Chapter 396 I Lied
Since Tammy wouldn''t admit she was lying, Debbie decided not to waste any more time. She motioned
for Ruby to aim the camera at her and told all the fans, "Sorry about this, guys. Tammy ims she has
proof I didn''t write this song, but I don''t think these documents and electronic copies are convincing
enough. I have a witness, someone who knows I wrote the song myself. When I came back here, I
N?vel(D)rama.Org''s content.
really wanted to sign with Star Empire, so I auditioned for Mr. Huo. He gave me a chance and asked
me topose a song. But I had to do it all myself. Composing the music, writing the lyrics, arranging
it in Pro Tools, everything."
Debbie paused, casting a sidelong nce at Tammy, whose face had gone pale. She continued, "I
promised him, because I really wanted to work for Star Empire. Then I cranked out the song that
Tammy ims she wrote. She said she wrote it two and a half months ago. But three months ago, I
showed the first draft to Mr. Huo himself. I''m pretty sure he''ll clear things up."
Debbie looked at Tammy and asked sternly, "You sure you want to go through with this? If he gets
involved, then..."
Tammy already understood what Debbie was trying to say.
She shivered in fear. If Carlos found out, she''d be dead meat.
In an instant, she shook her head vigorously, tears streaming down her pale face. "No, no. I lied. I''m
sorry! I was so jealous. I worked for years and nothing. Then you came along and shot to the top so
fast."
The truth finally came to light.
Debbie stood up and red at Tammy until the liar couldn''t bear it anymore and had to look away.
"Expect a letter from mywyer," she told Tammy.
That was when it hit her that Debbie''swyer was the famous Xavier Shangguan. Tammy almost
fainted on the spot. She felt even worse, now.
After saying goodbye to her fans, Debbie closed the live chat room and locked her phone.
She was now alone with Tammy. She walked over and asked, "Whose idea was this? Tell me and I
might not press charges." Debbie was being merciful. She didn''t have to give her any chance at all, but
she also wanted to get to the bottom of this.
But it didn''t matter, since Tammy waspletely flustered. She sang like a pigeon. "I don''t know. He
wired the money to my ount and contacted me via phone. I never saw him."
"So it''s a him?" Debbie asked.
"Yes."
"How old do you think he is?" Debbie had a pretty good idea who it was. But she wanted to be certain.
"Not sure. But it wasn''t just one guy. It was three of them."
"You say he called you? Still have the number?" When Tammy handed Debbie her phone with the call
log open, Debbie dialed the number. The only response she got was an automated message, telling
callers the number was no longer in service.
''It was probably... James, '' she thought.
Thanks to that stunt, Tammy was fired by Star Empire. Not only that, she had to apologize to Debbie
and thepany, and pay a fine to boot. She ended up retiring from the music industry.
And Debbie ended up with even more fans.
Just like that, Debbie was a hot topic. Her fans postedments under her posts and on the fan
pages. Most of them were words of encouragement; some were apologetic for believing the malicious
rumors.
The turmoil in ZL Group finally subsided after Carlos took his rightful ce as CEO. They stopped
hemorrhaging money. Their suppliers began working with them again, and their stock prices stopped
dropping.
Everything seemed to return to normal after James stepped down as CEO. But Debbie didn''t feel that
way. She was still left with an uneasy feeling, a shadow haunting her heart, as if it were only the calm
before the storm.
And she was right. Two dayster, she bumped into Carlos and Stephanie in the parking lot of Champs
Bay Apartments. When he saw her, he went back to the car and fished something out of it. He draped
an arm around Stephanie''s shoulders, and handed it to Debbie. "Miss Nian, Stephanie and I are
throwing an engagement party. You''re my ex-wife. It would mean a lot to us if you coulde."
Debbie looked at the red invitation card. She grinned, took the card and said as calmly as she could,
"Congrattions."
Carlos shed a smile and returned politely, "Thanks."
Then, the couple left arm in arm.
As soon as they were out of sight, Debbie''s eyes welled up in tears as she stared at the invitation card.
It felt like a knife cutting her heart to ribbons. Carlos was an expert at dishing out pain, and he didn''t
spare Debbie. He knew how much she loved him but he invited her to attend his engagement to
another woman.
No matter how much Debbie wished that day would nevere, their engagement day still crept up on
her. Faster than she would have imagined.
That day, Debbie got up quite early. She had a n of what she wanted to wear, and had an outfit
already selected. She put on a ck strapless Chanel gown bought with Carlos'' money. She also
applied a delicate coat of makeup.
Carlos didn''t invite many people to the ceremony. Besides his close friends and rtives, he also
invited the Lu family.
Holding Ivan''s arm, Debbie walked gracefully into the venue. Her presence instantly caused some
hushed conversations among the guests, but she couldn''t care less.
Debbie''s assigned seat was near Elroy, her so-called grandfather, and in between them was Ramona.
If she didn''t know better, she would have thought this was another vicious trick. She couldn''t be sure
that it wasn''t deliberate.
Carlos was trying to break her emotionally.
Despite her reluctance, Debbie still sat down, but she changed seats with Ivan. So in the end, he sat
between Ramona and Debbie.
And Megan was on her left.
Again, Debbie cursed Carlos in her heart. He deliberately designed the seating arrangements so she
sat closest to the people she hated most.
The other members of the Huo family sat at the table next to hers. She saw Miranda, but neither of
them greeted the other. They even broke eye contact quickly, turning their heads away rather than
saying hi.
Even Lewis and Portia were there. Lewis was still the same unreliable guy. When he spotted Debbie,
his eyes lit up. However, the next second, he realized that she was the one who ousted James as
CEO. Instantly, he stiffened in his seat and moved his gaze away, not wanting to even acknowledge her
presence.
Sitting next to him was Portia, looking even thinner than she used to be. When she saw Debbie, she
opened her mouth but stopped when she thought better of it. In the end, she chose to sit quietly.
Soon enough, the engagement ceremony started. Carlos was dressed in a blue Versace suit. He
walked slowly into the hall, linking arms with Stephanie.
Carlos'' fiancee was dressed in a long and whitece gown, a small diamond tiara on her head. It
glinted and sparkled under the lights. She looked like an elegant queen about to meet her king.
Carlos kept his hand on her waist the whole time. They looked like a sweet and intimate couple, made
for each other.
After they walked on to the stage, an MC began to preside over the ceremony. He told the guests the
engagement rings had been carefully selected by Carlos. He had searched for thergest diamond in
the city.
The ceremony went smoothly. At the end, the couple kissed, following cheers and a big round of
apuse.
Megan carefully observed Debbie''s every move and expression. When Carlos and Stephanie kissed,
she smiled smugly to see Debbie''s face go pale. Although she was really scared of Debbie, especially
after the raw eggs incident, she couldn''t help but scoff. "Thanks for divorcing Uncle Carlos. Now he can
marry Stephanie. She''s better for him."
Debbie ignored Megan''s mockery. She kept her eyes fixed on the couple cutting the cake onstage. She
muttered to herself, "Should I just give up?"
Hearing no response from Debbie, Megan felt embarrassed and stopped trying to talk to her.
Before the party ended, Debbie and Ivan left the hotel before anyone else did.
They had a little talk in the parking lot before parting.