Chapter 5

Reporters swarmed in.

I coldly observed the gathered crowd, my voice hoarse:

"Believe what you want. I did nothing wrong. The truth will come out eventually."

As soon as the words left my lips, a cup of scalding hot coffee was instantly poured over my head.

My body involuntarily trembled, and I nearly slipped to the ground.

"Stella Sterling, how dare you pretend to be innocent here!"

Amber Evans held up her phone, live-streaming, the camera shoved directly into my face:

"Stella Sterling, don't you feel any shame? You seduced Mr. Sterling for money, and even stole Serena’s hard-earned latest research!"

Her live stream chat was flooded with comments like "slut" and "get out of Sterling Antiques."

Before I could react, a male reporter next to me swung his tripod, hitting my forehead. A wave of dizziness washed over me.

"Stella Sterling, people like you should be expelled from the restoration industry!"

"No integrity! Still dreaming of Julian Sterling? He doesn't even want you, wake up!"

"Plagiarist, deceiver, someone who climbed by using men!"

In an instant, all the curses rained down on me.

The ridiculous part was that among these people was an intern I had mentored. She cried theatrically into the camera:

"Professor Sterling, she made me forge restoration documents before. She said she'd ruin my future if I didn't comply…"

My secretary, whom I had saved from being laid off during company cuts, also clenched her fists and shouted:

"How can someone with such bad character be called a master? She doesn't deserve to work anywhere!"

On the live stream, someone had mass-sent a photo of Julian Sterling and me attending an international exhibition, with headlines like "How Stella Sterling Seduced Mr. Sterling and Rose to High Society?"

My shoes were lost in the crushing crowd, and I stood barefoot in the rain, utterly humiliated.

Yet, my mind was terrifyingly clear.

When Amber Evans first started, her family faced a sudden crisis. I personally sponsored her tuition and living expenses, and I taught her every word of those professional papers myself.

The intern tearfully accusing me? I rushed to be with her at 3 AM to care for her until dawn.

I used to believe kindness would always be rewarded, but I never imagined today it would become the very knife stabbing me.

Amber Evans leaned in close, a vicious sneer on her lips:

"Stella Sterling, all those artifacts you worked so hard to restore, in the end, only Serena Hayes’s name was on them. Your hard work only brought others fame and success. What's left to hold onto?"

My gaze was vacant as I stared at Sterling Antiques Tower.

Through the revolving doors, Julian Sterling’s expression was utterly devoid of emotion.

I stood numbly, letting the onlookers shove their live-stream cameras into my face.

Suddenly, from behind the crowd, came the screech of tires.

A Rolls-Royce sped through the heavy rain, pulling to a halt right in front of me.

A middle-aged man quickly got out, removed his sunglasses, and bowed:

"Excuse me, are you Ms. Stella Sterling?"

"My boss wishes to speak with you."

I stood barefoot on the pavement as the crowd's chatter died instantly, everyone staring dumbfounded at the car, unable to believe their eyes.

Serena Hayes blocked my path, her face twisted.