chapter 13 The target of public criticism ===

As soon as Alaeic made this statement, the scene erupted in an uproar.
The head of Bruno Corporation frowned and spoke in a deep voice, "President Simon, are you saying that the situation is true?"
Alaeic smiled brightly at him, "Absolutely true!"
With that, Alaeic voluntarily cut a wound on his arm and applied the ointment.
Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, the wound on Alaeic's arm visibly healed before their eyes. He wiped it with a tissue, and his skin was as good as new, without even a scar.
"A miraculous medicine!"
A female journalist exclaimed, and the cameras of the reporters zoomed in, capturing close-ups of Alaeic's arm.
With his chin slightly raised, Alaeic appeared like a triumphant victor as he provocatively glanced at Sylvan, then fixed his gaze on Viola, saying, "Miss Viola, the new ointment developed by our Simon Corporation has already been patented. Later, my legal team will come to your corporation to investigate the allegations of plagiarism and infringement."
Viola slightly parted her red lips, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief. She believed in Sylvan and couldn't believe he would deceive her.
"It's impossible. There must be some mistake. This ointment was clearly developed by Sylvan and his team. I can testify for him." Viola defended.
However, Viola's words seemed feeble in this moment.
Shaking his head with a light laugh, Alaeic turned to face the reporters and loudly declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, I, Alaeic, am not speaking empty words. I have absolute and genuine evidence to prove where Viola's ointment came from."
With that, Alaeic gave a signal to Begonia, who was standing beside him.
Begonia cleared her throat, stepped forward with high heels, and held her head high like a proud hen that had just laid an egg.
"Dear journalists, hello everyone. My name is Begonia, and I used to be an intern at West City Hospital, a subsidiary of Simon Corporation, just like Sylvan. I am also… his ex-wife."
As soon as Begonia made this statement, the scene erupted in commotion.
Cameras clicked rapidly, capturing shots of Begonia.
A female journalist thrust her microphone in front of Begonia and asked solemnly, "Ms. Begonia, by coming forward at this time, do you have some difficult truth to reveal?"
Begonia slightly turned her head, struggling to squeeze out a tear, and sobbed, "I… I am actually a victim. If it weren't for Director Simon supporting me today, I might have kept this to myself forever."
"Just last week, I divorced Sylvan, whom I had been married to for only a month, because… I discovered his affair with Viola after our marriage!"
"What?!"
The scene exploded once again. The person he had an affair with turned out to be the renowned goddess Viola, not only in Southlethaute but also in the entire Jimweiminster!
It should be noted that Viola had never had any public romantic history. Could she really be such a person?
The journalists clamored, "Ms. Begonia! Ms. Begonia! Don't worry, whatever you have to say, we will support you!"
Begonia took out a tissue, pretended to wipe the corner of her eye, and slowly said, "As a victim, I initially didn't want to make this public and waste societal resources. But I have no choice but to come forward.
Because Sylvan is not only an adulterer but also a thief, a thief who stole the ointment developed by the entire medical team of West City Hospital and Simon Corporation!
The ointment in Viola's hands is actually the one that Sylvan stole from our laboratory at West City Hospital last week!"
The crowd's gaze shifted towards Sylvan and Viola.
Just last week, Viola publicly announced the cancellation of cooperation with Simon Corporation, which was well-known in the business community of Southlethaute.
The hidden details behind it had been the subject of speculation without any concrete information.
But now, hearing Begonia's words, several pieces of the puzzle fell into place, and everyone understood the real reason behind Viola's decision to cancel the cooperation with Simon Corporation.
It turns out that it was all for the hard work and achievement of Simon Corporation—the new formula!
Everyone present today knew that Viola had initially collaborated with Simon Corporation to secure a contract with Bruno Corporation.
Now, as the bidding deadline approached, Viola canceled the cooperation with Simon Corporation, clearly intending to monopolize the partnership with Bruno Corporation!
"For the sake of this new formula, Viola didn't hesitate to get involved with a married man like Sylvan and had him steal the new formula from the medical laboratory of West City Hospital, a subsidiary of our Simon Corporation. Viola, I never expected you to be this kind of person," Alaeic shook his head in disappointment.
"You're talking nonsense! Last week, Sylvan went to the laboratory at West City Hospital to help me make a scar treatment ointment. How could he have stolen your laboratory's formula?" Viola defended through gritted teeth.
Alaeic seemed to be waiting for Viola to bring up this matter. He smiled darkly and said, "Miss Viola's reminder is quite timely. Next, let our Director Henry from West City Hospital explain what happened that day."
With that, Director Henry, who had previously been Viola's attending physician for her leg injury, walked up to the stage in a sharp suit, holding a tablet in his hand.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I used to be Viola's attending physician. I have a video here that can prove that on that day, Sylvan used the excuse of making ointment for Viola, but in reality, he was stealing our laboratory's new formula."
As he spoke, Director Henry opened the tablet and played a video. Everyone could clearly see that Director Henry accompanied Sylvan into the West City Hospital laboratory.
While playing the video, Director Henry explained, "Here, you can see that the time is 10:20 in the morning when Sylvan and I entered the laboratory together."
Then, Director Henry dragged the progress bar. "Here, at 10:25, Sylvan asked me to help him find some so-called medicinal materials and kept me occupied until 10:30 when I returned to the laboratory. At that time, there was only Sylvan in the entire laboratory."
"And our West City Hospital's new formula was kept in this cabinet. When I returned to the laboratory in the afternoon, the formula in the cabinet was gone."
The video clearly proved that Director Henry's account was true.
The fast-forwarded video content was also sufficient to prove that no one entered the laboratory after Sylvan left in the morning.
Coincidentally, it was a blind spot, and the only possible thief of the formula… could only be Sylvan!
Alaeic shook his head and sighed, "Sylvan, no matter how you calculate, you didn't expect that our ointment and formula in the laboratory were not the finished products. So, the ointment in Viola's hands is just a facade, and it is completely ineffective."
"Sylvan, why did you do this? You had a bright future. The interns and attending physicians at our hospital spoke highly of you in front of me, praising you as a promising talent. But I never expected that you would engage in such activities. Within a month of your marriage, you cheated on Viola and stole our formula and ointment for her. Sigh…"
All the attention in the room suddenly shifted to Sylvan and Viola.
It seemed that Sylvan's affair with Viola and the theft from the West City Hospital laboratory had become a fact!
At that moment, a woman's voice came from the crowd, "Taking this opportunity, we also want to report Viola's real name to the public!"
Everyone's gaze turned towards her, and it was none other than Viola's personal secretary, Sibel.
Following behind her were Dunstan, the former deputy manager of the R&D department of Allure Group, and Orpheus, the production line manager!