little, and he replied softly, “Alright.”

Tony was frustrated. He knew that Colton was obviously worried about Nicole, but he still had to pretend he didn’t care. Immediately, he cleared his throat and continued, “Daniella has been discharged from the hospital. I sent someone to follow her, but she went into a hotel and never came out again.”

“A hotel?” Colton lifted his eyes and asked with a slight frown.

Tony nodded. “Yes, she didn’t contact anyone after she was discharged from the hospital. Instead, she went directly to the hotel, and no one looked for her during this period. Her meals were also directly brought upstairs to her.”

“Get someone to look for a chance to install a bug in her room,” Colton said in a low voice.

Tony was stunned. This kind of sneaky thing didn’t look like something Colton would usually do. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Colton narrowed his eyes with a half-smile on his face. He lowered his voice and said righteously, “Well, since she is thinking of committing suicide, installing a bug in her room is to protect her.”

It was impossible to refute that.

 

Chapter 162 Sleeping Pills

Listening to Queenie’s words, Daniella didn’t contact anyone after she was discharged from the hospital. She hid in the hotel by herself and ordered food delivery for all her meals. She didn’t go out again.

At first, Queenie didn’t want to do it herself, but when she thought about hiring someone else and risking being blackmailed, she figured she would rather do everything herself.

She pretended to be a person who delivered takeaway, then walked in through the backdoor of the hotel. Soon, she reached Daniella’s room and knocked on the door.

She specifically asked Daniella to live in a small hotel, so the surveillance system was not good, which made it easier for her to get things done.

Daniella was a little excited after seeing Queenie. “You’re here! So, what should I do next?”

Queenie looked at her excited appearance, then reached out to hand over the takeaway food to Daniella. She lowered her voice and asked, “Have you seen the news on the Internet these days?”

“Yes. Is Lisa overwhelmed and withdrawing the lawsuit?” Daniella also knew that there were many people around, so she signaled Queenie to come in and speak.

Queenie shook her head. “I’m a delivery person now. It’s too suspicious for me to go in, so I’ll get straight to the point. Lisa is about to be overwhelmed by the pressure of public opinion. Now it’s time for a heavy blow.”

“What do you want me to do?” Daniella asked. In the past few days, she had also read the comments on the Internet, so she believed Queenie’s words.

“I bought sleeping pills. You take two at dinner, and I will call an ambulance for you in the evening to make this matter even worse!” Queenie said with gloomy eyes.

Daniella hesitated, and she asked, “Sleeping pills? If the ambulance comes too late, will I—”

Before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by Queenie. “I’m not asking you to consume a lot—just two pills. Even if the ambulance is too late, the worst thing that could happen is that you’d sleep for a longer time.”

Daniella was relieved. Although she was told to pretend to commit suicide, she was a person who cherished her life and didn’t want to actually die.

“Okay, I got it.”

“Remember. Do it after dinner, at 6.00PM. I will call an ambulance for you at 6.30PM,” Queenie instructed.

Daniella gritted her teeth and responded, “Okay.”

After Queenie explained it clearly, she left quickly and didn’t linger around.

Daniella took the takeout and went into her room. She found a pack of sleeping pills along with her food. She took out the sleeping pills and found that the rest of the pack was empty, and there were only two pills left.

As Queenie said, the public opinion on the Internet was now one-sided, and many people were already on her side. She figured Lisa would soon succumb to the oppression.

As long as she did it again this time, Lisa would have to withdraw her lawsuit!

When she thought of this, Daniella’s eyes fell on the sleeping pills in her hand. She checked online, which said that two sleeping pills were just the right dosage, so there should be no problem.

Even if Queenie didn’t call an ambulance for her, it wouldn’t matter. When the pressure of public opinion broke out, Lisa would definitely have to withdraw the lawsuit.

After Lisa withdrew her lawsuit, she could use the money given by Queenie and continue to live freely in another city!

Daniella looked down at the meal delivered by Queenie. It was 5.30PM, and there was half an hour left until 6.00PM.

…

Nicole glanced at the time on the computer. Daniella only had 2 days left, but she was still able to keep her cool, seeing as there was no movement from her until now.

The hospital director had told her that when Daniella cut her wrist, she only cut through the first layer of skin and lost a little blood—nothing more than that.

