Chapter 47: Evelyn’s Ally
Just then, a crisp, slightly impatient voice broke the standoff. “Excuse me, move aside.”
A figure pushed through the crowd. She was wearing a sharp black suit, clicking high heels, and holding a stack of thick folders.
“People who earn their success through talent and skill are more respectable than those who sleep their way to the top.”
The air in the entire design department went silent. Lillian’s face instantly turned purple. Sienna’s sugary smile froze on her lips.
Evelyn looked up, startled, at the woman who had appeared so abruptly. Short, neat chestnut hair, bright, arching eyebrows, and eyes full of untamed sharp resolve.
Was it her? Evelyn’s heart skipped a beat.
Sophie. Her closest friend from university, who had studied abroad in France after graduation and lost contact.
“Who are you? How dare you speak to us like that?” Lillian shrieked.
Sophie raised an eyebrow, not even sparing Lillian a glance. She walked straight to Evelyn and bent down to help stabilize the tottering stack of files. With a look of disgust, she pulled out the top few sheets soaked in dog urine and tossed them into a trash bin.
“Some trash belongs in the bin.”
“You!” Lillian was shaking with anger, about to pounce.
An assistant hurried over. “Miss Sienna, Miss Lillian, the President needs you both in his office immediately. Something urgent.”
Sienna glared fiercely at Sophie and Evelyn, then reluctantly picked up her dog and sashayed away. Lillian stomped her foot and rushed to follow.
The two sickening people were finally gone.
Evelyn looked at the familiar yet strange face before her, her throat tight. “Sophie... is that really you?”
“Who else would it be?” Sophie turned, gave her a big hug, and slapped her hard twice on the back. “You just disappeared for years!”
Before Evelyn could offer an explanation, Sophie let go and spoke quickly. “Alright, I know all your mess. The moment I returned, Omni Group hired me at a high salary. Impressed with your friend, aren’t you?”
Her tone was the same as ever, fearless and bold.
“Oh, and Professor Hayes contacted me. The old lady gave you hell on the phone, saying you were her most spineless student, but she told me to look out for you. She said her most brilliant protégé couldn’t be buried in domestic life.”
Evelyn’s eyes welled up.
Before she could process it, her phone vibrated in her pocket. It was Ethan.
Evelyn walked to a corner, trying to keep her voice steady.
“Evelyn, good news.” Ethan’s voice was warm and reliable. “I’ve rented a studio for you in the art district outside the city. It’s quiet and has a great atmosphere. I’ve stocked it with basic sewing equipment and common fabrics. You can move in anytime and focus on preparing for your final assessment.”
Warmth spread through Evelyn’s heart. “Ethan, thank you.”
“Don’t mention it,” Ethan lowered his voice. “There’s more good news. I found a new lead on Dr. Drayven. I managed to get my hands on a recorded call between him and an illegal organ broker. It’ll take some time to organize it into a complete chain of evidence. Once you're done with your designs, we can hand it straight to the police.”
Once Drayven was arrested, his scheme with Sienna to fake the pregnancy and miscarriage would be exposed.
“That’s wonderful...” Evelyn’s voice trembled slightly.
She hung up. Sophie approached. “By that look on your face, something good happened?”
Evelyn nodded, briefly explaining the studio and the final assessment.
“That’s fantastic!” Sophie was even more excited than she was. “I knew you had it in you! What fabrics do you need? Especially velvet. I know a few Italian fabric suppliers who can get you extremely high-quality imports—a hundred times better than what you’d find on the market.”
Evelyn took a deep breath. She needed a legitimate reason to be away from the office. She looked at Sophie. “Help me out. I need a few days off.”
They put their heads together. Evelyn wrote a leave request, using the excuse of helping her friend move back from abroad, and walked toward the President’s office at the end of the hall.
The door was slightly ajar. Sienna’s cooing laughter drifted out. Evelyn’s hand hovered above the door panel. She was about to knock, but through the gap, she saw a sight that turned her stomach.
Sienna was sitting on Damian’s lap, her arms around his neck, as they kissed passionately. Damian's hand was inside Sienna’s shirt, pulling down her bra and kneading her breast.
Evelyn pushed the door open without expression.
“What is it?” Damian snapped, annoyed at the interruption, but he did not remove his hand from Sienna's clothes.
Sienna turned her head. Seeing Evelyn, her smile became even more triumphant and challenging. She deliberately wriggled on Damian’s lap, pouting, “Damian, look at her. She can’t even knock. She has no manners.”
She slid off Damian’s lap, straightened her disheveled clothes, and walked to Evelyn like the lady of the house. “Get out. Knock again. You can only come in when I tell you to.”
Evelyn’s fingernails dug deeply into her palms. She looked at Sienna’s smug face, then at the man behind the desk who was watching indifferently. She said nothing. She turned, and quietly closed the door.
One minute, five minutes, ten minutes... Employees walking by gave her strange looks, as if she were a clown.
Half an hour. It took a full thirty minutes before the office door finally opened from the inside. Sienna leaned against the doorframe, saying lazily, “You can come in now.”
Evelyn walked into the office and placed the leave request in front of Damian.
Damian picked up the report, glanced at it casually, and tapped the desk with his pen cap. “Helping your friend move? Fine.”
Evelyn stiffened. She didn't believe he would agree so easily.
Sure enough, Damian’s next sentence revealed his true motive.
“However, the ‘Autumn/Winter Collection’ project you’re on can’t stop.” Damian leaned back, hands steepled, speaking with a tone of grudging concession. “How about this: leave the initial sketches, and I'll have Lillian continue moving it forward so we don’t fall behind schedule.”
Evelyn's heart sank instantly.
Leave the sketches and let Lillian continue? He was planning to use her leave as an excuse to openly steal her hard work and project, handing it directly to Sienna’s idiotic sister.