Chapter 737

Rock sat there, deep in thought. Even Samuel had a lot of respect for Adam; the guy was seriously powerful. No wonder Ronnie had been trying so hard to get close to him lately.

Lost in their own thoughts, Samuel eventually took off.

Seeing this, Rock turned to Winnie and said, "Hey Winnie, I'm gonna grab a drink. You stay here with Mr. Jenkins."

"I need to chat with her," Bentley nodded.

As soon as Rock left, Bentley's eyes lit up with mischief. He nodded towards Winnie, "Check it out, Lawrence is here tonight too. I didn't invite him. Wonder how he got in. Looks like he's also trying to score a deal with NexaCore Group. But man, he's just standing there all alone, nobody's even looking at him."

Bentley glanced at Winnie and clicked his tongue, "Remember when he was on top of the world? Everyone wanted a piece of Lawrence Rodriguez. Now, even the waiters are ignoring him."

At first, Lawrence just standing there didn't seem so bad. But after Bentley's comments, Winnie couldn't help but look over.

She had already noticed him by the window, ignored by everyone.

Lawrence still looked sharp, but most people were just sneaking glances at him, some with pity, some with cold indifference, and some even mocking him.

Then she saw a young girl with a glass of red wine walk up to him. After whispering something, Lawrence frowned. After a moment, he followed her into the hallway.

Winnie felt a mix of confusion and disdain. So he was that kind of guy, just following any woman who talked to him.

As she silently judged him, a woman's scream suddenly echoed from the hallway. "Lawrence! How dare you! You dragged me in here just to harass me? You even spilled wine on me, soaking my dress. You jerk!"

Everyone went silent and turned towards the noise. Since Lawrence was involved, people started moving that way.

Winnie frowned, feeling a bit worried. She thought Lawrence might have been set up.

"What's going on? Should we check it out?" Bentley winked.

Winnie rolled her eyes but couldn't help walking over.

At the hallway entrance, a girl with a wet dress was crying.

Someone recognized her as Phoebe Peterson, the third daughter of the Peterson Family.

The Peterson Family was the top family in Veridiania now. A few people immediately stepped forward, asking, "Ms. Peterson, what happened?"

Phoebe pointed at Lawrence with teary eyes and accused, "I saw him standing alone, so I kindly offered him a glass of juice. But after a few words, he suddenly harassed me. When I tried to leave, he grabbed my hand and dragged me into the hallway, trying to hit on me! He spilled wine on my dress, deliberately trying to humiliate me so I wouldn't come out! How can I face anyone now?"

Phoebe started crying pitifully.

"Lawrence, you're disgusting!" One onlooker immediately pointed at Lawrence, scolding, "Who do you think you are, harassing Ms. Peterson? Look at yourself! You're nothing!"

"How did this creep even get into tonight's party? Apologize to Ms. Peterson right now!"

Everyone started laying into Lawrence, making him sneer.

Lawrence shot Phoebe a mocking look. Just a moment ago, she had come up to him, claiming Adam wanted to see him.

Lawrence had never met anyone from the Peterson Family and didn't recognize her. But since he did want to meet Adam, he fell for it.

As soon as they got to the hallway, Lawrence realized what was up.

Phoebe had acted like she was being harassed, even spilling wine on herself, clearly trying to frame him.

"Ms. Peterson, was it?" Lawrence said coldly, his gaze sweeping over the hostile crowd. "Even if I had the time, I wouldn't be interested in you. Who put you up to this? Don't they know my standards?" He addressed the crowd. "If you want an apology, let's review the security footage. If I so much as touched her, I'll apologize on the spot."

"No need," a wealthy businessman sneered. "It's obvious what your intentions were. The Rodriguez family is on the skids, and you're trying to latch onto a rich girl. You think forcing yourself on her will get you anywhere?"

"How dare you touch Ms. Peterson!" another shouted. "You're pathetic! Get down on your knees and apologize!"

A group of onlookers started cursing Lawrence, and even those who hadn't spoken were watching the drama unfold.

Lawrence was instantly isolated by the crowd.

"Phoebe, what happened?" Amid the commotion, Mars and Ronnie walked over.

Mars had a gloating smile on his face.

"Ronnie, Mars, you're just in time!" Phoebe cried, "Lawrence bullied me. He dragged me into the hallway and tried to assault me."

"Unbelievable! Lawrence, you were once a respected young man, and now you're acting like a scoundrel. What were you thinking, harassing Phoebe? Are you trying to cozy up to the Peterson Family, or are you resentful because they've surpassed you, so you decided to humiliate my cousin Phoebe?" Mars immediately condemned Lawrence.

Everyone looked at Lawrence with disdain.

Mars smirked, "Apologize to Phoebe now, and we'll let this go."

Ronnie stood by, his stern face showing agreement.

"Apology?" Lawrence's cold lips curled into a sneer, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, "None of you are worthy of an apology from me."

Lawrence's words stirred up many onlookers' fury. They began to babble with disdain.

"Still arrogant, even now," someone muttered.

"The Rodriguez Family is down and out, and he's still acting all high and mighty. Mars, kick him out."

Ronnie, seeing his goal achieved, spoke gently, "After all, this is Mr. King's party. This might not be appropriate."

"Mr. Peterson, why not? He doesn't belong at such a high-end event."

"The Rodriguez Family is in such a bad state. Does he still think he can secure a deal with NexaCore Group?"

"Even Mr. King wouldn't want someone like him! Get out!"

Many mocked, and soon many rich men started pushing Lawrence.

Not far away, Bentley frowned deeply, "This is clearly a setup by the Peterson Family. But whether Lawrence is innocent or not doesn't matter anymore. These hypocrites just want to see him humiliated."

Winnie's delicate brows knitted together into a single line; she felt she shouldn't have interfered in the matter.

But seeing Lawrence being pushed around reminded her of him collecting debts at The Ramirez Group, and a sense of sympathy arose in her heart.

The Peterson Family just wanted to humiliate him tonight and make Adam despise Lawrence!

For some reason, Winnie didn't want to see him defeated.