Chapter 43 One Hour Challenge
Selene’s POV
For several long seconds, I simply stood there holding the blank pages in my hands.
The entire conference room had gone completely silent.
I could feel everyone staring at me.
The foreign representatives.
The executives.
Catalina.
Thalia.
Linda.
Even Lucian.
All eyes were fixed on the papers I held.
Blank.
Every single page is completely blank.
Something had clearly gone wrong.
But honestly, even I hadn’t expected this.
I lowered my gaze briefly, my thoughts moving rapidly as I tried to understand exactly when the switch happened.
Someone had tampered with the designs.
And there was only one group desperate enough to pull something this reckless.
Linda and Winnie.
Of course.
The timing was too perfect to be a coincidence.
The moment the silence stretched too long, Linda immediately seized the opportunity.
“Selene,” she said sharply, her voice filled with accusation, “what exactly is this supposed to mean?”
I slowly looked up toward her.
Her expression was filled with fake shock, but the satisfaction hidden beneath it was impossible to miss.
“You’re the project leader,” she continued loudly. “How could something like this happen? Don’t tell me you accidentally brought the wrong documents.”
Her tone practically screamed triumph.
As though she had been waiting eagerly for this exact moment.
The atmosphere in the room immediately became tense.
Everyone instinctively turned toward Lucian.
His expression had darkened noticeably.
The sharp line of his jaw tightened, and his cold eyes remained fixed on the blank pages in my hands.
Lucian Frostbane was famous for precision.
Perfection.
Control.
And now, during one of the most important meetings tied to Moonveil Group’s international partnership, the project leader had somehow lost the official design sketches.
To most people in this room, this mistake looked unforgivable.
Linda clearly understood that too.
Which only made her even bolder.
“How could someone this irresponsible continue leading the project?” she demanded angrily. “This collaboration is incredibly important to Moonveil Group. We can’t afford such careless mistakes!”
The excitement in her eyes became harder and harder to hide.
She truly believed she had finally won.
Lucian’s gaze shifted toward me again.
“What’s going on?” he asked evenly.
His voice remained calm.
But I could hear the coldness underneath it clearly.
Still, I had no intention of panicking.
And I definitely wasn’t about to explain myself yet.
Not before fixing the problem first.
I placed the blank papers down calmly.
“Let’s set this issue aside for now,” I said evenly.
Then I turned toward Catalina.
“Do we have backup copies of the original sketches?”
Catalina immediately frowned.
“Ms. Nightbane,” she replied coldly, “these are hand-drawn jewelry designs. Of course, there are no backups.”
Her tone practically implied I was asking something stupid.
I nodded slightly.
That confirmed it.
The originals were gone.
Or hidden.
Either way, someone clearly believed this would completely destroy me.
Unfortunately for them—
They had underestimated the wrong person.
I looked back toward Catalina calmly.
“How long would it take to redraw the designs?”
Catalina barely paused before answering.
“At least two days.”
Several executives nodded immediately.
That estimate sounded reasonable.
After all, jewelry design wasn’t something simple.
The details alone required enormous effort.
Linda crossed her arms smugly before speaking again.
“So what exactly do you plan to do now?” she asked mockingly. “Delay the entire meeting? Make the design department stay awake for two days because of your mistake?”
Her voice carried obvious ridicule.
“And are we supposed to ask Mr. Carlos and his entire team to wait here because you lost the designs?”
Brian Carlos remained silent, simply watching the situation unfold with interest.
I met Linda’s gaze calmly.
“Who said anything about two days?”
Linda frowned slightly.
I spoke clearly.
“Give me one hour.”
The room froze.
Then several people exchanged stunned looks immediately afterward.
Even Catalina looked shocked.
Linda blinked once before laughing openly.
“One hour?” she repeated mockingly. “Are you serious?”
She looked toward Catalina dramatically.
“Didn’t you hear the head of the jewelry department? The designs would take at least two days to redraw.”
Then she looked back at me.
“And you think you can finish everything within an hour?”
Her tone made it obvious she believed I had finally lost my mind.
I remained calm.
“Just because she needs two days,” I replied smoothly, “doesn’t mean I do.”
Linda’s smile stiffened slightly.
“One hour is enough,” I continued confidently.
The room remained silent again.
This time, however, the silence felt completely different.
No one knew whether to doubt me or believe me.
Finally, I turned directly toward Brian Carlos.
“Mr. Carlos,” I said politely, “would you be willing to give me one hour?”
Brian looked at me with obvious curiosity.
Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.
“Of course,” he replied immediately. “I’m actually very interested in seeing how Ms. Nightbane plans to solve this situation.”
Linda’s expression changed instantly.
Clearly, she hadn’t expected him to agree so easily.
“Well,” I said lightly, “I’ll simply redraw the designs.”
Several people inhaled sharply.
Catalina stared at me as though I had completely lost my mind.
Linda almost laughed again.
“Selene, this isn’t a joke,” she said coldly. “Those designs are incredibly complicated. Even professional designers need days to complete work at that level.”
“And yet,” I replied calmly, “I only need one hour.”
Then I sat down calmly, opened my laptop, and launched a software program.
The moment the interface appeared on screen, several people in the room immediately looked surprised.
Including Lucian.
Because this wasn’t ordinary design software.
I had developed it myself years ago.
Most people didn’t know that.
Hand-drawing every design from memory in under one hour would have been difficult even for me.
But with this software—
It became possible.
I connected the laptop to the projector without another word.
Then I began working.
The room gradually fell silent again.
Completely silent.
Only the faint sounds of keyboard taps remained.
My fingers moved rapidly across the controls.
Fast.
Precise.
Every movement is smooth and practiced.
Lines began appearing across the screen almost instantly.
Then shapes.
Patterns.
Diamonds.
Metal structures.
Elegant curves.
The jewelry designs slowly came to life before everyone’s eyes.
No one spoke.
No one interrupted.
Even Linda’s expression slowly began changing.
Shock.
Disbelief.
Panic.
The more I worked, the paler her face became.
Because what I was creating no longer resembled rushed emergency work.
It looked flawless.
Professional.
Beautiful.
Even better than the originals.
I remained completely focused.
Time passed quickly.
At some point, even Brian stood and walked closer to the screen, watching carefully with visible admiration.
Lucian said nothing.
But I could feel his gaze on me the entire time.
Heavy.
Intense.
Curious.
Almost as though he was seeing me differently again.
Finally—
I lifted my hand away from the mouse.
“All done,” I said calmly.
The room remained frozen.
I glanced toward the clock.
Five minutes remained before the one-hour limit ended.
In less than an hour, I had completed what an entire professional team claimed required two full days.
Not only had I recreated every missing design—
I had improved them.
The necklace.
The bracelet.
The ring collection.
The entire “Ice and Fire” concept now looked far more refined and luxurious than before.
Elegant without excess.
Powerful without looking overwhelming.
Balanced perfectly.
Even Catalina stared silently at the projected designs, unable to speak for several moments.
Brian Carlos slowly smiled.
“Amazing,” he murmured honestly.
Lucian remained seated quietly, his gaze still locked onto the screen.
But this time—
There was unmistakable admiration in his eyes.
As for Linda—
Her face had already turned completely pale.
The confidence from earlier had vanished entirely.
And looking at her expression now, I almost felt sorry for her.
Almost.