Bankrupt Tycoon? No Problem – This Villainess Will Make Him Rich Again

Chapter 140: Chapter 143: I Believe in Felix Preston’s Character

Martin Thornton thought about it carefully, then nodded. "Yes, something like that did happen. It was during the second semester of our senior year."

Sonia Quincy’s brow furrowed slightly, her gaze on Martin Thornton tinged with urgency. "Do you remember who the man was who came looking for you?"

"I do." Martin Thornton finished the beef in his bowl, gently set down his chopsticks, and spoke as he took a sip of water. "His surname was Lockwood. He was a student in the Financial Management department, in the same year as us."

Sonia Quincy tentatively ventured the name, "Ethan Lockwood?"

Martin Thornton blinked, and his voice suddenly dropped to a low whisper, likely afraid that someone might overhear his next words and cause unnecessary trouble.

"It was Ethan Lockwood. The Ethan Lockwood from the Lockwood Group. And the girlfriend he was talking about was the true heiress of the Quincy Family of Aethelburg, who had only been found a few years before—Cecilia Quincy."

"Oh..." Sonia Quincy listened with a calm expression, but in reality, her hand holding the chopsticks quietly tightened.

"When that Lockwood guy found you, what exactly did he say?"

Martin Thornton pressed his lips together, thinking for a moment before answering. "He didn’t say much, really. First, he asked if I was Felix Preston’s roommate. When I said yes, he scowled and told me to relay a message to Felix. He said Cecilia Quincy was his girlfriend and that Felix was to stop harassing her from now on, or he’d make him regret it."

"I was in the classroom handing out materials at the time, so when that Lockwood guy said all that, many of our classmates heard him. As a result, Felix Preston’s reputation took a huge hit. A lot of people, who had no idea what the truth was, started calling him a homewrecker trying to break up a couple, or a creep who used the bit of money he made from his startup to harass women."

"And you?" Sonia Quincy struggled to control her emotions, forcing herself not to dwell on the ugly accusations thrown at Felix Preston. She maintained a smile as she asked Martin Thornton, "Did you jump on the bandwagon and criticize him too? Did you believe Felix was that kind of person?"

"I didn’t believe it," Martin Thornton said with conviction. "Someone who studied so hard, was so serious about his startup, and was completely sincere with everyone he met—how could he possibly harass a woman?"

"Besides, Felix Preston is incredibly handsome. From the moment we started freshman year, he was a campus celebrity on the school’s confession page. Countless girls at school had crushes on him. Would he have to be crazy to ignore all those admirers just to go harass a girl who already had a boyfriend?"

The more Martin Thornton spoke, the angrier he became, his face flushing. "Anyway, no matter how you look at it, I just don’t believe Felix Preston is the kind of person they claimed he was."

"And as far as I know, Felix Preston and that Cecilia Quincy barely interacted. Felix’s startup was already taking off back then, and his company kept him so busy he was hardly ever on campus. Where would he find the time to go and harass Cecilia Quincy?"

"The way I see it, the whole incident was just some ridiculous story Cecilia Quincy made up. Felix Preston was purely an innocent victim."

Sonia Quincy smiled. "Thank you for believing in Felix Preston."

Then, remembering how Cecilia Quincy had used Felix Preston in the original novel’s plot, she asked again, "When that Lockwood guy was making accusations against Felix in the classroom, did he present any evidence to prove that Felix had actually harassed Cecilia Quincy?"

Martin Thornton didn’t even have to think about the question before answering with certainty, "Yes. He showed some screenshots of a WeChat conversation between Felix Preston and Cecilia Quincy. The content did look pretty offensive, but I don’t believe Felix sent those messages."

Sonia Quincy: "Why?"

Martin Thornton: "Because Felix Preston is a very meticulous person, almost to the point of being rigid. When he usually messages me on WeChat, he makes sure every single punctuation mark is correct. He uses commas for clauses and always remembers to end a sentence with a period. But when I saw those chat logs, I noticed the ’Felix’ in the screenshots didn’t use punctuation. He just used spaces to break up his sentences. That’s completely out of character for him."

"Besides, what can a few chat screenshots really prove? If Cecilia Quincy wanted to frame Felix Preston, she could have just used any random WeChat account, changed the profile picture and contact name to match his, and faked those screenshots."

Contrary to his shy and mild-mannered personality, Martin Thornton was actually quite sharp and articulate when he spoke seriously about a matter.

Sonia Quincy looked at his somewhat lean face and asked curiously, "What do you do for work now?"

Martin Thornton: "I passed the civil service exam. I work in the administrative office of the Aethelburg Public Security Bureau."

"No wonder." Sonia Quincy’s surprise instantly turned to understanding.

Martin Thornton had covered almost everything she wanted to know. After some careful consideration, she decided to tell him what she’d done.

"Martin Thornton, I recorded our entire conversation just now. Do you mind?"

Martin Thornton smiled and shook his head. "I don’t mind. In fact, I suspected you’d be recording from the very beginning. I don’t know what you plan to do with this recording, but out of consideration for my status as a civil servant, I hope you can alter my voice if you decide to make it public."

"As much as I want to help Felix Preston, I’d rather not have people recognize who I am from this recording."

Martin Thornton’s acceptance and generosity were beyond what Sonia Quincy had imagined. She was stunned for a moment, and the frown she’d been wearing ever since she arrived finally relaxed.

"I understand." Her smile was tinged with excitement, and under Martin Thornton’s gentle gaze, she looked anything but composed.

"Don’t worry, Martin Thornton. I’ll protect your privacy."

Martin Thornton: "Thank you."

Sonia Quincy picked up her chopsticks again. "I’m pretty much done with my questions. You should eat up."

Martin Thornton breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay."

Perhaps because she was in such a great mood, Sonia Quincy ended up eating a ton at Haidilao, despite having already had breakfast. It got to the point where even Renee Sinclair couldn’t help but ask, "Didn’t you already eat breakfast?"

Her cheeks bulging with food, she replied, "Breakfast is breakfast, and lunch is lunch. Eating breakfast doesn’t stop me from eating lunch now, does it?"

Hearing this, Renee Sinclair glanced at her watch. "But it’s not even noon."

Sonia Quincy: "...Well, I like to eat lunch before noon!"

"..." Renee Sinclair was speechless.

By the time they finished their meal and left the restaurant, it was almost 12:30 PM.

After saying goodbye to Martin Thornton at the entrance to Haidilao, Sonia Quincy and Renee Sinclair walked side by side toward the elevator.

Renee Sinclair shot Sonia Quincy a sidelong glance. "I’ve helped you with another task. So, when are you going to let me meet Felix Preston?"

Sonia Quincy: "Felix Preston is in the hospital. You can go see him anytime you want, you just need a good reason."

Renee Sinclair raised an eyebrow, demanding, "You can come up with the reason!"

"..." Sonia Quincy gave her a timid glance. "I know, I’m already..."

"Mr. Quincy?"

Before she could finish her sentence, Hannah Sutton’s voice suddenly rang out from right in front of her.

Sonia Quincy looked up to see Hannah Sutton and Mason Shaw walking toward her.