Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 128

Chapter 128

“Theo! Come out here and explain the venomous snake you raised!” Jared bellowed, his anger barely contained.

Theodore pressed a hand to his stinging cheek, where a fingernail had scratched him, and stepped forward with a furrowed brow. “Let’s not get sidetracked. Emma, what do you want? Just say it.”

“That’s right, Emma…” Cecilia sidled up, her voice eager and coaxing. “Hanley already said it–your security footage isn’t admissible in court. Why make a scene? It’ll only hurt the company. Why don’t you just tell us what you want?”

Emma smiled coolly. “Whether it’s evidence or not isn’t up to you, and honestly, that’s not even the point. What matters is that everything in those recordings actually happened, and facts have a way of changing people’s minds. Even if the court doesn’t accept it, do you really think the public won’t believe me? I can just upload the footage online and let the whole world see how CEO Whitman and his little cabal tried to set up his wife for a fiery ‘accident.‘ Let’s see if you still think this isn’t evidence then!”

“You’re out of your mind!” Jared’s eyes blazed with fury. “You’d ruin Theo’s reputation, destroy the company’s image, and make Cici a laughingstock.

For what?”

“For me?” Emma grinned. “For the satisfaction. For the sheer pleasure of watching the guilty get what they deserve.”

She held up a finger. “And I never said who the guilty party is. If you’re feeling nervous, maybe it’s because you’ve got something to hide. Or maybe, you’re all guilty.”

Cecilia, Jared, and Hanley had been ready to fire back, but at her words, their retorts caught in their throats, faces turning red with frustration.

“Son of a-!” Jared muttered, rolling up his sleeves, clearly ready to start a fight.

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Emma clenched her jaw and stood her ground. Seriously? Was he about to start a brawl in a police station? He must be insane.

Theodore stepped in, blocking Jared’s path.

The officers shouted at them to keep it down.

Jared, held back by Theodore, fumed, while the others started to lose control. Hanley pointed at Emma and unleashed a stream of abuse. The receptionist and Assistant Laurent burst into tears, wailing, while the electrician slammed his hand on the table, insisting he was innocent.

The station descended into chaos.

At this point, just as Emma had said, it didn’t really matter where the footage came from–the facts were undeniable. Emma was the victim.

The details might need more investigation, but the outcome was clear.

Theodore looked around at the erupting scene, the noise so loud it seemed to rattle his skull. He took a deep breath and shouted, “Enough! Everyone, shut up!”

There was a second of silence before the shouting and crying started up

again.

Even the police officers, struggling to restore order, couldn’t get them to quiet down.

“I said that’s enough!” Theodore roared. “If you don’t want to be detained, just shut your mouths!”

That finally did it. The station went silent.

Theodore stepped past everyone, even Emma, and faced the officers. “I’II take full responsibility. I’m the CEO–whatever happened is my

responsibility. None of the others should be blamed, or at least, not as much.”

Since Emma had filed the report and there’d been an actual fire–Emma nearly getting burned–what happened next would depend on whether she wanted to withdraw her complaint.

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That question now hung in the air, everyone waiting for Emma’s decision.

Theodore spoke for the group, his voice steady. “If she doesn’t want to withdraw, I won’t try to persuade her. Do whatever you need to do. They’re all my employees, following my orders. I’m prepared to face the consequences.”

“No!” Cecilia cried, rushing over to Theodore. “Theo, it wasn’t you! How could it be you? It was my fault…”

Tears streaming down her face, she turned to the police. “Officer, it wasn’t Theo–he didn’t know anything. It was me! I said those things on the recording. I just couldn’t stand how Emma treated Theo, or any of us, so I wanted to teach her a lesson. When she came to the office, I told the receptionist not to let her up. When I saw she was about to call the police, I had Assistant Laurent go bring her in, and I told Laurent to keep her in the conference room and give her lemonade spiked with mango juice, hoping she’d make a scene…”

She hadn’t even finished when Jared interrupted, pushing in front of her and turning to the officers. “I was in on it too. I was the one who told Assistant Laurent to bring her to the conference room, and I cut the wires in there–including the fire sprinkler system. I just wanted to scare her. It was my idea, not Cici’s–she doesn’t know anything about wiring.”

Then Hanley stepped forward, desperate. “It was me too! I stopped security from responding to Emma’s calls for help. We all did it. Mr. Whitman had nothing to do with any of it. I was the one who told those three to lie afterwards. Theo really didn’t know anything.”

Cecilia, eyes full of tears, looked at Theodore. “I’m sorry. I dragged you into this. Don’t cover for us–don’t take the blame. Out of all of us, you’re the most important. The company can’t lose you. And…”

She glanced at Emma, “Emma can’t lose you either. Please, don’t do anything reckless.”

Jared and Hanley shot Emma a look of pure hatred, their resentment