It was clear that Daniella was a person who cherished her life, and she couldn’t do anything cruel to herself.

Usually, this kind of selfish person would definitely only think about herself. If she could admit that Queenie was the person behind the scenes, then Nicole would withdraw the lawsuit, and the public opinion would just subside.

Nicole rubbed her eyes. There were still two days before the trial. She figured Daniella would probably look for her tomorrow at the earliest.

 

Chapter 163 Daniella Disappears

The day of the court session grew nearer. What Nicole didn’t expect was that not only did Daniella not come to her, but she also did not plan to sell Queenie out at all.

Nicole couldn’t help but wonder if the money Queenie gave her was enough for her to give up on her freedom.

However, as Daniella did not come looking for her, Nicole too did not withdraw the lawsuit and went directly to court.

This matter had also attracted many reporters. After all, news of Daniella’s suicide was still trending. Of course, they would come to take advantage of the popularity of this topic.

But this time around, the plaintiff and the defendant had switched positions.

Nicole stood upright in the plaintiff’s position, but Daniella did not come.

After not seeing Daniella’s appearance for a while, the reporters began to grow suspicious.

“What if she committed suicide because Lisa refused to withdraw her lawsuit?”

“Don’t speak nonsense. It’s also possible that she’s not here because she wants to escape the sanctions of the law and run away.”

“It’s been half an hour now. If Daniella doesn’t arrive, I’m afraid the court will not be able to begin its proceedings.”

After waiting for more than half an hour, Daniella, who was the defendant, still had not arrived, so many had started whispering among themselves.

Nicole also frowned. Logically speaking, Daniella, as a defendant, must have a limitation in movement, and she could not have gone far. Could she be hiding?

In the end, Daniella still never appeared in court. Hence, the judge announced the delay of the court session.

Nicole didn’t have any opinion about that. However, she couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy for some reason.

As soon as they went out, the reporters gathered around, but because of Colton’s warning last time, they didn’t ask too many questions.

“Miss Lisa, is there any specific reason why Ms. Daniella, the defendant, didn’t come today?”

“Yes, Miss Lisa. Ms. Daniella posted a video on the Internet saying that she would commit suicide if you didn’t withdraw your lawsuit. What do you think about this?”

And the questions from the reporters went on.

The reporters crowded up one after the other, and the questions they threw at her caused Nicole a headache.

When Whitney saw this, she hurried over to help stop the reporters. She stood in front of Nicole and said unhappily, “You should ask Daniella these questions, not Miss Lisa!”

“Although Ms. Daniella is indeed guilty from a legal point of view, from a moral perspective, shouldn’t you let her go?” Seeing that Nicole was dodging their questions, a courageous reporter came up and threw her a sharp one.

Nicole paused in her footsteps. She then turned her head to look straight at the reporter who spoke, and her eyes sank slightly. Next second, she pursed her lips, glanced at the piles of reporters below, and said slowly after a smirk, “When I claimed that I didn’t plagiarize, did you let me go? Did you give me a chance? Now that I am protecting my legal rights and interests, you want me to give her a chance? Excuse me, but from what perspective are you questioning me from?”

The reporters were stunned by Nicole’s words. They themselves were responsible for upholding the moral level. From a legal standpoint, it was true that there was nothing wrong with what Nicole did.

Nicole continued in a cold voice, “If everyone judges a person by virtue, then what is the use of the law?”

The reporters couldn’t answer Nicole’s questions. Originally, they wanted to use this opportunity to start another trending wave, but they didn’t expect Nicole to completely shut them down.

They didn’t speak any more, and Whitney also followed Nicole as they left.

“Miss Nicole, you don’t look so good.” Whitney only spoke when there was no one around them.

Nicole closed her eyes. She was inexplicably flustered today, which made her expression look bad, and she explained, “I feel like something is going to happen.”

“What?” Whitney quickly reacted. “Are you talking about Daniella?”

“Yeah.” Nicole nodded.

“No way. That person is so cowardly. It is impossible for her to commit suicide.” Whitney shook her head because she had hacked into the hospital’s system to take a look at her records. The degree of the cut on her wrist was shallower than the wound of someone who accidentally scratched themselves. How could such a person possibly commit suicide?

 

Chapter 164 She Is Dead

Nicole couldn’t tell why she felt this way, but there was a strong sense of unease in her heart.

