Chapter 60: Evelyn Fights Back
The venue descended into utter chaos. The audience buzzed with speculation, their eyes darting between Evelyn, Sienna, and the furious Sophie.
“Silence!” A cold, commanding shout instantly quelled all the noise.
Professor Victoria Hayes stood up. She took off her glasses, her face stern, and her perceptive gray eyes fixed coldly on Sienna. “Ms. Sienna, is it? As the other young lady stated, you must present the original agreement and video evidence of the signing. If you cannot, I will have security escort you out immediately for ‘disrupting the competition.’”
Professor Hayes’s authority was absolute in the industry. Sienna’s face went instantly white.
She couldn’t produce the original or the video—they didn’t exist. This entire stunt was a desperate forgery instructed by Damian, designed solely to humiliate Evelyn at the last second.
But she couldn’t just leave in disgrace. “The original... it’s in the Group’s safe and could not be brought today,” she forced out a flimsy excuse, then glared at Eric. “However, the terms are clear! For the judges to understand the gravity of the situation, my lawyer can now read the relevant clauses!”
She was trying to muddy the waters with complex legal jargon. If she could stall enough to prevent Evelyn from finishing, she would win. Eric cleared his throat and opened his briefcase. “Pursuant to Article 2, Chapter 3 of the Non-Compete Agreement, Spouse Evelyn commits not to leverage commercial information gained through the marriage…”
The judges frowned, and the commotion in the audience flared up again. Sophie was frantic, held back by a staff member.
Yet, Evelyn, standing center stage, was unnervingly calm. She found the entire situation ridiculous.
Just as the lawyer read the words, “voluntarily waive the right to work in related industries,” Evelyn turned, walked to the backstage entrance, and retrieved a Manila envelope from her clutch that held her personal documents.
She returned to the judging table, meeting Professor Hayes’s gaze. “Professor, Judges, I apologize for taking up your valuable time.” Her quiet voice caused Eric to stop reading instinctively.
She opened the envelope and placed her marriage certificate on the table, sliding it toward Professor Hayes. “It clearly states that Mr. Damian Green and I registered our marriage eight years ago on June 3rd. There is no mention of any prenuptial or additional agreement.”
Next, she produced a surprisingly thick stack of bank statements. “These are the complete transaction records for all my personal bank accounts since the marriage.” She placed the stack heavily next to the marriage certificate.
The papers spread across the table. “For eight years, as a full-time homemaker, my only source of income has been the monthly allowance Mr. Green deposited into my account. Every transaction is traceable. I have never received a single payment from the Omni Group—what they would call ‘compensation for signing the agreement.’”
“If such a valuable agreement exists, forcing me to give up my entire career, then where is the consideration? Which bank, which account, and on what date was this compensation paid?”
She looked up at the pale Sienna and her lawyer. “Does the agreement you forged specify the payment amount and the path of the funds? If not, then did Mr. Green use his worthless, disposable love to persuade me to abandon my life?”
The last question was a stinging slap across Damian's face. The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.
Into this tense standoff, the main doors were violently shoved open, hitting the wall with a loud BANG.
“Excuse me for the interruption.”
Ethan, dressed in a sharp suit, walked purposefully through the crowd toward the judges’ table, a folder in hand. He nodded slightly to the panel, paused briefly on Evelyn, then turned to Sienna and her lawyer, whose faces were now completely drained of color.
“I am Ethan, a friend of Ms. Evelyn,” he introduced himself. “I have a few items here that might provide a clearer conclusion to this farce.”
He opened the folder and took out the first document. “This is a report from an authoritative forensics agency proving that the signature on the so-called ‘Non-Compete Agreement’ is a high-level forgery. There are over thirty significant discrepancies compared to Ms. Evelyn’s genuine handwriting.”
WHOOSH! The audience erupted. Forging documents in a high-profile setting? This was outright fraud!
Sienna swayed, barely holding her balance. Her lawyer, Eric, was drenched in cold sweat, staring at his client in horror.
Ignoring the commotion, Ethan pulled out a second stack of documents—sworn statements with attached photos. “Additionally, I have several sworn testimonies. These are from the individuals who intentionally staged the traffic accident earlier. They uniformly testify that Ms. Sienna and Mr. Damian Green hired them with the sole purpose of preventing Ms. Evelyn from attending the final review.”
The whole venue exploded. Camera flashes went wild, all lenses trained on the tottering Sienna and the ashen Damian.
Sienna was completely broken. Her lips trembled, but no sound came out. She looked pleadingly at Damian, but the man sat there darkly, refusing her even a glance.
“No… it wasn’t me… it wasn’t…” she mumbled.