Chapter 106
Dahlia sat in the VIP section, her body rigid as stone.
She watched as industry insiders rose to their feet. She watched as designers who usually looked down on everyone stood up one by one. She watched as tears glistened in the eyes of that silver-haired old man.
Her fingers clutched at her dress, nails digging into her palms. The pain shot up her entire arm, making it tremble.
She hated this.
Hated that after all these years of study, it was still Lucinda standing center stage, being admired by everyone.
But she couldn't deny it. That complete design was so beautiful it made her chest tighten.
She wanted to criticize it, to find even one flaw. But her gaze was riveted to that drawing. She couldn't look away.
That kind of beauty wasn't something hard work could achieve.
It was talent.
Something she could never reach in this lifetime.
The entire venue fell silent.
Everyone remained standing, their eyes fixed on that figure in deep blue on stage.
Then a shrill voice exploded from the audience, tearing through the solemnity like a knife.
"Lucinda! Stop putting on this act!"
Allegra stood in the back row, her makeup smeared into a mess by sweat.
Her fingers gripped the chair back like a vise.
"Who knows if you saw these designs beforehand? Maybe you stole them from somewhere too! You spent the Wipere family's money studying all those years, and now you turn around and attack me? What kind of person does that?" Her voice grew louder, more shrill. "You say those wings are your design? What proof do you have? That complete version you showed—who knows if you drew it on the spot today? Maybe you prepared it ahead of time—"
"Enough." Ollie's voice cut down from the stage, cold as ice.
He stepped forward, standing beside Lucinda, his gaze bearing down on Allegra from above. "Ms. Wipere, since you're questioning Amy's abilities, I propose a live competition."
The audience went instantly quiet.
Ollie turned and spoke in low tones to his assistant.
The assistant nodded and hurried backstage.
Less than two minutes later, two staff members wheeled out two worktables onto the stage—one positioned on the left, one on the right.
Each table was set with fresh drawing paper, pencils, erasers, rulers, and a complete set of professional jewelry design tools.
Ollie glanced at his watch, his voice resonant. "It's now 8:23 PM. The theme is 'Early Summer.' You have thirty minutes. Both of you will start simultaneously and finish simultaneously. Everyone here will serve as judges."
He turned to face Allegra, his gaze carrying an undeniable weight. "Ms. Wipere, you claim Amy's work was prepared in advance. So now, in front of everyone, you'll both create something on the spot. Talent doesn't lie."
Allegra's face went completely white.
She stood below the stage, staring at those two tables with their blank paper. Her mind went blank. Her palms were drenched in sweat.
"I... I..."
Her lips trembled as her eyes darted back and forth between the stage and her seat.
Every pair of eyes in the room was fixed on her.
Lucinda had already walked to the left worktable.
She picked up a pencil, spun it once between her fingers, then lowered her head. The tip touched the white paper.
No hesitation. No pause. Her speed was swift, her lines flowing.
The entire venue fell so quiet that the only sound was the soft scratch of pencil against paper.
Allegra stood frozen in place, her legs so weak she could barely stay upright.
Staff members half-escorted, half-dragged her to the right worktable.
She picked up a pencil. Her hand was shaking.
The tip touched down. She drew a line. It wavered.
She erased it. Drew again. It wavered again.
Her mind felt like mush. "Early summer," design, line proportions—everything was a jumbled mess.
Five minutes passed.
On Lucinda's paper, the outline of a necklace had already emerged.
The lines were simple yet fluid, like the first rays of morning light in early summer.
Several lotus leaf-shaped pendants were arranged with perfect balance, a pale pink gemstone at the center like a lotus bud about to bloom.
Ten minutes passed.
Lucinda began refining the texture of the lotus flower. Each stroke was light, yet every line was crystal clear.
The edges of the lotus leaves curled slightly, as if stirred by an early summer breeze.
Someone in the audience couldn't hold back a gasp.
"It's so beautiful..."
"Look at the curve of that leaf. So natural."
"This is real design..."
Meanwhile, on Allegra's paper, there were only a few crooked lines and a smudge turned gray from excessive erasing.
She lifted her head and glanced toward Lucinda's side.
That design was nearly complete. Every element blended together perfectly, like a poem written for summer.
Her eyes instantly reddened. Her fingers clenched the pencil so hard her knuckles turned white.
Thirty minutes were up.
Lucinda set down her pencil and straightened.
On the paper before her lay a complete necklace design.
The venue erupted in thunderous applause.
Someone stood. Then another. This time the ovation was more unified, more fervent than before.
The silver-haired man in the front row removed his glasses to wipe the corners of his eyes, then put them back on. His gaze remained fixed on that design, his lips trembling slightly as he murmured something under his breath.
Ollie stood beside her, looking at the design, his own eyes slightly red.
He'd spent most of his life in this industry and had seen countless designs. But every time he saw Amy's work, he was still moved.
And on Allegra's worktable, the paper remained blank.
She stood there, head lowered, shoulders shaking violently.
No one looked at her. All eyes were on Lucinda.
"Allegra, do you have anything else to say?"
Ollie's voice pressed down from the stage, each word like a hammer striking her heart.
Her lips trembled several times before she finally forced out a sentence.
"Even... even if she draws better than me, that doesn't prove that design is hers... Maybe she also got it from somewhere—"
Halfway through her words, the large screen at the back of the stage suddenly lit up.
Surveillance footage appeared on the screen.
In the video, Allegra wore loungewear as she quietly pushed open a door, leaning her body halfway inside to confirm the room was empty. Then she quickly walked to a desk, took the drawings from it, folded them twice, stuffed them into her pocket, and left.
The entire process took less than thirty seconds.
There was no audio, but every movement was crystal clear.
The venue erupted in chaos.
Allegra's face went completely white.
"No... this isn't real... it's fake! It's edited! You can't—"