Chapter 40: Learn to keep your mouth shut
"What the hell do you think you’re doing?"
Jacob, who had no idea who Clara was, strode toward her with an annoyed expression. The moment he reached out to grab her arm, Clara caught his wrist, twisted it sharply, and a loud yelp echoed through the room.
"Ah! My hand! My hand!"
"I said," Clara replied coldly, tightening her grip for another second, "don’t touch me."
She released him with a shove. Jacob stumbled backward, tripped over his own feet, and landed on the floor with a loud thud.
"..."
The room fell silent.
Clara calmly swept her gaze over the other two men.
The pair instinctively took two steps back.
"Nope."
"Not me."
"I’m suddenly against violence."
Seeing his friends retreat so quickly only fueled Eric’s anger. He shot to his feet and glared at Clara.
"Clara, have you lost your mind? Do you even know who I am? Do you realize what this disrespect is going to cost you?"
He had heard that Clara had married Dominic Sterling, but he also knew the Sterling family had never liked her.
To him, she was still the same useless girl.
Nothing more than Vincent Hayes’ illegitimate daughter.
A burden rejected by her own family and barely tolerated by her in-laws.
The thought alone made him sneer.
"What? Did marrying into the Sterling family make you think you’ve become someone important?"
Clara looked at him as though he were an idiot.
"No."
She slowly pulled her phone from her pocket.
"I came here for something much more entertaining."
Eric frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Clara tapped her screen before turning the display toward him.
A familiar voice immediately filled the room.
"Hannah is so easy to fool. She actually thinks I’ll marry her..."
Eric’s face drained of color.
His own voice.
His own words.
The laughter.
Every disgusting sentence he had spoken just minutes ago played back clearly.
Clara smiled brightly.
"Nice speech."
"You recorded me?" Eric shouted.
"Congratulations." Clara nodded. "You figured it out."
"You bitch!"
"I prefer ’beautiful investigator,’ but close enough."
Jacob and the others crowded around Eric, their faces turning pale as they listened.
"Oh no..."
"We’re in that too."
"I told you not to talk so much after drinking."
Clara locked her phone and slipped it into her pocket.
"I wonder what Hannah will think after hearing how deeply in love you are with her."
Eric’s expression twisted.
"Delete it."
"No."
"I’m warning you."
"And I’m ignoring you."
"Delete it!"
Clara folded her arms.
"You have exactly two choices. One, apologize to Hannah and confess everything yourself."
"And two?" Eric asked through clenched teeth.
"I upload this."
She smiled sweetly.
"Personally, I like option two."
"You dare!"
"I already dared."
Eric snapped.
"Get that phone!"
The three men rushed toward Clara at once.
Clara sighed dramatically.
"Three against one? Gentlemen, your confidence is adorable."
Jacob lunged first.
She sidestepped him.
He crashed straight into the coffee table.
The second man swung at her.
Clara ducked.
His fist landed squarely on Jacob’s shoulder.
"You idiot!"
"You moved!"
"I wasn’t aiming for you!"
The third man tried grabbing her from behind.
Without even looking, Clara drove her elbow into his stomach.
He doubled over.
"My kidneys..."
"I don’t think that’s where kidneys are."
"It still hurts!"
The VIP room erupted into chaos.
A chair tipped over.
Glasses shattered across the floor.
Someone slipped on a cushion and fell face-first.
Jacob finally managed to get up—
Only for Clara to kick him lightly in the shin.
He howled dramatically.
"My leg!"
"I barely touched you."
"I have fragile bones!"
Eric watched his friends get beaten one after another, his face turning darker by the second.
"Useless!"
While Clara was busy tossing Jacob aside again, Eric quietly circled behind her.
A smug grin spread across his face.
"Got you."
He suddenly shoved Clara hard.
Caught off guard, she stumbled forward.
Her phone flew from her hand.
Eric dove for it like a football player chasing the winning touchdown.
"I got it!" he shouted triumphantly.
He snatched up the phone before Clara could reach it.
His laughter filled the room.
"Did you really think I’d let you ruin me with this?"
Ignoring Clara completely, he unlocked the screen, found the recording, and pressed Delete.
Then he emptied the Recently Deleted folder as well.
"There."
He raised the phone with a victorious grin.
"Now what are you going to expose me with?"
He looked at Clara proudly, convinced he had won.
Clara’s eyes flickered for a brief moment, her jaw tightening as she looked at the phone in Eric’s hand. Yet, her expression quickly returned to one of complete calm.
Eric mistook her silence for defeat and burst into laughter.
"You thought you were going to expose me?" he mocked, waving the phone triumphantly. "But guess what? I won."
Clara simply stared at him without saying a word.
Her composure only made Eric laugh harder.
Just as he opened his mouth to continue gloating, Clara suddenly strode toward him.
Before anyone could react, she drove her knee straight between his legs.
"Aaargh!"
Eric’s eyes widened as his face instantly turned bright red. He doubled over, clutching himself as an agonizing cry escaped his lips.
The room fell silent.
Clara looked down at him with a mocking smile.
"You moron," she said coldly. "Do you really think you’ve won just because you deleted the video?"
Eric froze, a bad feeling creeping into his chest.
Clara slowly reached into her pocket.
"But guess what?"
She pulled out another phone.
"I always keep a backup."
With a single tap, the recording began playing once again.
Eric’s own voice echoed through the room, repeating every humiliating word he had said about Hannah.
His face drained of all color.
"Impossible..." he whispered.
Before he could recover from the shock, Clara stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face.
Smack!
The force of the slap snapped his head to the side, leaving a split on his lip as a thin line of blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.
"This one," Clara said icily, "is for Hannah."
Without sparing him another glance, she turned on her heel.
Her cold gaze swept over the men still groaning on the floor.
"Next time," she warned, "learn to keep your mouths shut."
With that, she walked out of the room, leaving behind nothing but stunned silence and a humiliated Eric writhing in pain.
The moment the door closed behind Clara, Jacob and the others turned to Eric in panic.
"Eric... what are we going to do now?"
Still clutching himself in pain, Eric didn’t answer. His expression was dark as he hurriedly pulled out his phone.
Ignoring the throbbing ache, he quickly dialed a number and raised the phone to his ear. you going to do now?"
Eric who was still in pain didn’t say a word and simply pulled his phone quickly making a call.