Seeing how easily Evelyn admitted to what she had done, Charlotte actually found it kind of boring and just listened quietly.

"Charlotte, please, the stuff in the Swiss safe deposit box is super important. It's like the lifeline for my family's survival. Charlotte, you can't just stand by and watch us hit a dead end!" That's pretty ironic, isn't it?

Charlotte was falsely accused of stealing the jade pendant. If the accusations stick, would she, just an assistant, have any way out?

The same person who wouldn't leave any options for others is now shamelessly trying to guilt-trip Charlotte into leaving her a way out.

Charlotte shot back, "If the jade pendant is so important, why were you so careless with it in the first place?"

"Chloe promised me some big projects for my family after everything was settled. She planned it all, and I was just following orders, Charlotte. I didn't mean for any of this to happen..." "You knew what you were getting into, so you've got to face the music," Charlotte cut her off coldly, "And if Chloe's calling the shots, why aren't you asking her for the jade pendant?" "Because..." Evelyn Zhang was at a loss for words, and after a while, she muttered sheepishly, "Because Chloe's got Liam protecting her, and I can't do anything about it..."

"No, it's not that you can't do anything." The rich and powerful, when they lose their reputation and support, they're desperate, but they're still just picking on her, a little assistant. They're not helpless.

"You're just picking on someone you think is weak."

Charlotte looked at Evelyn Zhang with pity, "But this 'weak' person you're trying to squeeze will be heading back in a few days, and you won't be able to touch me. But you'll have to stay here and pay the price for your stupidity." Evelyn looked forlorn, standing there for a long time.

Charlotte went back to the hotel. As she looked out the window, she saw Chloe's car drive up and park right in front of Evelyn.

They exchanged a few words, and a conflict erupted. After a heated argument, Evelyn hysterically slapped Chloe, knocking off the bandage that was still on her face.

Chloe seemed unable to handle Evelyn's fury, scrambling into her car to make a quick getaway from the hotel.

Charlotte turned away, only to catch a glimpse of a man by the lake signaling to her.

It was Malcolm.

"Are you alright?" she called to him from a distance.

Malcolm touched the bandage on the back of his head and gave a wry smile, "The pain in my body is nothing compared to the agony in my soul. By the way, Miss Perry, were you the one who hit me last night?"

He only remembered that before he passed out, he was trying to stab himself with the knife. He thought that Charlotte couldn't bear to see him act so cruelly and had deliberately knocked him out.

Charlotte gave a wry smile and didn't respond, effectively admitting to it.

The man's identity was special, and she couldn't expose him to others.

Malcolm continued with a sigh, "After I woke up, I went to find Chloe and told her that you had run away and that you had beaten me up. She saw me covered in blood and unsteady on my feet, but she didn't suspect anything. She just called me a useless idiot."

"You're looking for me now because she's given you new orders?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah, Chloe's little schemes have been failing, and now the Beaumont elders are blaming her for being reckless and headstrong. They want to limit her actions, and she wants to get rid of you before she's completely restricted." Charlotte nodded and then asked, "What's the plan for today?"

"To push you into the lake," Malcolm said through gritted teeth, clearly upset at such a command, as if it was pushing him into a pit of fire. Chloe really didn't care about his safety at all.

Charlotte looked around; Malcolm had chosen a good spot with no surveillance cameras and no one passing by.

"Make it look real, or Chloe won't believe it," she said.

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"Don't worry, I won't actually drown you. We'll put on a show to force Chloe to show her true colors!"

Charlotte didn't say anything more and started walking towards the lake. Malcolm hurried to follow. After exchanging a glance, Malcolm forcefully pushed Charlotte into the water! "Ugh!" The lake water instantly engulfed her, saturating her nose and mouth.

Charlotte's fear skyrocketed, and as she choked on water, she was a bit out of it.

How much pain had Annie suffered before her death?

"It's all your fault! You deserve to die, Charlotte! I'm going to kill you today!"

Malcolm cursed fiercely as he pressed down on Charlotte's neck, not loosening his grip despite her desperate flailing.

Seeing the timing was right, Malcolm called Chloe. "I've done what you asked with Charlotte. When will you give me what you promised?"

"Once Charlotte is dead, I'll let you come back to work at the company!"

"I don't believe you, Chloe! I need to see the appointment notice now!"

"Malcolm, don't push it! Why should I believe you've actually done anything to Charlotte just based on your word?"

Chloe had just been slapped by Evelyn and was enraged like never before.

Malcolm was even angrier: "Why shouldn't you believe me? I'm risking my life to do your dirty work, and you can't even throw me a bone! You don't believe me? Then watch closely!" Malcolm made a video call to Chloe. Chloe covered the camera as she answered, and Malcolm's crazed face came into view.

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In the video, Charlotte was being held down in the water, her hands weakly struggling.

"I can't see her face; how do I know it's her?" Chloe was cautious.

Malcolm immediately pulled Charlotte up by the hair. Charlotte's eyes rolled back, and she spat out dirty water, her body limp.

But Malcolm let go, and she fell back into the water, struggling less and less until bubbles rose up from where she sank.

"It's really Charlotte!" For a moment, Chloe was ecstatic, almost wanting to clap her hands in glee.

"Good! Do it, Malcolm! Drown her!"

Caught up in her triumph, Chloe forgot to cover the camera, but then quickly did so a few seconds later.

Malcolm was still frantic: "Where's my payment? I want to go back to being the general manager!" "Fine, fine, no problem!"

As soon as Chloe agreed, Malcolm didn't end the video call. Instead, he tossed the no-longer-struggling Charlotte into the lake right in front of Chloe, and soon Charlotte disappeared from the surface.

"I have to go," Malcolm said nervously after throwing her in, his lips white and his face pale with fear.

Chloe, having no suspicion, emphasized that she would let him return to the company and then hung up first.

As soon as the video call ended, Malcolm jumped into the water and pulled the unconscious Charlotte out. He pressed on her chest and abdomen several times before Charlotte finally coughed up a mouthful of water and came to. "Did you get it?" The first thing Charlotte asked when she woke up was whether the phone hidden in the bushes had recorded everything.