No longer a pushover (Noelle and Cedric)

Donovan's expression turned solemn. If news got out, it would humiliate the family. Noelle's gaze sharpened as Xenia walked in.

So Xenia had heard about the incident and rushed over to plead her case. That was exactly why Noelle had come early. She wanted to strike first.

Xenia stiffened when she saw the sanitary pads scattered on the floor. "Donovan, let me explain."

Donovan sneered. "What is there to explain? How could you buy expired products and embarrass us at Laura's charity event?"

Xenia teared up. "Donovan, I was just investigating this myself! I was deceived, too. I never expected them to sell me expired sanitary pads."

Noelle pressed. "Liar. I checked the payment. You paid significantly more than the regular market price for this brand. There's no way they would've sent you expired products unless you did something, and they cut costs by delivering old stock."

"I didn't do anything!" Xenia denied. "Donovan, this was my first time handling something like this. I lacked experience, and the suppliers took advantage of that.

"I mean, I'm a woman myself. Why would I knowingly buy expired sanitary pads?"

She looked pitiful. But Donovan remained stern. "Regardless, you were responsible. You should have been more careful. What do you plan to do now that we've become the butt of the joke?"

Xenia pouted. "I'll explain everything to Laura."

Noelle scoffed. "Do you really think your excuses will work? The Liddell family has already been disqualified from participating in the charity event. We'll be the laughingstock."

Xenia lowered her head and mumbled, "I didn't do it on purpose-"

Damn it! She had explicitly told the suppliers to send pads that were a few months from expiring. Who knew they would send expired ones instead? She was a victim, too!

Noelle turned to Donovan. "I heard the Cantrell family is heavily involved in charity work because of Ms. Cantrell. This will definitely leave a bad impression on them."

That was what worried Donovan. He groaned. "I'll handle it."

Noelle struck while the rod was hot. "If Xenia is this incompetent, then she

shouldn't be managing the foundation's funds anymore."

Donovan agreed without hesitation. "You will take over it."

Xenia paled. "Donovan, there's something else I wanted to tell you."

She glanced at Noelle. "Today's charity event was held at the club, and Noelle applied for a membership there. She also froze ten million dollars in her account. I

suspect she used then's

funds."

There was no way Noelle had that much cash on hand. Now that she was so eager to take control of the charity funds, Xenia was sure she was just trying to cover up her misdeed.

Donovan's gaze darkened at Noelle. "Is that true? You'd need a guarantor for that."

Noelle shrugged. "Mrs. Greene vouched for me, which is why my membership was approved."

Donovan was surprised. He hadn't expected Emma to have such a good impression of Noelle and act as her guarantor.

Xenia clenched her fists. "Donovan, what matters is that Noelle's account has ten million dollars. She shouldn't have used it if it belonged to the charity foundation."

Noelle remained calm. "It was my money."

Xenia insisted, "Where would you get that much money?"

Noelle turned to Donovan. "You transferred me some money before. Plus, I've made my own earnings. It all adds up."noveldrama

Donovan recalled agreeing to let Noelle be responsible for the company's firewall

system. But he hadn't shared that detail with the rest of the family.

He nodded. "Alright. Just make sure to explain this to Mrs. Greene."

"I will." Just then, Noelle's phone rang. It was the investigator. She put it on

speaker. "Go ahead. What did you find?"

The investigator reported, "Ms. Liddell, we discovered that Xenia made a deal with the supplier. The supplier was greedy and sent expired sanitary pads. We have all the evidence. Should we call the police?"

Noelle looked straight at Donovan and Xenia. "Absolutely. Call the police."

"No! You can't!" Xenia's heart dropped. She lunged forward and snatched the phone.