Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Your Turn to Taste Being Framed

Dominic Trent was thrown into a momentary confusion. He suddenly couldn’t tell if Sue Lawrence was genuinely clueless or just pretending.

But at this point, he couldn’t just refuse outright anymore. His logic had been shattered.

So he looked up with a smile and said, "Of course, Mr. Keller. It’s just... I’m with the Sterling Group. I don’t mind helping transport supplies, but I have to hear what my boss has to say first. You’d agree with that, wouldn’t you?"

The moment he managed to justify his reasoning, Victor Keller and the others immediately nodded. "You’re right."

Dominic Trent secretly breathed a sigh of relief. ’Good, I managed to salvage that.’

Elliot Lawrence, however, was a bit confused. He scratched his head and whispered to Sue Lawrence, "I don’t think he’s being sincere."

"Bro, you have to keep that sharp mind of yours working!"

Elliot Lawrence: ????

’Did something happen?’

Elliot Lawrence was completely baffled.

"Alright, we’ll rest here for the night. Tomorrow, we head back to the shelter."

Everyone grabbed their sleeping bags and slowly headed outside.

The heavy snow hadn’t crushed the warehouse yet, but no one could guarantee it wouldn’t suddenly collapse. After all, the snow was still piling up. It was colder outside, but safer than staying in the warehouse.

The group returned to the snow cave where they had rested the previous night and resumed their rotating watch schedule.

As for Ox, he was still nowhere to be found. Victor Keller had already reported it, and the higher-ups would handle the matter.

The night passed without incident. The next day, they all set off back to the shelter.

Sue Lawrence activated the ant’s pathfinding Ability. A map of the entire snowfield instantly appeared in her mind, with their route marked out by a dotted line.

As she reviewed their path, she also began to sketch out a map of Stellaport in her mind. Being a local, she remembered every place she had ever been.

Soon, the map of the snowfield and the city map overlapped. In her mind, the vast expanse of white receded, revealing the city as it once was. They were currently passing over the old district, where the snow was now twelve meters deep—enough to bury all the shorter buildings.

’This ant’s pathfinding Ability is really useful.’

As Sue marveled at this, she located the direction of her family’s villa and mentally marked its position.

When they got back to the base, they saw people waiting to welcome them just inside the entrance.

Vincent Lawrence was holding a teary-eyed Leo Lawrence. The moment the little boy saw her, he lunged forward, insisting that she hold him.

"Leo insisted on coming to greet you."

Sue Lawrence nodded, understanding completely. After everything that had happened in this apocalypse, she never wanted to be apart from her precious son either.

On the other side, only Jason Sterling and Tia Norris were there to greet Dominic Trent.

"Where’s Tiana?"

Dominic Trent glanced around. Jason Sterling’s expression was grim. "Her eyes aren’t healed yet. She has to rest for now."

With that, he looked past Dominic Trent. "How is Ox just... gone? What happened?"

"Jason, you should ask Sue Lawrence."

Tia Norris looked off into the distance and said in a low voice, "Ox was acting hostile before he left. Sue Lawrence definitely knows something. I’m afraid an accident happened when he went to deal with her. After all, I can’t think of any other explanation."

Jason Sterling’s expression darkened even more. He didn’t want to believe it, so he turned to Dominic Trent. "You were there. What exactly happened?"

’He didn’t want to believe Sue did it. After all, she was completely useless—nothing more than a burden who held everyone back.’

Dominic Trent recalled what happened in the warehouse. He hesitated a moment before saying, "Well... it seems Sue Lawrence was on watch at the time. Ox went out right around then..."

’Logic, a perfect closed loop.’

Plus, with Tia Norris’s testimony leveraging public perception to boost credibility, the logic was flawless. The Debater Superpower activated, and Jason Sterling became completely convinced.

"It really was her? How on earth did she do it?"

Dominic Trent was about to press his advantage, but then he realized that line of reasoning had a flaw. Tiana Lynch had already stated that Sue Lawrence didn’t have a Superpower. It didn’t make sense logically. Tiana had told him to reconsider.

"Sue Lawrence!"

Jason Sterling had already stormed over, blocking Sue Lawrence’s path.

Sue Lawrence, still holding Leo, immediately frowned and took half a step back, shielding her precious son in her arms.

"You’re scaring my son!"

Her sharp rebuke made everyone nearby turn to look.

Dominic Trent watched from the crowd. To activate his Superpower, he needed to understand all the logical threads.

"Enough! Can you stop pretending? Where the hell is Ox? Did you do something to him?"

’I did do it, but does he really think I’d admit it?’

Sue Lawrence’s eyes flickered. ’Everyone is watching. Isn’t this the perfect time for a little drama?’

Sue Lawrence’s eyes reddened as she began to sob. "No matter what I do, it’s always wrong, isn’t it? Jason Sterling, you were cheating on me with Tiana Lynch while we were still engaged! You were my fiancé! I didn’t do anything wrong, so why is everything my fault? I don’t know where Ox is! Even Mr. Keller can’t find him. Why don’t you stop and think that maybe you’re the one with the problem!"

The moment she started crying, she looked utterly pitiful. Though young, Leo was no fool. His own eyes turned red as he threw his arms around her neck and broke down in loud sobs. "Mommy, I’m scared! Let’s go! Why are they bullying you, Mommy?"

The mother and son clung to each other, crying. Vincent and Elliot Lawrence could no longer stand by and watch. They turned on Jason Sterling, "Nothing has been proven yet! Jason Sterling, what the hell do you think you’re doing?"

Vincent Lawrence added, "If you don’t know how to talk, then go get your father! Not even Wyatt Sterling would dare speak to The Lawrence Family like that!"

Jason Sterling froze. He finally realized this was not going well. There were far too many people watching.

Even Victor Keller couldn’t stand it. On one side stood a healthy adult man, and on the other, a mother and her child—a family who had donated half of their entire fortune. If they were seen being bullied in public, who would be willing to donate supplies to the country in the future?

Victor Keller spoke up. "Ox likely left on his own. We couldn’t find his protective suit, and we’re not getting any signal. He must have destroyed the receiver. That suit can keep him alive in sixty-below-zero temperatures. Jason Sterling, you’ve gone too far."

"Impossible! Dominic Trent said it was during her watch that Ox went out and disappeared! It has to be related to her! Sue Lawrence, just because I wouldn’t let you join our team, you kill my man? What is wrong with you?"

Sue Lawrence was so angry she could have laughed, but she kept crying as she retorted, "My father is Vincent Lawrence! Even your dad has to beg mine for favors. Why would I ever want to join your group and lower myself to your level? Are you insane?"

Sure enough, the surrounding crowd started pointing at Jason Sterling and whispering amongst themselves.

"This is a total frame-up, isn’t it?"

"Exactly. The daughter of the Lawrence Group, needing to beg her way into the Sterling Group?"

"He probably couldn’t have her, so now he’s trying to frame her. How disgusting..."

In the past, these kinds of slanderous, defamatory words were always directed at her. Now, they were falling on Jason Sterling.

Sue Lawrence smiled. ’This time, it’s your turn to see what it feels like to be framed!’