The Group Chat Without Me That Decided Everything Chapter 08

The Group Chat Without Me That Decided Everything Chapter 08

“Cee!”

Ethan’s voice trembled with three years of pent-up joy and pain.

He rushed up to me and even reached for my wrist.

“Cee, it’s really you… You’re back!”

I shifted slightly, avoiding his touch.

I looked at him as coldly as I would a complete stranger.

“I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for someone else, sir.”

I held my champagne, my voice distant.

His hand froze in midair.

He looked at me in disbelief.

“Cee, stop this. I know you blame me. I was wrong, I’ve spent three years looking for you. It

nearly drove me out of my mind…”

“Excuse me.”

I cut off his heartfelt confession.

“My name is Christina. I’m the North American partner at France’s LN Group. Unless I’m mistaken, your company filed for Chapter 11 last month?”

The words hit Ethan like a hard slap.

His face went white.

“You… You’re a partner at LN?”

Nathan and Lucas reached us then.

“Cee!”

Nathan pushed through the crowd, his face alight.

“You little brat, where have you been these past three years? Now you don’t even recognize your own brothers?”

Lucas tried to grab my arm too.

“Seriously. Do you know how worried we’ve been? Come home with us…”

“Security.”

I didn’t even lift my eyes. My voice wasn’t loud, but it carried.

The nearby security staff immediately stepped between us.

“Mr. Bennett.”

I looked at Nathan, my lips curving into a mocking smile.

“I withdrew from the Bennett family trust. I have no legal obligations to your household anymore. Choose your words carefully.”

Nathan stood motionless, as if he’d been struck.

Anna came over then, her eyes red and brimming with tears.

“Claire, don’t be like this. Nathan and Lucas really missed you. Are you still mad at me? Everything that happened was my fault. Please don’t blame them.”

She tried her old helpless act to win sympathy.

I no longer fell for it.

I gave her a cold look and went straight to the copying scandal.

“Ms. Hayes, I hear you were the lead designer on the project at your company that was accused of using stolen designs?”

Anna’s expression changed. Her eyes darted away.

“I… I didn’t copy anything. I just used it for inspiration…”

“Did you?”

I took a business card from my bag and handed it to Mr. Carter, who stood beside us, stunned.

“Mr. Carter, LN Group holds its partners to very high standards of integrity. I’d be extremely careful about investing in a team whose history of stolen designs nearly bankrupted its own

company,”

He nodded repeatedly, looking at Ethan and the others with immediate distaste.

“You’re absolutely right, Ms. Bennett. We’ll investigate thoroughly.”

Anna panicked.

“Claire! How can you be so heartless? You worked at that company too!”

“Because I’ve worked there, I know exactly how useless everyone in that company is.”

I set my champagne on a passing server’s tray.

“And call me Ms. Bennett, or Christina. We’re not that close.”

Then I took Dillon’s arm and headed for the VIP lounge without looking back.

I left Ethan and my brothers standing there under everyone’s curious, mocking stares.

Three years of humiliation and suffocation.

In that moment, I gave it all back to them, with interest.