Chapter 92: Chapter 92: Pleasure Doing Business with You, Mr. Hawthorne

### Chapter 92: A Pleasure Doing Business, Mr. Hawthorne

Benjamin Sterling quickly had the legal department issue an emergency statement and a resolution on internal accountability.

Its core message was to acknowledge and emphasize that Maxine Rhodes was solely responsible for the Celestia project, that her team operated independently, and that the company had not substantially participated in the core technical aspects.

It stated that the so-called plagiarism allegations were the actions of Maxine Rhodes and her team alone, and that the company would actively cooperate with the Hawthorne Group and the relevant authorities.

Most critically, he would tacitly allow, and even encourage, the legal department to imply to the Hawthorne Group that the project was the sole undertaking of Maxine Rhodes and her team, unrelated to the company’s core business. If any breach of contract compensation was involved, she alone should be responsible.

He thought he could push Maxine Rhodes out as a scapegoat and save the company.

But in reality, this document was an official admission of the independence of Maxine Rhodes and her team, as well as the project’s severability, providing her with substantial aid to legally take the project with her later on!

When the document personally signed and approved by Benjamin Sterling was circulated, most of the uninformed employees felt a chill run down their spines.

They hadn’t expected the company to completely abandon Director Rhodes and the team she had built from scratch. Those in the know had already begun to whisper about OmniTech’s accusations and the potential wrath of the Hawthorne Group, and everyone feared for their own jobs.

Maxine Rhodes finished packing the last of her personal belongings. There was nothing important, really; the core of everything had long since departed from this shell.

She straightened her back and walked out of Sterling Tower with a steady gait.

The afternoon sun was a bit glaring. She squinted slightly, her face a mask of almost indifferent calm.

Everything was on track.

Just then, a sleek, stately black sedan glided to a silent stop in front of her. The door opened, and Ethan Hawthorne stepped out.

He was wearing a dark gray overcoat today. His posture was ramrod straight, and in the weak winter sun, his presence felt even calmer than usual.

"Get in."

Maxine Rhodes’s lips curved into a smile. She nodded and walked to the passenger side.

Meanwhile, upstairs, in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the president’s office.

Lydia Thorne and Rose Joyce were pressed against the glass, excitedly peering down.

"Look! Quick, look! It’s Mr. Hawthorne’s car! He’s really here!"

Lydia Thorne’s voice trembled with excitement, her face contorted in an almost crazed delight. "He must have seen the plagiarism accusation! He’s here to hold her accountable in person! Maxine Rhodes is finished this time! Mr. Hawthorne will never let her get away with it!"

Rose Joyce covered her mouth, her eyes wide and glittering with malicious glee. "I told you! A man like Mr. Hawthorne hates being deceived more than anything. Maxine Rhodes tricked him with stolen work—he must see it as a monumental humiliation! Look at his expression, it’s so cold! This time, even if Maxine Rhodes doesn’t die, she’ll lose a layer of skin!"

They stared greedily at the scene below, imagining Ethan Hawthorne’s fury and Maxine Rhodes’s tearful pleas, feeling that this was the most satisfying and gratifying moment of their lives. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

「Inside the car.」

A warm current of air enveloped her. Maxine Rhodes leaned back against the seat, closed her eyes, and thought about the accusation document.

"That so-called accusation document..." Ethan Hawthorne’s voice broke the silence in the car. "At the same time you were being called into the office, Erza Sinclair had already sent me the preliminary investigation results."

Maxine Rhodes opened her eyes and looked at him.

"That agency is a shell company registered overseas that specializes in all sorts of gray-area business. As for that supposedly earlier notarized document, technical analysis shows it was recently forged. There’s a flaw in the timestamp’s encryption algorithm."

He paused, his tone tinged with a cold mockery. "It was cleverly done, but unfortunately for them, I have the means to get to the bottom of it."

Maxine Rhodes wasn’t surprised he could uncover the truth, just that he had done it so quickly.

"Mr. Hawthorne’s information network truly lives up to its reputation. Thanks," she said softly.

Ethan Hawthorne looked at her, his gaze deepening. "There’s more."

He reached over, took a folder from the car’s storage compartment, and handed it to her.

Maxine Rhodes took it with a puzzled look and opened it.

Inside was the business registration for Maxine Rhodes’s personal studio, its official seal, bank account information, and a pre-drafted legal document prepared to seamlessly transfer all rights, obligations, and team relations for the Hawthorne Group’s Celestia project to said studio.

The studio’s registration date was, astonishingly, three months ago.

Maxine Rhodes looked up at Ethan Hawthorne, unconcealable shock in her eyes.

Ethan Hawthorne met her gaze, his tone still calm. "A long time ago, I had Erza Sinclair use a reliable person to register it for you. It was funded with completely independent, clean capital. I thought you might need it one day. It’s a foothold that is entirely yours, a base of operations that no one can hold you back from."

"And now, it’s come in handy. You can use this brand-new studio to take back everything that belongs to you, openly and legitimately."

Maxine Rhodes clutched the thin file. Her fingertips could feel the fine edge of the paper, yet it seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

It wasn’t physical weight, but the weight of quiet, unspoken protection and understanding.

He had long foreseen the suppression she might face and had prepared the cleanest, most powerful escape route for her well in advance.

Not a grand, dramatic rescue, but a silent, readily available safe harbor.

A sharp, stinging sensation suddenly flooded her nose, and her eyes grew hot.

She wasn’t an emotional person, but at this moment, all the tension and careful plotting of the past several days were shaken to the point of collapse by the sheer weight of this prepared foundation he had given her.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found her throat choked with emotion.

While they were stopped at a red light, Ethan Hawthorne reached out, his warm, dry palm covering the back of her cool hand, and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"Don’t feel like you owe me anything. Consider this money an investment. Once Ms. Rhodes becomes successful, just remember to give me a piece of the pie."

Maxine Rhodes took a deep breath, suppressing the moisture welling in her eyes. When she looked up at him again, her gaze was clear and resolute once more, though a faint touch of red lingered at the corners of her eyes.

"I’ll make this investment one of your most successful case studies."

She looked at him, her eyes bright. "A pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Hawthorne."

As the lights of Kingsland began to flicker on at dusk, Coco and Bubbles followed the address from the encrypted message to a top-tier office building on the other side of the CBD.

Pushing open the door to the temporary studio, they didn’t find the chaos or simplicity they had expected.

On the contrary, it was a spacious office with an excellent view, its minimalist decor exuding a sense of high-end sophistication.

Maxine Rhodes was standing before the floor-to-ceiling windows with her back to the door, gazing out at the brilliant city lights.

Hearing the sound, she turned around.

She had changed out of her professional suit and was now wearing a soft, beige knit sweater and slacks. Her long hair was loosely tied up, shedding some of the sharp edge she had during the day and gaining an air of composed control over the entire situation.

"Sis!"

The moment Coco saw her, she rushed over, her face a mixture of indignation and anger. "You have no idea what the office is like right now! That vile Lydia Thorne was practically setting off firecrackers to celebrate this afternoon! She’s been going around telling everyone how terrible you are with this heartbroken look on her face. It makes me so mad!"

The sarcasm was practically dripping from Bubbles’s words. "Oh, and that’s not all. Rose Joyce has been stuck to President Sterling’s side all afternoon, fetching him tea and water. Everything she says, between the lines, is about how the company has finally ’eliminated a hidden danger’ and how ’everyone needs to unite and look forward’..."

Maxine Rhodes listened quietly, pouring each of them a cup of hot water. "Don’t worry, their celebration won’t last long. Did you two take care of the tasks I gave you?"

*****