She shook her head, trying to shake the mess out of her mind.

But today was a bit strange—not only did Queenie not come to the court, but even Colton didn’t come.

She could understand why Queenie didn’t come. After all, Daniella was definitely going to lose the lawsuit, but Colton was very concerned about it, so it was strange that he didn’t come.

“Let’s go back,” Nicole said, suppressing the uneasiness in her heart.

Whitney smiled and put her hand on Nicole’s shoulder. “Miss Nicole, don’t think about it anymore. Regardless if Daniella shows up or not, she can’t shirk the responsibility of this false claim anyway.”

Nicole pulled her lips and smiled forcefully. In fact, she didn’t really want Daniella to go to jail; she only wanted to use Daniella to get to Queenie.

However, she didn’t know what Queenie did to Daniella that the latter would hold her tongue, so much so that she would rather go to prison than sell her out.

Just as Nicole and Whitney were about to drive home, her phone suddenly rang.

Nicole looked at her phone and found that it was Colton calling. She answered the phone and asked Whitney to drive, then she went over to sit in the passenger seat.

Nicole buckled on the seat belt and said, “Hello, President Gardner.”

“Nicole, don’t go home yet. I asked Tony to bring your son to my house, and you should come too. You should stay at my house for the time being.” Colton’s voice was a little deep, and there was a trace of insistence in his voice.

Nicole frowned. There must be a reason Colton said these words so suddenly. She quickly asked, “Did something happen?”

“Yeah,” Colton responded. After a long silence there, he uttered, “Daniella is dead.”

Nicole felt her head pounding, and her whole body stiffened.

She was stunned for a long time without reacting. Then, her fingers began to turn pale while holding the phone, and her face fell.

After a while, Nicole eased her breath. Her voice trembled as she asked, “H-How did she die?”

While she spoke, panic rose from the pit of her stomach.

“There were sleeping pills on the table. For the time being, it seems that she died from overdosing on sleeping pills. The specifics will only be known after the autopsy,” Colton said.

The people he arranged to watch over at Daniella these days said something was strange. Not only did she not go out these days, she didn’t even see anyone. The owner of the hotel also said that he hadn’t seen her order food for a long time.

On the day of the court session, there was no movement from Daniella. So, Colton subconsciously felt something was wrong and rushed over.

Unexpectedly, Daniella was found dead in the hotel.

He suppressed all the news immediately and asked Tony to go to Nicole’s house to pick up her son. The residence where Nicole lived had been known to reporters for a long time. Although it was a high-end community, he asked Nicole to move into his house just in case.

“She really committed suicide?” Nicole found her voice trembling. Although she wanted to force Daniella to reveal Queenie as the mastermind, she never wanted to push Daniella to her death.

“Nicole, calm down now. She may not have committed suicide. We will not know until we get all the results and information,” Colton said. The first thing he did was preserve all the evidence in the hotel room.

Nicole lowered her eyes and calmed down for a while—no wonder she felt uneasy today. She pursed her lips and replied in a low voice, “Okay, I understand. Then I will have to trouble you with this.”

“It’s nothing. I’ll send the address to your mobile phone, and you can go there directly. I’ll come back to tell you about the details in the evening,” Colton said.

Nicole nodded and hummed a response.

After hanging up the phone, Nicole leaned back in the seat, looking a little lost.

 

Chapter 165 Moving Home

Whitney almost heard everything clearly, and her expression was slightly stagnant. “Miss Nicole, did Daniella really committed suicide?”

Although they did nothing wrong in this matter, if Daniella really committed suicide, the pressure of public opinion would definitely be on Nicole.

Nicole pressed her palm against her eye as she rubbed it for a while. Her voice was hoarse. “I can’t be sure at the moment. We’ll have to wait for the autopsy report.”

Whitney was aware of the seriousness of the matter. “If she really died, the police will soon intervene, and it’s only a matter of time before the media finds out about it.”

Nicole nodded. She never thought that Daniella would have the courage to really kill herself.

Whitney looked at Nicole’s tired face and comforted her, “Miss Nicole, no matter how Daniella died, it has nothing to do with you—it’s all her fault.”

Nicole calmed down, and she fell into deep thoughts. It was not difficult to guess that Queenie was the person behind Daniella’s false claims over the design draft. Daniella only wanted fame and fortune from doing that, and she had no reason to take her own life for this matter.

