CHAPTER 310: CHAPTER 310: FAKE FROM THE VERY BEGINNING

In the police station.

Serena Jennings and Lana Xavier had both arrived.

Lana Xavier came alone.

Serena wasn’t; Ethan White accompanied her.

Initially, Ethan White wasn’t sure what Lana Xavier had done.

He had only heard that The Lockwood Group leaked the FZZL System’s client information, causing severe negative impact.

Although The Lockwood Group engaged in emergency public relations, since they hadn’t caught the real culprit, the claim of being attacked by criminals was unanimously considered an excuse and pretext by the entire network.

However, after working with Serena last night to devise a plan, he now knew that the person causing such a significant crisis for Serena was actually Lana Xavier.

Lana Xavier didn’t dare to look up at Serena.

She was too ashamed to face her.

She also didn’t dare to look at Ethan White.

Even though Ethan White didn’t say anything when he saw her.

But precisely because Ethan said nothing to her, Lana immediately understood that Serena must have told Ethan everything.

Lana knew in her heart that she was no longer worthy of being the close friend of Serena and Ethan.

Officer Lowell called the three of them into the office and briefly explained the current progress of their investigation.

"Julian Xavier, a genetics expert, age 31, three months ago, his body was found by fishermen in a small village overseas..."

Upon hearing Officer Lowell’s words, Lana nearly collapsed to the ground.

Serena discreetly glanced at Lana.

She noticed that Lana hadn’t let go of Julian Xavier.

Or rather, she still had feelings for him.

This left Serena feeling a mix of emotions.

At this moment, Ethan gently wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

Their eyes met.

Ethan’s gentle gaze dispelled the gloom in Serena’s heart.

Then, Officer Lowell pushed a photo in front of Serena and the others.

"This is Julian Xavier, the deceased."

Serena and the others looked at the photo, completely stunned.

"This is Julian Xavier?"

Serena was astonished.

"Genuine without deceit."

Officer Lowell gave a very assured reply.

However, the man in the photo was not identical but completely unrelated to the Julian Xavier Serena and Lana knew.

According to Officer Lowell’s investigation, this long-deceased man was the real Julian Xavier.

And the Julian Xavier who had approached Serena and the others was a fake from the start.

The first person had assumed Julian Xavier’s identity, forged documents, with the plan to use it all for this day.

"The person is not from Country A, cannot be found in Country A’s system, making the investigation very painstaking, clearly indicating a well-prepared corporate spy; in any case... we’ve done our best."

As they walked out of the police station, Serena saw Lana’s long-held tears finally burst forth.

As if the last life-saving straw had broken, Lana fell into deep despair.

Watching Lana silently shed tears, her features twisted by anger, grievance, and pain, Serena herself felt troubled.

However, walking beside Serena, Ethan remained a detached observer, as if Lana were just an unfamiliar stranger to him.

The three of them walked out of the police station together and headed into the parking lot.

Yet they parted ways, going in different directions.

Lana drove to a bar, drowning her sorrows in alcohol.

Ethan accompanied Serena to The Lockwood Group.

This scandal had driven The Lockwood Group’s stock price to a new low, and many shareholders were asking Serena for an explanation.

Although Serena had initially taken over The Lockwood Group as the largest shareholder.

However, possessing only shares, she wasn’t well acquainted with many of the other shareholders and employees.

With such a massive scandal now, few believed she could single-handedly reverse the situation.

The company was in a state of panic.

"How capable can a woman who got the company through a divorce really be?"

"What bad luck that she ended up with our company."

"Is our huge group going to collapse under her?"

"This is the perfect opportunity for a takeover. When layoffs start, we’ll all end up unemployed."

Standing outside the break room, Serena listened to the employees’ complaints, when suddenly, a pair of large hands covered her ears.

"Don’t worry, with me here, everything will be fine."

Even though her ears were covered, Serena still heard Ethan encouraging her.

Ethan indeed kept his word.

He independently funded and established a crisis response team, using his network to find top talents from various fields to assist Serena, tackling the problem from technical, legal, and public relations fronts to restore The Lockwood Group’s image as much as possible.

Meanwhile, Serena proactively convened a shareholders meeting to reassure them.

For those impatient shareholders who had lost confidence and wanted to offload their shares, she publicly purchased their shares at double the price using her personal account, as evidence of her commitment to stand with the company through thick and thin.

In addition, Serena used her own money to give raises to the core executives and technical staff to stabilize the internal chaos.

Thus, through Serena and Ethan’s combined internal and external efforts, The Lockwood Group’s stock price stabilized and did not fall further.

However, that was as far as things went.

The deep of night.

Even the most bustling city gets sleepy after a while.

The Lockwood Group’s whole building was enveloped in darkness, everyone had gone home from work.

Only the CEO’s office was still lit.

Serena stood alone in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the unlit cityscape at night.

Initially, she wasn’t done with her work, and Ethan refused to leave.

But after working tirelessly and without sleep for days, helping her significantly, she insisted he must go home to rest.

Unable to argue, and unwilling to upset her, Ethan reluctantly left by himself.

The CEO’s office was silent.

The quieter it got, the more Serena heard the chaos within her heart.

She and Ethan had done all they could.

Yet, Solara Tech’s acquisition efforts did not halt.

Serena thought of the last time she strategically acquired The Lockwood Group shares.

That time, Caleb Lockwood had initiated a poison pill strategy.

Except for her name on the whitelist, all other companies intending to take advantage were blocked.

She had hoped to emulate that, to initiate a poison pill strategy.

But she hadn’t gained the full support of the board; many shareholders had little confidence in her, refusing to fund and subscribe to new shares.

This setback made Serena clearly realize that when it comes to influence within The Lockwood Group, she was indeed far below Caleb Lockwood.

The sensation of clothing on her shoulders made Serena shudder.

"It’s me..."

The deep magnetic voice reached her ears, and Serena turned sharply.

Caleb Lockwood stood before her.

Not seen for several days, Caleb still wore the cheap suit he only wore when he was an assistant.

Despite the suit’s cheapness, worn by Caleb, his innate nobility and authority, shining without anger, were undiminished.

Serena watched Caleb and spoke first:

"Are you here to process your resignation?"