Chapter 8
“You liar!” Sophia screamed. “Don’t believe her, everyone! I stayed up all night sketching this! Every detail has my blood and sweat-she’s slandering me!”
“Stayed up all night?” Adrian chuckled coldly, pulling a stack of papers from his briefcase.
“Then explain these drafts-clearly marked with revisions from last March-signed in Lily’s handwriting with her creation dates.”
He handed the papers to a young reporter, who immediately snapped photos.
“Don’t believe her!” Sophia cried desperately. “She’s just bitter because she left Cole Enterprises and wants to ruin my moment!”
To my surprise, she brought it up herself.
“Since you mentioned that, let me expose Cole Enterprises’ little secret-manipulating annual bonuses and cutting employees’ pay however they please.”
The revelation threatened the company’s reputation. Ethan grabbed my arm, panicked.
“Lily, calm down. Let’s talk about this later, in private.”
I yanked free, and Adrian stepped in front of me, giving me courage.
“Later?” I sneered.
“Ethan, you didn’t say ‘later’ when you stripped my annual bonus.”
I pulled out the publicized bonus report, the glaring 0 under my name plain for all to see.
‘This was my bonus, which Mr. Cole turned into a Hawaii Trip for him and Sophia.”
The reporters erupted.
‘No wonder she went from secretary to lead designer-it wasn’t just about talent.”
‘Classic! And she’s clearly pregnant too. So the wife came to crash the event? This is gold.”
Sophia shrieked from the stage, frantic.
‘Don’t believe her! That Hawaii trip was a reward for my excellent work. It has nothing to do with
ner!”
Ethan, afraid she might spill even more, roared, “Shut up!”
Terrified, Sophia fell silent instantly.
Turning back to me, Ethan pleaded, his voice low and desperate.
‘Lily, please… don’t say anything else. It’s all my fault. You don’t know how hard I worked for this press conference. If you reveal more, our family is finished.”
He was practically begging, even bowing.
“Fine,” I said icily. “Then have Sophia apologize to me-and announce publicly that she plagiarized.”
In the design world, plagiarism is the ultimate taboo. If Sophia admitted it, her career would be over forever.
“Sophia, apologize to Lily,” Ethan demanded.
Tears welled in her eyes, but she bit her lip and refused.
“Ethan, if I do this, what will happen to me?”
But Ethan cared nothing for her pleas. For his own sake, he dragged her forward and forced her
to face me.
Sophia thrashed and even clawed toward my face.
Smack!
The sharp sound echoed as Ethan slapped her to the ground.
She clutched her stomach immediately, her expression twisting.
‘Ethan! You hit me? I’m carrying your child!”
Reporters snapped away furiously, the scandal too juicy to miss.
Ethan’s world crumbled as Sophia, enraged, exposed him in front of everyone.
“Don’t you dare! Who knows if this baby is even yours? You’re the one who schemed your way up
and I went along with it only to climb higher. And now you turn on me?”