Even if Nicole managed to win the court case, Daniella would at most spend a few days in prison and then suffer a little bit financially.

Besides, she also gave Daniella a path to retreat. As long as she confessed that it was Queenie behind everything, then she could save herself and retreat. Could Queenie be behind this too?

When Nicole thought of this, her eyes began to sink. If Queenie really did this, then she would be killing two birds with one stone.

Firstly, after Daniella’s death, it would definitely cause huge public pressure on Nicole. Secondly, the dead couldn’t speak, and the matter of falsely claiming the design could be blamed entirely on Daniella.

“Yes. There must be someone behind this matter. We can only try to find out as soon as possible before the media gets wind of this,” Nicole said in a hoarse voice.

At this juncture, no matter if Daniella’s death was a homicide or suicide, this ball of trouble would definitely be thrown on her head.

Whitney assured, “Okay, Miss Nicole. Don’t worry. We can definitely find out the truth!”

Nicole followed the address given by Colton to a villa. The villa had a special underground parking garage and was equipped with an elevator to go directly upstairs.

As soon as Nicole entered through the door, Hayden ran over from a distance and threw himself into her arms.

Tony was there as well. Nicole smiled and thanked him. “Thank you, Mr. Larson.”

In return, Tony shook his head and said respectfully, “No problem; it’s my duty after all.”

“Mom, I thought something happened. This strange man took me away as soon as he came into our house,” Hayden said aggrievedly, holding Nicole.

Nicole looked down at her son, noticing the bit of grievance in his eyes. All of a sudden, she felt a little helpless. She reached out to rub his soft black hair and explained with a smile, “We’re going to stay here for a while, and I asked Mr. Larson to pick you up. Didn’t he tell you?”

“He did, but I didn’t trust him.” Hayden pouted.

It was normal that he didn’t believe it. After all, she knew that her son had always been smart since he was a child, and he rarely believed others easily.

Nicole naturally wouldn’t tell her son that something bad had indeed happened, so she just hugged him and said, “Haven’t you always wanted Mr. Handsome to be your father? This is his home. Let’s get along well with him first.”

When Hayden heard that it was Colton’s home, the grievance on his face disappeared instantly, and a trace of excitement flashed in his eyes quickly. “Really? Mommy, are you ready to move on? Do you want him to be my daddy?”

Nicole looked at her son’s happy expression, and a trace of embarrassment flashed across her face. After all, Tony was still there, so she could only change the subject. “Ahem. Okay, now. Go play with Miss Whitney first. I have work stuff to talk about with Mr. Larson.”

Whitney naturally knew what Nicole was going to talk about, so she stepped forward to take Hayden. “Hey, Hayden. How about we go upstairs to see if there is anything fun to do?”

“Okay!” Hayden didn’t think much about it and immediately left with Whitney after hearing that he was going to have some fun.

 

Chapter 166 Cheeky Little Kid

After Whitney left with Hayden, the smile on Nicole’s face loosened. She looked at Tony with a slightly solemn expression.

“Mr. Larson, what exactly is going on?”

Tony explained, “At first, President Gardner was afraid that something would happen to Daniella, so he asked me to send someone to watch over her. About two days ago, the people I sent reported that they hadn’t seen Daniella, and we didn’t want to alert the enemy, so we had been watching over her from afar until today’s court session.”

Nicole pretty much understood what happened. Her face softened a little, and she asked, “When did she die?”

“About two days ago, but because the air conditioner was turned on in the room and the door was still locked, no one found out. Today, I sensed something was really wrong and instructed them to break in,” Tony explained in detail.

With Tony’s explanation, Nicole more or less understood the situation, so she nodded. “I heard from President Gardner that there were sleeping pills on the table.”

“Yes, I also found an empty pack of sleeping pills on the table. Apart from the existing wound on her wrist, she didn’t have other wounds, so I guessed it was an overdose of sleeping pills,” Tony answered honestly.

Nicole felt that this was going to be troublesome. Overdosing on sleeping pills sounded obviously like a case of suicide.

Nicole sighed with a foul expression. “I see.”

