CHAPTER 57: CHAPTER 57: THE DREAD OF RUMORS

The next day.

Work hours.

Clara finished her work and went to the restroom.

She had just gone in when she heard her own name.

"Do you think Jonah Shaw was set up to be fired?"

Clara recognized it as the voice of her colleague, Diana Dawson.

"What do you mean?"

Diana Dawson: "Don’t you think it’s strange? Previously Jonah Shaw said Clara Sterling was being kept, I feel like it’s not that simple."

"You know how aloof President Sheffield is, right? You’ve been in the company for so long, have you ever seen him give anyone a ride?"

"No." This was the voice of her colleague, Jolyn Lowell.

Diana Dawson: "Is it possible Clara Sterling is really kept by some big shot, and the sponsor knows President Sheffield? Maybe President Sheffield denied it last time because of Clara Sterling’s sponsor? Otherwise, how else could it make sense?"

Jolyn Lowell: "When you put it that way, it is really strange. President Sheffield is the Group CEO from the headquarters, and Clara Sterling is just a small assistant in the branch. With so many people in the company, how could President Sheffield remember her? Even if he did remember her as an employee, it doesn’t make sense for him to give her a ride home."

"Exactly, that’s the bug!"

Diana Dawson lowered her voice: "Last time, Jonah Shaw exposed that Clara Sterling was being kept and entered the company through connections, offending Clara Sterling’s sponsor. So this contract incident was just a setup, just an excuse to fire him."

Jolyn Lowell: "I think what you said makes a lot of sense. How could President Sheffield, being the big boss, possibly give an employee a ride home?"

Diana Dawson: "Jonah Shaw is indeed quite annoying, but his firing feels a bit unjust."

Jolyn Lowell said quietly: "It seems the sponsor behind Clara Sterling is quite powerful. We better keep a low profile around her and avoid getting fired ourselves."

Diana Dawson: "Yeah, I can’t afford to mess with the big shot’s canary."

After they finished talking and left, Clara Sterling flushed and opened the bathroom stall door.

Back at her desk, Clara Sterling looked a little pale.

Diana Dawson and Jolyn Lowell’s words affected her mood.

She originally thought that with the evidence, everyone knew the truth about Jonah Shaw’s rumors of her being kept.

Unexpectedly, some still didn’t believe it.

They were still gossiping behind her back about being kept by a sponsor.

They even analyzed it so well.

Given Silas Sheffield’s status, it really was strange for him to give an employee a ride.

But if Silas Sheffield hadn’t spoken up for her, how would she explain getting into the Range Rover?

Clara realized the meaning of "rumors are terrifying."

The crux of the problem isn’t how to explain the Range Rover.

Nor is it whether Silas Sheffield should speak up for her.

Once the seeds of a rumor are planted in people’s minds, the victim falls into a vortex of self-justification, and even when clarified later, the victim remains labeled by people.

No matter how the Range Rover is explained, regardless of whether Silas Sheffield speaks up for her, those who don’t believe her are already convinced she’s being kept.

This seems like an unsolvable problem.

Just like a popular actress who has a brother twenty years younger.

Some netizens claimed that he is actually her son.

Even though the actress later provided evidence to clarify.

But now, when some people talk about the actress’s brother online, they still say it’s her son.

Even when others say it’s been clarified he’s her brother not her son, those netizens persist in their beliefs, coming up with countless reasons to insist he’s her son.

Prejudice in people’s minds is like a mountain.

Certain matters, no matter how you prove or explain them, unbelievers will remain unconvinced.

This is why Clara didn’t confront Diana Dawson and Jolyn Lowell face-to-face to clarify.

No matter how much she explained, they wouldn’t believe it.

Unless Clara showed her marriage certificate with Silas Sheffield.

But it’s not necessary yet.

Jonah Shaw is already gone, and there is no one intentionally opposing her anymore.

Those who do not believe her are only whispering behind her back, causing no substantial harm.

Clara tried not to think about those negative words and immersed herself fully in work.

...

"A class reunion?" Quinn Hughes frowned.

The man opposite nodded, "Yes, Clara Sterling’s class reunion, Isaac Sutton will also be there."

In the café, Quinn Hughes wore a mask and a baseball cap, covering herself up tightly.

The man sitting opposite her worked for Isaac Sutton, named Marvin Mason.

Previously, Isaac Sutton had paid Marvin Mason to investigate Clara Sterling’s address in Veridian and Yvonne Sterling’s hospitalization information, but Marvin Mason found nothing, and Isaac Sutton had scolded him.

The last time Isaac Sutton called Marvin Mason, Quinn Hughes was outside the door and heard everything.

Quinn Hughes had known Isaac Sutton for many years and was now engaged to him, living in the Sutton Family residence, and she was quite familiar with Isaac Sutton’s social circle.

She had always known about Marvin Mason, so contacting him wasn’t difficult.

A few days earlier.

Quinn Hughes found Marvin Mason and pushed a thick envelope in front of him, "Inform me immediately if Isaac Sutton ever asks you to investigate anything related to Clara Sterling again."

Marvin Mason: "Miss Hughes, wouldn’t that be a betrayal against Young Master Sutton? I won’t do it."

Quinn Hughes understood he meant he was dissatisfied with the amount, so she took out another envelope.

"You don’t say, I don’t say, he won’t know. Is it not good to earn from both sides?"

Marvin Mason opened the envelope and glanced at it, smiling contently, "Miss Hughes, you’re quite generous."

Just yesterday, Marvin Mason learned about the class reunion of Clara Sterling’s university class, and he immediately passed this information to Isaac Sutton.

This wasn’t hard to find out, given the many classmates in Clara Sterling’s university class, money would quickly fetch the information.

Just after Isaac Sutton learned about it, Marvin Mason met Quinn Hughes and told her.

The reason for a face-to-face meeting was because Quinn Hughes paid him in cash.

Online transfers would leave a trace, and Isaac Sutton would find out if he checked.

Quinn Hughes: "When and where is the class reunion?"

Marvin Mason: "This month, on the 30th at 7:30 PM, at The Serendipity Inn near Crestwood U."

"Alright, I got it." Quinn Hughes handed the man another envelope filled with cash.

Marvin Mason accepted the money, "There’s one more thing."

"What?"

"Clara Sterling got married."

Quinn Hughes showed a look of shock.

"Her husband seems to be a very ordinary man. Recently, Isaac Sutton asked me to investigate Clara Sterling’s husband, but there was no information available, only a brief description of his appearance. Not very good looking, also not very wealthy, driving a car worth about twenty thousand."

A hint of a smile appeared in Quinn Hughes’s eyes, her heart filled with joy.

Clara Sterling got married, and her husband was an ordinary man, which was undoubtedly the best news she had heard in a while.