"Grace, wait."Grace stopped in her tracks, clearly impatient. "Mr. Hawkins, is there something else?""Grace, I—"Before he could finish, a familiar voice interrupted. "Benjamin, what are you doing here?"Susan's face lit up with joy. But the next moment, her expression changed when she noticed Grace beside him. "You're still with this woman? You're really trying to infuriate me."Benjamin looked displeased. "Mom, this is my business. Please don't get involved."Then, he took Grace's arm. "Let's go."However, Grace instinctively pulled her arm back. "Mr. Hawkins, please have some respect."She looked at Susan. Sounding polite yet distant, she said, "Rest assured, Madam Hawkins. There's nothing between Mr. Hawkins and I."Susan couldn't stand Grace's proud attitude. Although she regretted not treating Grace better and seizing the opportunity to connect with the Lewis family, she could only go along with her mistakes.After all, it was too late to rectify them.Fortunately, B
"Mom, what nonsense are you saying?" Benjamin quickly stopped Susan. He had never imagined that she harbored such malice toward Grace.He had been truly oblivious.However, Grace was unfazed. "Mr. Hawkins, I'll take my leave."Benjamin wanted to catch up with her, but Susan held him back. "Benjamin, I can't breathe. My chest feels tight.""Madam Hawkins, are you okay?" Jessica was concerned.Seeing this, Benjamin hurriedly turned to her, looking worried. "Mom, are you okay?"The next moment, Susan grabbed his arm. "Benjamin, listen to me. Don't get involved with Grace anymore. Look at Jessica. She's such a good girl. You two look like a match made in heaven."Benjamin frowned as he realized something.Smiling coldly, he pushed Susan away. Then he said indifferently, "Mom, your acting skills are truly top-notch. I really couldn't see through it before.""How can you say that, Benjamin? Benjamin—"No matter how much Susan called out to him, Benjamin ignored her and chased after
Grace smiled as she explained, "You might not believe it, but she was having lunch with Susan today. They seemed quite close.""No way! Your ex-mother-in-law? Does she want Benjamin to marry Jessica?"Smiling, Grace raised an eyebrow and didn't continue the topic. "Thanks, babe. I'll treat you to dinner another day.""Sure thing. I'll get back to work."After ending the call, Grace put Jessica's business card away. Although she and Jessica had little interaction, she had a faint premonition that they would meet again.And her premonition was correct.Just a few days later, she received a call from Emily. "Babe, we've got a problem.""What's wrong? Don't be anxious. Take your time to explain.""Quickly check your phone. Someone has accused several classic dresses from our boutique of plagiarism. The topic is currently the top trending topic."Grace thought it was absurd. She went on Twitter and clicked on the trending list.As expected, the name of her boutique was displayed a
"Gracie, take a look. This is the accuser's Twitter account."Grace took Emily's phone and saw the contents on Twitter.The accuser had used their real identity and reported the boutique for plagiarism. He had presented the original design drafts and compared them with the clothing designs.Multiple classic designs were accused of being copied, and all the accusations pointed to Grace as the plagiarist.Grace scrolled across the screen, looking at the so-called original design drafts in disbelief.She had personally designed all the classic dresses in the boutique. There was no possibility of plagiarism. Two of the dresses had even been part of her final year design projects at university."This is impossible. Utterly impossible." Confused, Grace set the phone aside. At this moment, Xander also handed her the information his subordinates had found."We found it. You're accused of plagiarizing Jion. She's very popular and holds significant influence in the international design
As Jessica finished speaking, she turned around slowly. She was still smiling, highlighting her gentleness and friendliness.However, this time, Grace wasn't deceived by her appearance. She got straight to the point. "Ms. Landon, don't you think you owe me an explanation?"Upon hearing this, Jessica burst into laughter.She spread her hands and said, "Explanation? What explanation? Aren't you here to discuss the compensation with me?"You copied so much of my work. You should have made quite a bit of money over the years. I heard your boutique business is doing well, so compensating a bit of money shouldn't be a problem, right?"Or do you not want to compensate me? Do you want to go through legal procedures? I'm happy to do that."Grace stared coldly at Jessica, not understanding where she got her confidence. She said word by word, "I didn't plagiarize."A simple sentence expressed her attitude and stance.Jessica smiled. "Who would believe that? The facts are right there. Why
A billion dollars?That was quite a bold demand."Who do you think you are, asking for one billion dollars? Have some shame," Emily retorted bluntly.Regardless of anything else, she firmly believed in Grace. Grace would never plagiarize someone else's work."The facts will reveal who the real plagiarist is. Even if you're internationally famous, you can't twist the truth. Aren't you afraid that your so-called fans will see your true colors?"Jessica remained unperturbed, lightly smiling while choosing to ignore Emily's words.She crossed her arms and walked closer to Grace. When she was just half a step away, she stopped. Lifting her gaze, she looked at Grace."I won't beat around the bush. The choice is in your hands, Ms. Lewis. It depends on what you decide, whether it's paying money to settle the matter or letting everyone perish together. What do you say?"Grace silently clenched her hands. She could tell that Jessica seemed to harbor deep hostility toward her.Yet she co
Grace remained silent, as if contemplating something.Finally, she looked at Xander, boldly guessing his thoughts. "Xander, let me guess. There's more to your suggestion of seven days, right?"Xander crossed his arms in front of him, projecting an air as if he could handle anything. Yet when he spoke, there was a hint of affection in his tone. "I can't hide anything from you."Grace suddenly understood. The two exchanged a knowing smile. On the side, Emily was puzzled. "Grace, what kind of secret code are you two using?""Don't worry, Emily. In this world, no one can do anything without leaving a trace.""So?""The truth will come out eventually. Those designs reported by Jessica are my work from my university days. The drafts of the designs are still at the school. So now, what we need is time."They needed time to gather the necessary evidence.Emily finally understood their plan. "So, you plan to go back to school?"Grace nodded. "It's time to go back and take a look. May
"Email all the information related to the accident to me.""Okay."A minute later, Callum sent all the information to Xander.Xander opened his email inbox and quickly browsed through the details."What is that, Xander?"Grace had already woken up.Xander continued to examine the information. Without hiding anything, he said, "I did a background check on Jessica. There's nothing unusual, except for a car accident five years ago. Her parents died, but she survived."Grace frowned, inevitably connecting it to Jessica's animosity toward her. "Do you suspect that the accident is related to me?"Xander handed her the phone. After she finished reading, she shook her head. "I didn't know Jessica before this, and I've never met her parents."So why did Jessica harbor such strong resentment for her? It was as if there was some deep-seated grudge between them."Don't overthink it. Relax. Leave it to me." Xander patted her shoulder reassuringly. Grace nodded, but her mind was filled w