Tony looked at Nicole’s tired appearance and continued respectfully, “Miss Nicole, please rest here for the next few days. You don’t need to think too much about this matter, as President Gardner will handle it properly. If you have any specific matters, you can wait for President Gardner to come back in the evening to discuss them together.”

“Yeah,” Nicole responded with a faint smile. “President Gardner is very much to thank for this matter.”

“Miss Nicole, rest well first. You don’t look so good,” Tony said. “If there is anything you need me to do, you can call me at any time.”

Nicole nodded. The current information was indeed a bit too much, so she had to digest it well. She nodded and replied, “Okay, Mr. Larson. Thank you for your help.”

…

Upstairs, Hayden and Whitney were sitting face to face, and Hayden’s face no longer had the innocent smile he had when he was downstairs.

He looked a little serious as he stared at Whitney for a long time.

“Tell me. What happened to Mommy?” Hayden asked.

Listening to his little adult-like tone, Whitney was a little dumbfounded. She stretched out her hand and pinched Hayden’s round face while saying with a smile, “You are one cheeky little kid, aren’t you?”

Hayden swatted Whitney’s hand away with some disgust. His delicate and small brows were slightly wrinkled, and he said, dissatisfied, “I’m talking to you about something serious!”

“You’re really not cute at all,” Whitney complained.

Back then, she shouldn’t have taught Hayden how to hack just because they were bored at home. Now, because of this skill, he could find out about a lot of things and even thought he was an adult, obviously losing his cuteness from before.

“Don’t change the topic,” Hayden said solemnly. Although he was young, he was very imposing.

“I read on the Internet that Daniella Zimmer committed suicide because Mommy refused to withdraw the lawsuit. Now that she’s moving in such a panic, I guess it’s because the woman is dead.”

The child sounded a bit funny because of the deliberately lowered voice.

Whitney nodded without concealment. She looked at Hayden and asked, “Then what are you going to do?”

Hayden lowered his eyes. His thin eyelashes fanned out, looking pitch-black. Solemnly, he said, “I’ve seen the woman’s medical files. There was only a minor cut when she committed suicide last time, which showed that she couldn’t bear the pain. This person definitely did not commit suicide. I won’t let Mommy be put in danger!”

Whitney glanced at the little brat in front of her. He was young but smart, and he could already point out the key points in merely a few words.

 

 

Chapter 167 Living With Colton

Colton didn’t come back until almost 6.00PM in the evening.

He had a tinge of tiredness on his face. Nicole sat on the sofa with her head bowed slightly, looking thoughtful.

When she heard the sound of the door, Nicole looked up and saw that it was Colton, and she quickly stood up.

“President Gardner,” Nicole called softly.

Colton hummed in response. He had just come back from the hospital, and the matter had been reported to the police. There would probably be another bloody storm on the Internet tomorrow.

“The matter over there is almost settled, so you don’t have to worry,” Colton said, reaching out and pouring himself a cup of coffee to moisten his throat.

“Daniella… Did she really commit suicide?” Nicole hesitated for a while, but still asked.

Colton’s hand paused, and he shook his head. “The hospital found out that it was because of the sleeping pills. But because it’s been too long and the person had been dead for two days, further investigation is needed.”

Nicole’s face turned pale, and the hands hanging by her sides tightened a little.

Colton looked at Nicole’s pale face and couldn’t help but comfort her. “Although it was found out that the death was due to an overdose of sleeping pills, the possibility of homicide is not ruled out.” Colton paused, looked at Nicole, and continued, “Don’t think too much. We’ll figure out what to do when the results are out. You will stay with me for the next few days. Just call Tony if you need anything. And after this matter is dealt with, you can go home.”

Nicole nodded. After the media found out about this matter, it would definitely be widely publicized, and it would be difficult for her to defend herself if she went out alone. It would be better to stay here and wait for the truth to unfold.

“Okay, then I’ll have to bother you with this.”

…

Back at the Anderson Residence, Lydia was smiling happily. “Nicole wouldn’t be able to wash herself clean of this mess.”

“Although this matter has been suppressed by the Gardners, the heat is too high. When the police release this news, even if they want to suppress it, they will not be able to!” Queenie said happily with a smirk.

This time, Nicole could finally be completely defeated. Although this incident wouldn’t affect Nicole legally, the moral condemnation would definitely give her a huge blow.

