Mark was so furious that he was about to explode. “Stop! Calm down and listen to me. Yes, I’ve paid him some money, but that’s the only method we have to resolve this at the moment. It doesn’t matter who plagiarised who, what we need to do now is clear our names first, then we can slowly investigate the matter. The only lead we have to crack this case is with James, yet he denies that he’s the one who’s plagiarised your work. Furthermore, we haven’t got any evidence to use against him, so what are we supposed to do other than neutralize the situation for now? I know what I’m doing and I have a plan to resolve this, so don’t cause me anymore trouble and get back to work please.”Arianne wanted to say something but stopped. She did not approve of Mark’s method of resolving the matter through money. There was literally zero difference between hers and James’ designs, so it was confirmed that James had indeed plagiarised her work. ‘How did he plagiarise my design? Based on Mark’s attitude
Mark could not bear to hear any further. “Fine, we’ll leave it at that. I haven’t got any appetite, so you go ahead and eat by yourself. I’ll be heading out now.”Shelly hurriedly asked, “Will you be back tonight?”Mark paused for a moment. “I’m busy, so I won’t be back tonight.”As she watched Mark walking away without even looking back, Shelly’s shoulders dropped. She had also lost her appetite, despite having a sumptuous meal laid out in front of her.The atmosphere within the entire Tremont Estate seemed gloomy. Even the maids remained hidden and would only show up when Shelly called for them, as though she was the cause of everything bad that was happening. The loneliness that Shelly felt was similar to how she used to feel in the past when she was overseas. During that time, she would always be alone… Alone as time passed. Every day was a struggle for her, so much so that she did not even have anyone to talk to.…When Smore heard someone knocking on the door, he immediatel
Mark slowly said as he stroked Arianne’s hair, “I’m not thinking about anything. I don’t want to since it’s tiresome to think too much. All I want is to hug you like this now. You smell really nice…”Arianne pursed her lips and smiled. Mark no longer had the scent of roses on him and had returned to how he used to smell in the past. It would seem that Mark had changed all the bathing products that Shelly changed for him previously. He even changed back to the type that Arianne liked to use previously. Women have always been easily moved by little details. Although Mark was not a person who paid attention to details, he had already done his best for Arianne.Suddenly, when they heard Smore coughing from the room next door, Arianne reflexively sat upright in shock. “I’ll go over and take a look at him. He’s been coughing for the past few days and doesn’t seem to be recovering.”After covering Smore with a blanket and observing for a moment, Arianne returned to her bedroom again. “He’l
Scorn was dripping from Mark’s smirk. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care about your trifling, boasting cockalorum to your friends. All I want to know is this: who gave you that bloody design draft? I know you didn’t pen it—it’s my wife’s creation. You stole it, you sued her for plagiarism, and you extorted one-hundred-fifty grand from me. Seems to me we’ve got a long score to settle.”James was shaking like a leaf. “N-No! T-T-That’s untrue! I didn’t steal anything from nobody. I swear it’s my creation! I didn’t steal! Please, Mr. Tremont, just let me off, okay? I don’t even want the rest of the money anymore, alright? Let’s just call it a truce, yea? I’ve told the press that the whole plagiarism thing was a misunderstanding! We’re alright now! That’s a good reason to let me go, right?”Mark’s patience was rapidly thinning. With a frown, he hissed, “You talk too much. Is this your way of pleading to get your tongue removed?”James immediately shut up, not a single word escaping him.M
Brian scowled at James—who was still lying on the floor, pathetic as ever—before getting into the car. “Mr. Tremont, shouldn’t we get our money back from him? We owed this schmuck nothing. There’s no reason he should hold onto our money, especially when seventy-five grand isn’t just any sum,” he spoke.“Oh. He’ll return the money to us of his own volition, mark my words,” Mark replied calmly. “He’s a milquetoast. Even the most dull-witted milquetoast knows that salvaging a chance to live another day is leagues better than dying.”Just as he predicted, the money Mark had given to James was returned to him in full later that day. At the very least, the man still had enough sensibilities; choosing any other action would have invited more than a savage beatdown.James had previously told the press that the plagiarism accusation was a “misunderstanding”, but soon, the man had come to the press with something more to add into the narrative. In another statement released—this time prodded
After a brief internal musing, Mark spilled, “That designer—James McGinnis—had admitted that the design was given to him by an anonymous sender through email. It was never his original creation from the outset; he stole Arianne’s idea. As for the identity of that sender, they may benefit from anonymity now, but it’s not at all hard to find out who they may be. Soon, the truth will come out… and we’ll see.”Mark had paid his most exacting attention to Shelly’s expression while he spoke, but nothing in her mien was out of place. In fact, she sighed a breath of relief. “Oh, that’s good news, isn’t it? Go get that little snake, you. Everyone will be able to breathe easy if that perp is finally apprehended. Anyway, go and take your shower while I set up the table.”After dinner, Mark summoned Henry to his study. “I want the identity behind that email sent to McGinnis uncovered as soon as possible,” he ordered. “No matter who it is, do not let anyone catch hold of it. It is for my ears onl
cheSylvain turned silent for a moment before speaking again. “Mr. Tremont, can you please give me some time to check with Robin? I’ll give you her answers.”Mark approved his request. He preferred tackling this current knot with a more humanistic approach since the great, overarching issue had already been resolved. Next to that, this was more of a small, loose strand.Besides, judging from Arianne’s nature, she would still refuse to take any action even if Robin were the real culprit.After exiting Mark’s office, Sylvain dashed straight to the Strategy Department. There his wife was, completely engrossed in her agenda-of-the-day until he whisked her away so suddenly; she was too shocked to question him.It was only when the two of them were in an empty, remote corner of the office that Robin finally inquired, “What are you doing, Syl? Oh God, you look ghastly… Is there something wrong? I’m a bit busy right now, and I don’t want my superior to see us, ‘cause this superior is super
Mark took his seat behind the desk. “What’s the matter?”Robin promptly handed him a resignation letter. “Mr. Tremont, I know that things are looking bad for me now, which is why I… I have no problem resigning my position as long as Sylvain is safe from negative splashes. I swear, though, I’ve got nothing to do with any of this. I’m innocent! But Sylvain told me that it’s too difficult to clear my name by now, and it’s likely that the investigation has no other leads to go forward. I… I guess that means there’s no other way out, so I’ll willingly resign. I’m sorry.”Mark stared at the resignation letter in her hand and thought for a while. “Take this back. Frankly, I’ve never even considered firing you,” he replied. “I’ve talked to Arianne just now, and we both agreed to close the chapter on this case. Neither of us are interested in continuing this investigation, and no one will mention it ever again, let alone allow it to affect Sylvain negatively. Both Arianne and Sylvain are adam