Chapter 193
The air in the living room froze.
Gemma's smile was still plastered on her face, but it had already stiffened slightly. "First place? Who got first place?"
Liam said a name: "Lucinda Wipere."
The living room at the Wipere Villa fell completely silent.
Gemma's smile hung on her face like someone had hit pause, her lips slightly parted, unable to close for a long moment.
The composure on Allegra's face shattered completely.
She stood up, her voice rising several notches with a sharp disbelief. "Impossible! How could it be her?"
She glared at Liam, her words coming faster and faster. "How could someone like Lucinda possibly get first place? She spent twenty years in the Wipere family—I know her better than anyone! She never even had proper research training, and her college was… she never systematically studied any of this. She's just an uneducated woman. How could she possibly get first place?"
Her agitation grew, her voice beginning to tremble. "Did you make a mistake? Is it someone with the same name? Lucinda isn't even here—she cut ties with the Wipere family ages ago! She's just a woman who sells her looks, clinging to powerful men wherever she goes. She treated her family terribly. She's not part of our family anymore. How could she possibly get this score?"
Gemma snapped out of her daze and nodded repeatedly in agreement. "Right, right, you must have gotten it wrong. That Lucinda has nothing to do with our family anymore. Someone like her could never get first in the nation. Our Allegra is the truly excellent one."
The living room fell silent again.
The research team members' brows furrowed instantly. Liam looked up at Allegra, his gaze already cold. "Ms. Allegra Wipere, there's some information you may not be aware of. Ms. Lucinda Wipere won the National Research Competition championship several years ago. This exam was just a trial run for her."
The living room went quiet again.
Allegra's lips were still slightly parted, her eyes full of disbelief.
Liam continued. "That year's competition was even more rigorous than now. The pass rate for both the written exam and practical sections was less than three percent. She was the only contestant in that year to receive a perfect score in the practical section."
He paused, his gaze lingering on Allegra's face for a moment. "Your claim that she's uneducated doesn't quite align with the facts."
A middle-aged researcher beside him flipped through the folder in his hands, as if suddenly discovering something, his brow furrowing slightly.
He looked up at Allegra. "Ms. Allegra Wipere? That name sounds familiar."
He flipped back two pages in the folder, his tone becoming subtle. "The second-place winner of the recent City Jewelry Design Competition, later stripped of her award and blacklisted by the industry association for plagiarism… that's you, isn't it?"
Allegra's face turned deathly pale.
Her fingers jerked away from the table's edge as if burned, and she took half a step back.
The researcher didn't continue, but his look said everything.
He closed the folder and shook his head slightly at Liam.
Liam stood up. The other researchers followed suit.
His voice was polite, but the decision in his tone was non-negotiable. "Ms. Wipere, we respect your score, but research collaboration isn't just about numbers—it's about character. Today's visit ends here. Pardon the intrusion."
Allegra's head snapped up, her voice suddenly rising. "Didn't you come here to work with me? Ninety-eight points! I scored ninety-eight! You can't dismiss me because of past mistakes!"
She shouted desperately. No one answered.
Liam had already turned toward the door. The other researchers followed behind him. The living room instantly grew cold and empty.
Gemma stood nearby, mouth open, wanting to stop them but not knowing what to say.
Preston sat to the side, head down, saying nothing.
Allegra still stood there, her fingertips trembling slightly.
She slowly turned and looked at Marshall.
He sat on the other side of the table, silent since the beginning.
Allegra's heart lurched. "Marshall…"
Before the words left her mouth, Marshall suddenly stood, grabbing his coat from the back of his chair.
"Marshall!" Allegra's voice softened immediately, carrying an urgent plea. "Marshall, let me explain. Those things were all misunderstandings. I was forced into it…"
Marshall's hand paused on the zipper.
He turned his head and finally looked at her.
"When you stole someone's design, it was a misunderstanding. When you slandered someone at the awards ceremony, it was a misunderstanding. When you pretended to be innocent in front of me for two years… that was also a misunderstanding?"
His voice was low but carried unprecedented fury.
Before Allegra could speak, Marshall had already pulled out his phone.
The screen lit up, showing Allegra's name in his contacts.
He opened it, his finger hovering over 'Delete' for a moment before pressing down. "Allegra, the biggest regret of my life is believing you for two years."
He put the phone back in his pocket, turned, and walked toward the door. "Don't ever contact me again. I have nothing to do with you."
"Marshall!" Allegra chased after him two steps, reaching out to grab his sleeve.
Her fingertips brushed the fabric of his coat. She caught nothing.
"Marshall, listen to me—those things are in the past. I'm different now. I've really changed—"
Marshall didn't look back. He pulled open the door and disappeared completely into the night.
Allegra stood in the center of the living room, her shoulders beginning to shake. Tears finally welled up and streamed down her cheeks.
She slowly crouched down, arms wrapped around her knees, burying her face in the crook of her elbow. Her shoulders shook violently.
Gemma stood nearby, watching her daughter crouch on the floor sobbing her heart out. The fire in her chest burned hotter. "It's Lucinda again! Everything is her! The championship is hers, the perfect score is hers, even those research people are circling around her! What curse did she put on our family? Why does everyone side with her?"
Preston sat on the sofa. From beginning to end, he hadn't said a word.
He just stared at the score report on the coffee table, his gaze fixed on the name 'Lucinda.' He looked at it for a long time, then slowly closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, Liam and his team had already gotten into the car.
One of the researchers in the passenger seat looked something up on his tablet, then turned around. "Mr. Orsini, I found it. Ms. Lucinda Wipere's current address is at the Douglas estate."
Liam leaned back in his seat, silent for two seconds, then nodded slightly.
"To the Douglas estate."