“Queenie, even if Nicole doesn’t take legal responsibility, this will be shameful enough for her!” Lydia said.

“Yeah, I want to see what she will do next!” Queenie smiled proudly.

While the two were gloating, Queenie suddenly received a call. She glanced down at the number, and the joy on her face instantly disappeared. She frowned slightly, but she picked it up anyway.

Queenie accepted the call. Her face darkened visibly as she squeezed her phone tightly and gritted her teeth while saying, “Continue watching them, and tell me immediately if there is anything.”

After she hung up the phone, Queenie’s face was almost as dark as night.

Seeing that her face suddenly sank, Lydia realized that something was wrong, so she quickly asked, “Queenie, is something wrong?”

Queenie squeezed her hands tightly and gritted her teeth. “Mom, that b*tch, Nicole, brought her son to live with Colton!”

“What?!” Lydia was startled. Her pupils were full of surprise, and she quickly asked, “How is that possible?”

Queenie had been with Colton for so many years, but she had never once entered Colton’s house. At most, she had only been to the Gardner Residence a few times. But Nicole, the sl*t, actually moved in?

Trying to suppress the anger in her heart, Queenie took a few deep breaths. “I’ve always had someone to keep an eye on Colton’s house, just because I was afraid that some woman would approach him, but I didn’t expect it to be Nicole!”

Right now, Queenie was angry and scared. She knew that Nicole gave birth to Colton’s son. If they spent time together every day, then there was bound to be feelings between them.

She didn’t dare to think about the consequences…

Chapter 168 News Spreading Like Wildfire

Early the next day.

Although Colton intentionally wanted to suppress the news, the incident had become too hot recently. It was almost as if it had grown its own legs, and it instantly filled the Internet in the morning.

Topics that flooded the internet included: ‘Lisa Refused to Withdraw the Lawsuit, Causing Daniella to Commit Suicide by Swallowing Sleeping Pills’, ‘A Life Was Lost Because One Refused to Withdraw the Lawsuit’, and ‘Lisa Is a Murderer’.

Originally, after Daniella failed to commit suicide, there was a lot of discussion about Nicole on the Internet. Now that Daniella had died, no matter what the reason, not only the media, but even netizens agreed that it was Nicole’s fault.

Suddenly, Nicole’s personal account was flooded with negative comments.

Nicole turned off her phone after a few glances. After all, looking at these things for a long time would affect her mood.

Colton’s villa was big, and there was a huge balcony on the second floor. Nicole and Hayden were both here, so Whitney also moved here. Fortunately, there were many rooms in this villa, so they naturally had room for her.

Colton went out early in the morning. Nicole took her son and Whitney to bask in the sun on the open-air balcony.

The weather was just fine today. The sun was out, but it wasn’t very hot.

While Nicole was basking in the sun, the phone rang. She thought there was some news from Colton, but she didn’t expect Zachary to call.

Nicole turned her head and glanced at Whitney, who quickly denied it. “I didn’t tell him anything! Now that the news is everywhere, maybe President Yates saw it himself.”

Nicole pursed her lips and smiled. “I haven’t even said who is calling me, and yet you are admitting it?”

Whitney felt that she seemed too worked up and touched her nose in embarrassment.

Hayden laughed at the side. “You idiot!”

Was I just laughed at by both the mother and son?

After Nicole finished teasing her, she hid aside and answered the phone.

“Nicky, why didn’t you tell me about such a huge thing?” Zachary did not use his usual gentle tone, and his words held a tone of questioning.

Nicole pursed her lips and smiled. She lowered her voice. “I didn’t kill anyone, so I don’t have anything huge to report.”

“But the current public opinion is against you, and there are even some rumors over here,” Zachary said helplessly, reaching out and rubbing the tip of his nose, feeling a little tired.

Although Zachary had deliberately suppressed his voice, Nicole could still hear his exhaustion, so she comforted, “Zach, I will handle this matter myself. You don’t have to worry, and just focus on your own affairs.”

Zachary sighed deeply as he lamented, “If I had known that so many things would happen, I wouldn’t have agreed to let you work at the Gardners.”

Indeed, if she hadn’t gone to the Gardner Corporation, there wouldn’t be so many things happening right now.

“It’s no use regretting what has already happened.” Nicole smiled.

