Chapter 237: Neither Merciful Nor Forgiving

"Mrs. Amelia Brown," Faye answered. "She also promised that once the perfume was in my name, their company would launch it and share the profit with me."

"Hmm, so Amelia Brown is getting rid of her competition even before it can stand against her cosmetic company?" Mia asked, chuckling. "I must say, she is a delusional woman."

"I... I just did what she told me to do. I am innocent," Faye said, crying her heart out.

A tight slap left Faye sprawled on the ground as Mia stood in front of her like a wild tigress, ready to protect her cub, Natalie.

"Innocent?" Mia scoffed coldly. "The moment you got to test that perfume and found its scent was amazing and unique, your own greed drove you to follow this plan—your greed to earn money for what didn’t belong to you. You thought you could make this formula yours, then rip off Natalie and me by suing us. You even dreamt about gaining fame and fortune with this perfume. Do you think we didn’t notice the way you drooled over it?"

Steve’s eyes widened as, after so long, he saw Mia this fierce, even raising her hand on someone. During university days, it had been a repeated occurrence. Whenever someone tried to bully Natalie, Mia would make them taste the blood in their mouth. Almost every student feared her, and didn’t dare mess with her.

Unfortunately, the last time she had raised her hand on someone, that person had been him. He still remembered her angry face and moist eyes, trying to suppress her emotions behind her anger. That was the moment he had lost her. That face of hers still haunted him every night.

"I admit my mistake," Faye said. "I am but an ordinary person caught in the fights of wealthy people. Please let me go."

"As you say," Mia said, and the next moment, the police arrived.

"You saw everything. Please take her away," Mia said. "The legal team of my company will handle the matters with you."

The police had already been called by Dan, as he knew the plan and how it would end.

The police officer nodded and instructed the lady constables to take Faye away.

Faye looked at Natalie. "You said you won’t sue me. Are you going against your words?"

Instead of Natalie, Mia answered her once more. "Of course, Natalie is a woman of her word, and she won’t sue you. But that doesn’t mean I can’t. The product you accused of being stolen from you—though Natalie created it—is now owned by my company, as she sold it to me. That means I have all the rights to sue you and punish you with every single charge I can file against you. I will make sure you don’t come out of prison until all your hair turns gray. I am not as merciful and forgiving as Natalie is. In fact, I don’t even know what mercy and forgiveness are."

Steve, standing there, felt like those words had struck him. What she said about herself was true. She was never merciful or forgiving.

"No... You can’t do this to me," Faye screamed but was dragged away by the police. "I am innocent."

Natalie remained impassive while Mia smirked at Faye.

Daniel looked at Shawn, who was left utterly embarrassed and ready to leave.

Mia called after him. "Mr. Shawn, let your real client know they’ll have to face the consequences of trying to harm my company."

Shawn could only nod politely and leave.

Ms. Taylor, who had been quiet and was puzzled, asked in her strict voice, "Natalie, what was the reason she couldn’t make this perfume? Though you have proven it’s your formula, what trick did you play?"

As she asked this, everyone’s attention turned to Natalie. They were all curious to know what kind of trick Natalie had used to prove her innocence.

Natalie looked at Ms. Taylor, her gaze confident, showing no wariness of Ms. Taylor’s status.

"Ms. Taylor, are you asking me this because you truly feel I played a trick and want to criticize me for it, or are you genuinely curious to know what exactly happened?"

Ms. Taylor couldn’t doubt the confidence and pride in Natalie’s eyes and demeanor. Moreover, Natalie wasn’t scared at all.

"Let’s say both," Ms. Taylor replied in her cold tone. "But more like I am curious, like the others."

Natalie picked up the file from the table that belonged to Faye and held it in front of Ms. Taylor. "This formula is absolutely correct, and those chemicals were correct as well. But how to use this formula to make the desired perfume—only the creator of this formula would know."

Ms. Taylor observed the formula and noticed something about it, a realization slowly dawning on her.

Natalie continued, "Though it looks like any other formula, it’s not. Someone might attempt to follow it by the standard directives they’ve learned, only to make a worse mistake. I have my unique way of writing it, where no one can decipher it." Natalie pulled out the paper from the file and turned it upside down. "You might like to read it this way to understand it better. Even with this adjustment, you can’t crack the entire formula, but a smart perfume maker like you can at least see the truth."

Ms. Taylor’s eyes widened as she looked at Natalie. "Who did you learn this from?" There was something more behind her shocked gaze.

"My mother taught me. She said one should always know how to protect what belongs to them, whether it’s a person, a thing, or something as simple as a perfume formula."

"Who is your mother?" Ms. Taylor asked, but then she said, "You’re Natalie Ford... How did I miss it? You’re Caryn’s daughter?"

Natalie nodded. "I am."

Ms. Taylor couldn’t help but exclaim, "Other than Caryn, there was only one perfumer who could write formulas this way. How could I ever miss it?" The more Ms. Taylor looked at Natalie, the more shocked she became. "Aroma? Are you the perfume prodigy, Aroma?"

In response, Natalie offered her a smile.