The Ring I Designed, The Finger She Wore It On Chapter 08

The Ring I Designed, The Finger She Wore It On Chapter 08

News of Camille Warren’s suspension spread through Crestwell Group almost immediately.

Then she showed up unannounced at the press conference.

“Vivian sent every one of those emails herself.”

She held up a stack of printed documents.

“She’d been planning to leave Mr. Calloway for a long time. Now she’s trying to pin everything on me.”

A reporter held the microphone toward me.

“Ms. Ward, what evidence do you have?”

I brought up the first slide.

“The first email was sent from a workstation inside Crestwell Group’s executive office.”

The system records appeared on the screen, tracing the login back to Grant’s office.

Camille stiffened.

“Anyone could’ve gone into that office.”

“That’s why I had the network access logs and digital-signature audit trail examined.”

I advanced to the next slide.

“The audit trail shows Grant’s digital-signature credentials were first used without authorization during Camille’s third month at Crestwell.”

“Office security records from the same period show Camille was the only person whose access matched those unauthorized uses.”

Camille turned to Grant.

“Grant, you said you’d protect me.

He was sitting in the audience, his voice hoarse.

“I’ve protected you too many times already.”

“You were the one who gave me free access to your office. You were the one who handed me the project.”

“I gave you authority. I didn’t give you permission to hurt Vivian.”

Camille suddenly laughed.

“That’s convenient. Now you’te pretending none of this is on you.”

“You approved giving me the manuscript. You were the one who told her to put the company first at the launch. And when she lost the baby, you were still with me.”

The room erupted.

Grant went pale.

I didn’t look at him. I simply played the next recording.

It was a phone call between Camille and an editor at the publishing house.

“Take Vivian Ward’s name off.”

“What if Mr. Calloway asks?”

“He won’t. All I have to do is cry, and he’ll drop everything for me.”

When the recording ended, Camille panicked.

“That’s fake. It was generated.”

Police investigators entered from the back of the room.

“Ms. Warren, we’re investigating allegations of document forgery, copyright infringement, and unauthorized disclosure of confidential business information. We need you to come with us.”

She grabbed Grant’s sleeve.

“Help me. Who do you think I did all this for?”

Grant peeled her fingers away one by one.

It was exactly the way he’d pulled my hand off him six months earlier.

“For yourself.”

“And what about you?”

Camille was crying now.

“If you hadn’t backed me every single time, do you think I ever would’ve dared?”

Grant had no answer.

After Camille was taken away, the press conference continued.

My mother’s name appeared on the main screen again.

The message that had been blacked out on the title page had been digitally restored as well.

[May Vivian always trust her own voice.)

Applause filled the room.

This time, no one credited what I’d accomplished to my being Mrs. Calloway.

After the event, Elliot handed me a new contract.

“The Global Conference Interpreting Institute has approved a new North American office. They want you to

lead it.”

I took the document.

“Another evaluation?”

“Of course.”

With a perfectly serious expression, he flipped to the last page.

“We need to evaluate whether you’re eating on time and getting the rest your doctor told you to.”

I couldn’t help laughing.

Grant was standing a short distance away, watching us.

He waited until Elliot left before walking over.

“You used to laugh like that with me.”

“Leave the past alone.”

“I burned the scoring notebook.”

“Okay.”

“Camille will be held accountable. The publisher will pay damages too.”

“I know.”

He seemed surprised by how calm I was.

“Vivian, I don’t know what else I can do anymore.”

“Then don’t do anything.”

“I can’t.”

His eyes reddened.

“Every night I go home to an einpty house. There’s no food you made, no notes you left behind, no one watting for me.”

“So what you miss is having someone take care of your life.’

“No.”

“Then what do you miss?”

He opened his mouth, but it took him a long time to answer.

“You.”

I nodded.

“Too bad you figured that out too late.”

His assistant hurried toward us.

“Mr. Calloway, the board has called an emergency meeting.”

“The European acquisition has fallen through, and several shareholders are demanding that you step down as CEO.”

Grant looked at me.

I lowered my head and signed my new contract.

I didn’t say a word in his defense.