“I heard Whitney say that you moved to Colton’s. Well, at least no one dares to go against Colton directly in the country,” Zachary said slowly, his whole body overwhelmed with a sense of powerlessness.

When the woman he loved was in trouble, he couldn’t help her at all, so he could only make a phone call to show how much he cared.

Zachary evoked a self-deprecating smile—he was really a useless man!

“Zach, you don’t have to worry about me. When I finish working with the Gardner Corporation this time, I will return to F&M Apparel,” Nicole comforted him. Too much had happened these days.

“Okay, fine. But if you face any difficulty, you have to tell me right away, and I can return to the country to help you out,” Zachary said seriously.

Nicole laughed. She knew Zachary was too busy to take care of himself now, but he still worried about her. When she thought about this, she softened her voice and said, “You don’t have to care about these little things, okay? It will be dealt with soon.”

 

Chapter 169 False Concerns

After Nicole stayed at Colton’s house for two days, she unexpectedly received a call from Joanna, who rarely called her.

“Lisa, the Internet has become more and more chaotic these days, and I’m worried about you, so I called to check up on you,” Joanna said politely.

Nicole smirked—she knew what this person was up to, so she replied in a lazy voice, “I’m still alive and kicking. Nothing to worry about.”

“That’s good to know,” Joanna said slowly, and after saying a few words of false concern, she slowly cut to the chase.

“Our presale has been brought forward, and it’s fast approaching. The factory has already started to ask for design drafts; otherwise, they won’t be able to make them in time. Since you’re currently swamped, maybe I should—”

Nicole interrupted Joanna before she had finished speaking, “Oh, haven’t I told you about this yet?”

Joanna’s heart tightened, and she asked with a smile, “About what?”

“Look at where my mind has gone. I’ve been lying at home comfortably these past few days, and I have forgotten all about it.” Nicole smiled. “I have already selected all the design drawings. I won’t be needing your help for now. Later, I will send someone to the company to hand over the design draft to the factory. Director Schmidt, don’t worry. The new product launch will be held as usual.”

Joanna called this time because she wanted Nicole to hand over the design draft directly. If she regained power, when the time came for the launch of the new products, she would be able to take the credit for herself. To her dismay, Nicole had already planned it.

Joanna continued to smile fakely and said, “The design draft is a small matter; we still need to choose fabrics and work on some details. These still need to be handled by someone.”

“Oh, don’t you worry. I will be sending my assistant from F&M Apparel. She understands all these details, so you can rest assured, ​​Director Schmidt,” Nicole said in a raised voice.

“That sounds great.” Joanna almost squeezed her last words through her teeth and hung up the phone after she finished speaking.

When Nicole saw that the phone was hung up, she took out a USB flash drive from her pocket and handed it to Whitney. “This is the design drawing of the next batch of our new line of products. Go to the Gardner Corporation in the afternoon and give this to the factory. Remember to do it yourself.”

Whitney took the USB flash drive and raised her eyebrows. “Didn’t Director Schmidt offer to take on this matter? Why do we have to bother with this?”

“Because I don’t want her to. Do you have any opinions?” Nicole said capriciously.

Whitney shook her head. “No, Miss Nicole—you are the best.”

After Joanna hung up the phone, the smile on her face disappeared instantly. She held the phone with constant increasing force until her knuckles turned white.

“Hahaha, Director Schmidt, let me just say this: Even if Nicole is in trouble now, she will not let go of her designs. Look, you kindly called, but instead, you were snubbed.” Queenie sat aside her. Looking at Joanna’s gloomy face, she laughed.

She wanted to bring Joanna into her team now, but this woman was too shrewd. She wanted everything for herself, but never to involve herself in any trouble.

Joanna heard Queenie’s harsh ridicule, and her face became even more gloomy. She tried her best to recover and said calmly, “The cooperation between the Gardner Corporation and F&M Apparel is originally focused on Lisa, so it’s not surprising that this happened.”

When Queenie saw that Joanna was still deceiving herself, she stood up and looked at her. “Joanna, don’t think I can’t see that you fancy Colton.”

Joanna raised her eyes, but she didn’t show any surprise at Queenie’s words. She did have feelings for Colton. This was indeed the truth, and there was nothing to refute.

“So what?”

