Chapter 85 Turn The Table
Briar's POV
I woke up to sunlight streaming through the curtains, my head pounding like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my skull. The room spun slightly as I sat up, and that's when I noticed I was wearing my pajamas instead of the clothes I had worn to the restaurant last night.
My face burned as fragments of memory came flooding back. The phone call. I had called Lucian. And then... oh god, had I kissed him?
I covered my face with my hands, groaning. The details were hazy, but the mortification was crystal clear. I could still feel the ghost of his lips against mine, the warmth of his hands as he had carefully changed my clothes and tucked me into bed. The memory made my stomach flip in a way that had nothing to do with the hangover.
I needed to push it out of my mind. Today was too important to be distracted by my own drunken stupidity.
I forced myself out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face until the fog in my head started to clear. Today was the day Apex would announce the bidding results. Everything I had worked for, everything I had fought to build, would be decided in the next few hours.
The weight of it pressed down on my shoulders as I dried my face and stared at my reflection in the mirror. Dark circles shadowed my eyes, but there was a determination in my gaze that steadied my racing heart.
By the time I arrived at Apex, my nerves were wound so tight I thought I might snap. The conference room was already filling up when I walked in with Lily and Owen. Eric was already there, slouched in his chair with his arms crossed, still looking sullen from yesterday's disaster.
"You're late," he muttered as I sat down.
"By two minutes," I shot back.
Owen leaned over, whispering something to Eric that made him scowl even harder. I caught fragments of their conversation, something about Eric complaining that Owen had kicked him straight into the patrol officers' path yesterday.
"It's called sacrificing a pawn to save the king," Owen said, grinning.
"I'm not a pawn, you little—"
"Both of you, shut up," I said, my voice sharper than I intended. My stomach was twisted into knots, and their bickering was only making it worse. I could feel my pulse in my temples, each beat a reminder of how much was riding on the next few minutes.
The door opened, and Kai walked in, carrying a folder. The room fell silent as he moved to the front of the table, his expression unreadable. I gripped the edge of my chair, my pulse hammering in my throat. This was it. Everything came down to this moment.
Before Kai could speak, the door opened again. Devon walked in, Sienna trailing behind him with a laptop tucked under her arm. The smug look on her face made my stomach drop. I recognized that expression. It was the look of someone who thought they had already won.
Something was wrong.
I pulled out my phone under the table and quickly typed a message to Lily. [Get the evidence ready. Send the people over now.]
Sienna connected her laptop to the projector, and Devon cleared his throat. "Before we proceed, Mr. Stone, I believe there's something the panel needs to see."
Kai frowned, his hand pausing over the folder. "What is this about, Mr. Montgomery?"
"This," Devon said, gesturing to the screen as an Instagram profile appeared, "is proof that Vance Botanicals has been engaging in plagiarism."
The screen showed an account called "ChloeXO," and displayed on it were several design sketches that looked almost identical to the packaging Chloe had created for our products. My heart sank as murmurs rippled through the room. I could feel eyes turning toward me, judgment already forming before I had a chance to defend myself.
Devon stood, his voice cutting through the noise. "These designs were posted one year ago. Vance Botanicals clearly copied them. I believe they should be disqualified immediately."
The room erupted into whispers. Kai turned to look at me, his expression sharp and questioning. I stood before he could say anything, raising my hand even as my mind raced through possibilities and contingencies.
"I'd like the opportunity to respond," I said, my voice steady despite the panic clawing at my chest.
Kai nodded slowly. "Go ahead, Ms. Vance."
I pulled out my phone and dialed Chloe's number. It rang once, twice, three times. No answer. My hands were shaking as I dialed again. Still no answer. Each ring felt like an eternity, and I could feel Devon's smug gaze on me, feel the weight of everyone's doubt pressing down on my shoulders. I tried a third time, my heart pounding so hard I thought everyone in the room could hear it.
On the fourth attempt, she finally picked up.
"Briar?" Her voice was groggy, confused. "What's going on?"
I hit the speaker button, my voice trembling slightly. "Chloe, I need you to confirm something. The Instagram account ChloeXO, is that yours?"
