Chapter 89

The packed auditorium was dead silent.

Dust particles swirled under the stage lights like they had a life of their own.

Every eye was fixed on Amelia, waiting for her to speak.

A cold sweat clung to her back, and her face was the picture of innocence and grievance.

She hadn't expected that Megan , that spiteful woman, would actually bring someone from Lila Moore here.

Lila Moore had always kept a low profile-nobody even knew if they were a man or woman,or how old they were.

And tonight, both Lila Moore's exclusive tailor and the designated model were present.

If she claimed to know Lila Moore, what if they started asking her specific stuff? How the hell was she gonna talk her way out of that?

After hesitating for a while, she forced a stiff smile."That sketchpaper? It was given to me by Molly a while ago."

A cold chuckle slipped from Megan's lips. She had to admit-this woman was slippery, even dragging in a missing person as a human shield.

An older woman in pearls snorted. "So what else can you say now? You totally stole it!"

From the corner of the room, Rachel abruptly stood up. "These sketches are definitely Megan's! Do you have no shame,Amelia?"

Next to him, Kai reached up and rubbed his temple.

They'd purposely sat low-key in a back corner,hoping to steer clear of the press. The last thing they needed was reporters swarming around Kai with questions about the Lee and Lewis families.

Especially now, with talks of a potential Lewis-Lee alliance.Wherever he went, reporters latched on like leeches.

Well, now Rachel had totally blown their cover.

Amelia's lashes trembled. "Rachel, I know you're bitter about the alliance between our families, and I get that. But that doesn't give you the right to twist the facts."

Rachel looked like he was about to storm the stage and tear off her act right then and there-but Kai caught him just in time.

At that moment, the huge LED screen flickered to life,rolling a clip.

Amelia sat across from a woman in sunglasses and a black dress, chatting animatedly at a café.

Then it cut to Megan walking into a professor's office with a manila envelope. She set it down and left.

Cut again-to the tall, graceful lady in the black dress sneaking in, switching the sketches inside the envelope, and slipping back out.

Next shot: the same woman in a quiet alley,handing that envelope over to Amelia.

Someone in the crowd gasped and shouted a familiar name-Molly.

Megan glanced at Tristan in the audience. He met her gaze with a faint smirk.

Got it. So this was his doing-that footage had come from one of his people.

But what surprised her was that he hadn't told her Molly had reappeared.

Did that mean he'd already found Molly and Wyatt?

And whoever took them-was that mystery about to unravel too?

Still, one thing at a time. First, she needed to shut down this plagiarism drama.

Tilting her head, she smiled at Amelia. "So what Molly gave you wasn't just 'paper,' huh? You mean the whole damn sketch, right?"

Amelia's face was streaked with tears, the picture of pitiful.

She choked on her sobs, but whatever she tried to say now just came off weak.

Her hands gripped the fabric of her dress so tight that she'd wrinkled it. "These sketches are really mine. I don't know how they faked that video."

In other words, she was claiming the footage was doctored.

Some people just wouldn't admit the truth till it kicked them in the face.

Megan's gaze swept over the models wearing Amelia's designs.

Then she turned back to the judges. "Could you three please come up? I believe experienced eyes know the difference between real beauty and a bad knockoff."

The three judges exchanged looks, then stepped up to the runway to examine the gowns-comparing what Amelia's models wore with the ones presented by Megan's team.lt didn't take long for the verdict.Elena stood center stage, mic in hand, and announced, "Megan's dress is finely crafted with neat stitching. In contrast, Amelia's design may look similar at first glance, but it's clearly rushed-sloppy work overall."

Amelia shot a look toward Mia Ford in the crowd and retorted, "Everyone knows Mia is the exclusive seamstress for Lila Moore. Her craftsmanship is unmatched."

She was clearly throwing shade, hinting that Megan hadn't made the dress herself-implying someone else did it for her.

And she wasn't totally wrong. Megan handled the design, but Mia took care of the actual production. Megan turned slightly, eyes on Amelia. "There's a sketch of a pendant in the paper bag too. Did you make that pendant?"

Amelia forced herself to nod, signaling the chubby girl beside her to bring up a small gift box. Inside was a pale green spherical pendant.

When Amelia first saw the sketch, she thought it looked average, nothing special.

But once she realized it was made from diamond-grade glass meteorite, alarms went off. This stuff forms when certain meteorites melt during their descent and then cool into glass.

It's often mistaken for obsidian and is also called Leigong Ink. While the black variety is common,pale green ones are super rare-and worth a lot.

She didn't have time to search for real material, so she had someone use jade instead.

Megan looked over at Mia."The pendant."

Mia walked up the stage and opened a black velvet box in her hands. A light green, crystal-clear pendant lay inside, glinting beautifully.

Megan picked it up, holding it between her fingers as she explained, "This is a gem-grade glass meteorite from outer space. It's flawless, high-purity, no cracks, densely packed with microbubbles. The piece is stunning-partially transparent like glass,sparkling under the light. It's top-tier for both meteorite collectors and gemstone lovers. The value's beyond estimation."

The three judges were clearly stunned. They knew how rare and valuable these meteorites were,especially in such pristine condition. All of them leaned in, eager for a closer look.

Megan then glanced at Amelia, her tone casual yet sharp. "You ever heard of the phrase 'trying too hard to copy and still failing'?"

The chubby girl suddenly jumped forward, accusing Megan, "You say the sketches are yours-who's to say they're not actually Lila Moore's? Maybe you just bought them off her! She gave you her seamstress and model after all. Bet you just threw money around to get your way!"

Mia's chest heaved in anger-she'd had enough.

She pointed straight at the girl, voice firm. "That's slander, plain and simple!"

The chubby girl ran over to Jason, pleading, "Jason,help out Amelia, would you? She's clearly being picked on!"

Jason frowned, his tone ice-cold. "Is she being picked on, or doing the bullying herself? She knows the truth better than anyone. The day I got hurt,I happened to see Megan's original sketches. They were amazing-burned right into my memory. And somehow, they ended up as Amelia's work?"

The moment he finished, not just the chubby girl-all of them in the room froze.

Was this a public betrayal?

Amelia was completely blindsided. Jason had seen those sketches? And why would he expose her like this in front of everyone?

She may not have been a true Lewis by blood, but she'd called him "brother" for years. Why? How come everyone stood by Megan's side? What did she do wrong?

Still unwilling to back down, the chubby girl huffed,"Doesn't mean Megan drew them either. Money talks, right? Lila Moore could've been paid off for all we know!"

Just then, a high-pitched mechanical voice rang out.A tiny robot dog with wings started circling above the crowd.