Chapter 92 Semifinal Invitation

Chapter 92 Semifinal Invitation

Dawn had barely broken when Isabella was jolted awake by a delivery call.

"I told them to just leave it at the door," she grumbled, staggering toward the entrance with bleary eyes and disheveled hair. Her irritated mutterings continued all the way to the door.

The courier looked uncomfortable when he saw Isabella's sour expression. "Miss Harper, I apologize, but this requires your signature. It's a collect-on-delivery package."

After scrawling her signature, Isabella tossed a fifty-dollar bill at the courier with a dismissive flick of her wrist. "No wonder you're just a delivery boy. You don't understand simple flexibility."

She rolled her eyes dramatically before slamming the door shut behind her.

Isabella tore at the packaging impatiently, but her mood transformed instantly when she recognized the formal invitation to the design competition's semi-finals. She carefully unfolded the elegant paper, confirming its contents with growing satisfaction.

She had passed the preliminary round!

She'd known she would, of course, but seeing the official invitation sent a surge of triumph through her.

Fighting the urge to broadcast her success immediately, Isabella called James instead, instructing him to find out if Olivia had also received an invitation.

"I'll have someone look into it," James agreed without hesitation.

Noting his flat tone, Isabella pouted. "James, I've passed the preliminary round, and you don't seem excited at all."

Her voice turned childishly petulant. "Are you worried about Olivia not making it through?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I just knew you'd pass—it's hardly surprising," James replied, his voice softening with affection. "I'm sorry, darling. Let me make it up to you. Dinner tonight? My treat."

Isabella seized the opportunity to extract a promise for a $100,000 necklace as her congratulations gift, then reminded him not to forget checking on Olivia's status.

James readily agreed to everything, then immediately dispatched his new assistant to discreetly investigate Olivia's situation.

Understanding the delicate dynamics between James and Olivia, the assistant bribed an employee in the design department to handle the inquiry. This employee fabricated a story about a missing delivery to casually ask Olivia about any recent packages.

Within thirty minutes, the report came back. 

[Olivia hasn't received any deliveries at work recently. She mentioned she hasn't ordered anything, so she's not expecting packages at home either.]

This information traveled quickly back to Isabella, who smirked with satisfaction. "So she didn't make it to the semi-finals after all."

Her face lit up with undisguised pleasure. She'd always known that bitch wouldn't qualify!

Invitation in hand, Isabella promptly knocked on the door of her father's study.

"Come in," came the response from inside.

As she entered, Isabella carefully arranged her features to display a perfect blend of uncertainty and concern.

Albert noticed her expression. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing serious," Isabella approached slowly, presenting her invitation to Jonathan.

Jonathan glanced at the document, then looked puzzled. "You were fretting about this just two days ago. Now you've passed—isn't that good news?"

"That's my girl," Jonathan beamed, immediately taking photos of the invitation to share in the family group chat.

Albert's question seemed to make Isabella shrink further into herself. She lowered her head and spoke barely above a whisper. "Yes, I passed... but Olivia didn't."

"I'm worried she'll be upset. She was so confident about making it to the semi-finals, but now..." Isabella twisted her fingers anxiously, hesitating before adding quietly, "Maybe I should withdraw too."

"Olivia must be devastated. I don't want to hurt her feelings further," she concluded, her eyes glistening with what appeared to be selfless tears, the perfect picture of someone sacrificing her own interests for family harmony.

"What nonsense is this?" Jonathan immediately objected. "Why should you concern yourself with her? It would be more surprising if she had qualified!"

Albert's brow furrowed in disapproval. "Isabella, you've worked incredibly hard for this opportunity. You can't abandon it just to spare someone else's feelings."

Seeing their reactions, Isabella secretly rejoiced while maintaining her façade of reluctance. "But Olivia..."

Suddenly, as if struck by inspiration, her eyes widened with dramatic realization. "What if there was a mistake with Olivia's evaluation?"

"Her recent work has been great. Logically, she should have passed the preliminary round." Isabella's voice grew more confident. "I suspect either her scores were miscalculated or someone tampered with her submission!"

She clenched her fist with righteous indignation. "How about we contact the organizers to verify Olivia's scores?"

Her suggestion had an immediate effect—both men's expressions darkened considerably.

They had indeed witnessed Olivia's apparent talent, but it had seemed suspiciously sudden. They had already doubted how Olivia's skills improved so quickly. It seemed likely to them that she might have cheated.

After all, if her abilities were genuine, how could she possibly have failed to qualify?

The only logical conclusion was that she couldn't find someone to cheat for her during the competition!

Jonathan's face turned stony with anger. "That little fraud! She wanted to make us all look like fools!"

"But..." Isabella attempted to interject.

"Enough!" Jonathan cut her off sharply. "We will not discuss this further!"

Albert silently sipped his water, his expression growing increasingly severe.

Both men tacitly agreed to drop the subject of Olivia, turning instead to lavish praise on Isabella's achievement in qualifying for the semi-finals.

That evening, as Olivia was preparing to leave for dinner, she received a message from Layla.

Layla: [Olivia, are you free tonight? I'd like to take you out to celebrate your qualification for the semi-finals!]

Olivia smiled, feeling a warm glow of appreciation. She wanted to accept, but remembering the project updates she needed to complete and the designs still waiting on her desk, she reluctantly declined.

Layla didn't pressure her, saying they could celebrate whenever Olivia had time.

Olivia sent back a cute nodding emoji, then returned to her work.

She continued working late into the night, finally bidding goodbye to her team members around midnight.

As she stepped out of the car, a wave of dizziness swept over her. She paused for several seconds until the vertigo subsided.

'I really need to get some rest,' she thought wearily as she pushed open her front door.

The moment she entered the living room, a delicious aroma caught her attention. She froze in surprise at the sight of an elaborate dinner spread across her dining table.

"You're back." Alexander Blake emerged from the kitchen, placing the final dish on the table before gesturing for her to sit. "Congratulations on making it to the semi-finals."

He raised a glass of red wine with a rare smile. "Shall we have a drink to celebrate?"