There was a pause, and then she said, "Yeah, that's my account. Why?"
Relief flooded through me, but I kept my voice calm. "Can you confirm that the designs posted on that account are your original work?"
"Of course they are," Chloe said, sounding more awake now. "I posted those sketches when I was still in school. What's this about?"
"Someone is accusing us of plagiarism," I said, my eyes locked on Devon. "They're claiming we copied your designs."
Chloe laughed, the sound sharp and incredulous. "Are you serious? I can't plagiarize myself. Hold on, I'll post proof right now."
I kept the call connected as Chloe opened her Instagram app and uploaded a series of screenshots showing the original design files, complete with timestamps and metadata. Within seconds, her profile updated with a new post captioned: "For anyone questioning my work, here's the proof. ChloeXO is me. These designs are mine. Always have been."
I ended the call and looked at Devon, whose expression had gone stiff. Sienna's face was pale, her hands gripping the edge of the table so tightly her knuckles had turned white.
"Does that answer your concern, Mr. Montgomery?" I asked, my voice cold.
Devon opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the door opened again. Two security guards walked in, escorting Henry and Mia between them. Henry's face was red with anger, his hands cuffed in front of him. The sight of him made rage surge through my veins, hot and sharp.
"What the hell is this?" Henry shouted, his eyes locking on me with pure venom. "You think you can just—"
I walked up to him and slapped him across the face. The sound echoed through the room, and everyone froze. "Shut up," I said quietly, my voice deadly calm.
I turned to Devon, letting the silence stretch for a moment before I spoke again. "Mr. Montgomery, do you know these two people?"
Devon's expression didn't change, his composure infuriatingly intact. He barely glanced at Henry and Mia before shaking his head. "I have no idea who they are."
I smiled, cold and sharp, the kind of smile that promised consequences. "Really? Let me refresh your memory."
Lily stepped forward, connecting her tablet to the projector with practiced efficiency. The screen lit up with surveillance footage, grainy but clear enough. It showed Henry and Mia meeting at a convenience store, their heads bent together in conversation, Henry's hand sliding an envelope across the counter toward her. The timestamp in the corner showed it was two weeks ago, right around the time our design files had been finalized.
The next clip showed call logs between Henry's phone and a number registered to Montgomery Medical Group, dozens of calls spanning several weeks. Then came the screenshots of Henry's messages in the company chat, each one more damaging than the last. Messages where he spread rumors that I had slept my way to the top, that I was nothing more than a pretty face trading favors for contracts, that Vance Botanicals was a joke and would collapse within months.
I watched Devon's face as the evidence mounted, but he remained stone-faced, his hands folded calmly on the table. The murmurs in the room grew louder, people leaning toward each other to whisper, but Devon's voice cut through it all, measured and controlled.
"This only proves that your company had traitors, Ms. Vance," he said smoothly. "It doesn't implicate us in any way. For all we know, these two acted independently out of personal grievances."
I had expected that response. I nodded to Lily, who pulled up the next piece of evidence without missing a beat. The screen showed a different angle now, security footage from inside Vance Botanicals. Mia was sitting at her computer, her fingers moving across the keyboard as she attached a file labeled "Packaging_Designs_Full.zip" to an email. The footage was clear enough to show her glancing nervously over her shoulder before hitting send.
Lily zoomed in on the screen, showing the recipient email address in sharp detail. Then she pulled up the registration details for that account, the information appearing line by line. Name. Registration date. Payment method. Every detail pointed to one person.
The name on the screen was clear: Sienna Montgomery.
Sienna's face drained of all color, her skin going from pale to ashen in seconds. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Her eyes darted to Devon, then back to the screen, panic written across every feature. Her hands were trembling now, no longer gripping the table but hovering uselessly in the air as if she didn't know what to do with them.
Devon's jaw tightened, the first crack in his composure. He didn't look at Sienna, but I could see the tension radiating from him, the way his shoulders had gone rigid.
I turned to Kai, my voice dripping with sarcasm as I gestured at the screen. "Your company's tactics are truly impressive, Mr. Stone. What do you think?"