Dalton walked in, dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit and flanked by a team of bodyguards. His arrival drew everyone's attention.

Carina's eyes lit up. She swiftly put on a pitiful expression and hurried forward to greet him.

"You're finally here, Mr. Scott. I'm so sorry about this. There's a thieving employee here causing trouble right now. I sincerely apologize for the disruption to your evening."

Dalton stopped in his tracks. His gaze cut through the crowd and landed on me, who was being restrained by the security guards.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, as if considering something.

The atmosphere in the ballroom froze over.

When Carina saw Dalton looking at me, she assumed he was put off by my disheveled appearance and doubled down on her performance.

She walked up to me and, without hesitation, kicked me in the knee. "Get on your knees and apologize to Mr. Scott at once, you shameless thief! And tell us who sent you! What confidential information are you trying to steal from us!"

The kick sent me staggering, my knees slamming hard against the marble floor. The loud thump made everyone in the ballroom shudder, but no one dared to stick up for me.

Meanwhile, John hurried over to Dalton with a sycophantic smile on his face. "I apologize for the embarrassing display, Mr. Scott. That woman is Bailey Scott, a lowly clerk working at our company.

"We've just uncovered that she has stolen the company's key confidential data to sell to our competitors. Not only that, but she also snuck into the cocktail party to try to steal your valuables! The police are almost here. We can't let a criminal like her walk free!"

Carina chimed in, her tone cloying, "Bailey has always been sneaky and dishonest, Mr. Scott, even back when we were in college together. I got her a job at the company out of the kindness of my heart.

"But not only is she not grateful for my help, but she's constantly jealous of me, too. She even wants to climb into your bed! I think she must've spilled wine on me earlier just to get your attention."

The more she spoke, the more worked up she became, as if it'd been proven that I was a depraved criminal.

"You're done for now, Bailey! Get ready to spend the rest of your life in prison. This is what you get for going against me!" Carina snarled into my ear, low enough that only the two of us knew what she said.

I was on my knees, my head bowed and my shoulders trembling slightly. In everyone's eyes, I seemed completely helpless.

Soon, a few uniformed police officers entered the ballroom. The officer in the lead asked, "Who called the police?"

John immediately came forward. Pointing at me, she said, "Arrest her, officer! She stole confidential data from the company, and I have the evidence!"

He eagerly pulled out a USB drive from his briefcase and held it out to Dalton with both hands, hoping to take credit for doing a good job.

"Here's the evidence of her theft, Mr. Scott. It's also the data for the project we've been preparing to collaborate on with you. Please check for yourself. I promise that all of us at Lumina Corporation are nothing but loyal to you!"

Standing to the side, Carina lifted her chin high, her face brimming with triumphant arrogance. She looked down at me in contempt, as if she could crush me underfoot at the very next second.

But Dalton didn't take the USB drive. With both hands in his pockets, he eyed John for a moment before chuckling, the sound jarring in the silent ballroom.

"Mr. Hammond, did you just say that she stole your company's confidential data?"

John hastily nodded. "It's true! Everyone here saw it, too, right?"

Dalton's smile slowly faded, his gaze turning sharp as he looked at John and Carina. Then, he walked over to me. Under everyone's shocked stares, he bent down a little and stretched his hand out to me.

"Isn't it cold on the floor? If you're done with your performance, it's time to get up, my dear sister."