Queenie was a little surprised when she saw her frankly admit it, but she quickly reacted, saying, “Then you probably don’t know this yet: In the past few days, because of Daniella Zimmer’s suicide, Colton took Nicole home to live there with him.”

Joanna’s originally calm expression instantly stiffened. The reason why she didn’t pay attention to Queenie was because she knew that Colton didn’t care about her at all.

But if it was Nicole, she couldn’t guarantee it. After all, since Nicole came to the Gardner Corporation, Joanna could clearly feel that Colton had changed.

He became partial to Nicole. At first, she could tell herself that it was because Nicole was the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel. With her, the Gardner Corporation’s clothing could become a domestic leader, but now… things seemed to be shifting in the wrong direction.

 

Chapter 170 Do Your Best

Joanna tried her best to calm herself and said in a nonchalant tone, “That’s nothing. President Gardner is merely protecting her because the rumors are rife now. After all, if anything happens to Nicole, the Gardner Corporation won’t be able to answer to F&M Apparel.”

Seeing how Joanna was acting like she didn’t care, Queenie couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Director Schmidt, you’re still trying to lie to yourself and others at this point, huh? I might be Colton’s fiancée in name, and you know it as well that he doesn’t care about me, but he’s not the same toward Nicole.”

In order to pull Joanna to her side, Queenie even said self-deprecating things. Before Nicole was here, Queenie hadn’t bothered herself with Joanna because Colton merely treated her as a subordinate.

But with Nicole’s appearance, a sense of danger struck Queenie as Colton had never allowed a woman into his house before!

Queenie’s words dimmed the light in Joanna’s eyes, and she gazed into the distance; even Queenie could read her feelings, so how could Colton not know about it?

Seven years, Joanna thought. I’ve been in the company for seven years, which is even longer than Queenie.

Her love for this man had been ongoing for almost ten years. In the beginning, she was heartbroken when Queenie appeared, but with time, she saw that Colton wasn’t the least interested in Queenie, which was a relief to her.

She had thought that as long as she worked hard, assisting the Gardner Corporation to be the leader of the domestic fashion industry, Colton would then think highly of her. To her dismay, Nicole appeared out of nowhere.

“It’s up to President Gardner who he loves, and it’s not something a subordinate like me should meddle with,” Joanna said composedly. Turning to Queenie with emotionless eyes, she continued, “You’re more than welcome if you’re here today to ask for a custom-made dress from me, Miss Anderson. But if you’re here to gossip, I’m sorry because I’m quite busy and don’t have the time for that.”

Realizing that Joanna wasn’t the least swayed by her, Queenie frowned unwittingly. She came here to persuade Joanna to stand on her side so that they could drive Nicole out completely, but she was pretending to be holier-than-thou now.

With a smile on her face, Queenie said, “Now is the best chance. Nicole is tangled in this matter, and at least, she can’t make it for Wendy’s birthday. Don’t disappoint me, Director Schmidt.”

Joanna’s face remained unchanged. Previously, because Nicole cleared herself of plagiarism, she thought that the task of designing Wendy’s birthday dress would fall into Nicole’s hands again, but looking at the situation, it seemed like she would do it instead.

“Don’t worry. If Wendy needs me, of course I’ll do my best to complete it,” Joanna said in a diplomatic manner.

Snorting, Queenie didn’t speak anymore and turned to leave. After she left, only then was there a change in Joanna’s expression.

The dresses she designed for Wendy previously didn’t cause any ripples because they were simply for birthday parties. However, it was different this time since it was going to be Wendy’s eighteenth birthday party, and it would definitely be a grand event.

As the Gardner Corporation had a huge influence globally, the previous birthday parties had always been rather impressive, and Wendy’s eighteenth birthday would be an even bigger party for sure. At that time, all the media and journalists would be there as well.

A smirk tinged the edges of Joanna’s lips. Although she disliked Queenie, at least what she did was beneficial to her, and Joanna knew clearly the reason why she came to look for her today—it was nothing more than asking her to join her side to bring Nicole down together.

Joanna was never one to do something she had no confidence in, just as the incident with the plagiarism; she was that close to see Nicole being toppled, but things turned out this way instead in the end.

With Queenie’s flamboyant attacks, she’ll shoot herself in the foot sooner or later, Joanna thought. Why should I jump onto her bandwagon, then? Isn’t it better for me to sit by and reap the benefits of her actions?