Make Me the Scapegoat, I'll Make You Pay

Midway through the discussion about the project, Marshall suddenly smiled at me and said, "Jeremy, would you believe me if I told you that I could ensure that your life will forever be a living hell today?

"You'll fall completely from grace without the chance of ever making anything out of yourself again."

As I was busy with my analysis of the project data, I snapped impatiently, "Cut the crap. These numbers don't add up. If you push things forward like that, it's going to lead to a huge crisis!"

Unexpectedly, Marshall simply laughed when he heard that. He got his phone out and played a video.

It was a video of a half-finished building collapsing. Dozens of workers were buried beneath the rubble, and the scene descended into utter chaos.

The title of the video was "Scene of Jeremy Carter's Crimes".

I scrambled to make an emergency call for someone to save the trapped workers, but Marshall scoffed at me. "These videos were taken a week ago. Do you like the gift I prepared for you, Jeremy?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Liam came storming into the conference room. He knocked me to the floor with a punch.

"Jeremy, you murderer! Why are you the one leading this project? Mr. Locke told me you snatched the project away from him. I'm going to hold you accountable for the losses I've suffered!"

My heart turned cold as I watched the way Marshall ran over to Amelia and stood beside her with an aggrieved expression. In an instant, I realized what was going on.

"Amy, it was Mr. Carter who seized control of this project. I didn't dare to challenge him on it. I never thought something this catastrophic would happen. He jeopardized dozens of lives! I can't believe how ruthless he is."

Amelia stared at me and commanded icily, "Apologize to Mr. White at once!"

As I stared at her now, I could no longer hold back the hurt and indignation that had been welling up inside of me.

"I only found out about this project today. I was never involved in any of the earlier decisions. I also have proof that I didn't even set foot into the office lately!"

I pulled out my phone to prove myself, but Amelia simply slapped me across the face. "That's enough, Jeremy! Why would Marshall try to frame you?

"Mr. White is one of our major clients. If it weren't for your reckless behavior, none of this would have happened! Every backup copy of the project's documents I have is signed with your name, so what other excuse do you have left now, huh? Apologize!"

When I saw how adamant her gaze was, I couldn't say a word.

This had all been part of the trap Amelia set up for me. Her goal was to make me take the fall for Marshall.

Who would ignore the solid evidence she presented and choose to believe someone with a long list of prior offenses?

"I apologize. It was all due to my mistake," I said.

Liam threw another punch at me and even kicked me for good measure. He didn't stop cursing me out.

After Liam's assistant pulled him away, Amelia coldly announced, "You're going to bear sole responsibility for the compensation for this incident, Jeremy. It's clear to me now that you'll never change. There's no place for you in this industry anymore.

"Once the divorce decree is issued, we'll no longer have any ties to each other!"

Amelia did a great job giving a false statement in support of Marshall. Once again, I was subjected to everyone's scorn and became the scourge of society.

When I went to see Liam to make up for the situation, he waved it off before eyeing me sympathetically.

"We've known each other for so many years now. How could I not see that Amelia deliberately set you up this time? Don't worry about it. None of the workers was seriously hurt. They just needed a few days of rest."

When he saw the tension leave my shoulders, he smiled and patted me on the back.

"I'll claim the losses I'm owed myself. As for you, it's time for you to stop foolishly devoting yourself to Amelia."

I smiled and said goodbye to Liam. After picking up the divorce decree, I rushed to the airport and caught the earliest flight to Dennoria.