Chapter 202

Chapter 202

Eleanor walked onto the stage from the side.

Everyone was confused about what she was doing - this was Victoria's moment.

Victoria glanced over, feeling absolutely nothing inside.

"Ms. Hartley, I don't think it's your turn yet."

Eleanor's eyes were challenging, her usual arrogance mixed with a hint of satisfaction, as if she could already see Victoria defeated by her.

"Of course, it's not my turn, but I have to speak up. Victoria, I was going to save you some face, but who knew you'd be so shameless."

Two women with completely different styles stood in front of the big screen.

The screen was displaying Victoria's high-end Celine jewelry and designs from recent years.

Victoria's expression grew colder bit by bit.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I don't mean anything special, just want to tell everyone that everything you have now is plagiarized."

As soon as she said this, the whole room erupted.

No one believed it. After all, Victoria was Celine's designer with a unique style.

Who could she possibly plagiarize from?

"Where's your proof?" Victoria asked coldly, her eyes indifferent. "Ms. Hartley, if you're accusing me without evidence, I don't mind calling the police and having you thrown in jail."

"You want proof? Fine, I'll give it to you."

Eleanor smiled and plugged a USB drive into the computer.

Soon, different images appeared on the big screen behind them.

On the right were Victoria's finished designs, on the left were comparison drafts, with nearly a year between the draft and finished product.

Most importantly, the signatures were different.

The finished work was signed Celine, but the draft clearly had Jade's name on it.

Victoria calmly looked away. "And what does this prove?"

"Victoria, do you really not know or are you pretending? This clearly shows you plagiarized. You copied your assistant's designs and claimed them as your own. Don't you find that ridiculous?"

Every word Eleanor said dripped with mockery. She couldn't wait to see Victoria humiliated.

Victoria turned her head and immediately spotted Jade hiding in the crowd.

The lively Jade she'd been working with for over a year had betrayed her.

Jade hid in the crowd, her eyes dodging when Victoria looked at her.

But she quickly raised her head, her eyes showing both pride and happiness.

"Are you threatening her now?" Eleanor pulled Victoria's attention back. "Looking at her won't help. You should pay for what you did wrong."

Victoria lowered her head and smiled, though there was no humor in it. She kept staring at Jade, feeling a dull pain in her chest.

Once, she really thought Jade was her person.

She had almost made her a trusted confidant.

Too bad Jade had changed long ago.

"So... Jade, are you going to be a witness? Are you going to come up here and prove yourself?"

Jade's eyes flashed with excitement in the crowd.

She immediately lifted her face, looking proud and stubborn, tears threatening to fall, making her look especially pitiful.

"Ms. Spencer, you used all my draft designs. I trusted you and gave them to you, never thinking you'd claim them all as your own! If Ms. Hartley hadn't helped me, I wouldn't dare stand here and accuse you."

She ran onto the stage and wiped away tears dramatically in front of everyone.

"Ms. Spencer, I can't take it anymore. Today I'm going to expose all your lies!"

She shouted, every word filled with accusation and despair. To anyone who didn't know better, she might really seem like a girl who'd been oppressed for a long time and was finally fighting back.

People in the audience started whispering.

Eleanor looked at Victoria with a challenging smile. "Ms. Spencer, what do you have to say now?"

Victoria's eyes grew even colder. "What do I have to say? Let me ask you this - you say these drafts were completed a year ago, but do you know when my drafts were actually done?"

Victoria grabbed Jade's chin, forcing her to make eye contact.

"Tell me, do you know?"

Panic flashed in Jade's eyes. As Victoria's formerly trusted assistant, she knew that during Victoria's year and a half away, half that time was spent treating an illness and a year recovering and studying, so she roughly guessed a timeframe - a year ago.

Jade struggled, but didn't expect Victoria to be so strong that she couldn't move.

"I... how would I know? Anyway, I gave you these drafts a year ago, and now you're using my drafts to succeed and threatening me!"

Jade's tears came instantly, her usually cute eyes now red and swollen from crying.

Eleanor was getting anxious too, afraid Jade might say something she shouldn't.

She shouted sternly, "Victoria, are you trying to force her! Let go!"

Eleanor rushed forward and pulled Victoria's hand away.

Jade collapsed to the side coughing, still looking shaken. She glanced at Victoria, jealousy and hatred rising in her eyes.

She clenched her fists. This was her chance to change her fate.

Victoria decided to give her one last chance.

"I'll ask you one last time. Can you take responsibility for every word you've said? These designs are all yours, and I stole your work, is that right?"

With each word, Jade's heart endured unbearable torment.

She had joined because she admired Victoria's talent.

Later, when Victoria was out of the country, she became the only person with access to Victoria's design drafts.

Looking at those designs, she often dreamed that they were hers.

She loved those designs, and many people wanted to use her to steal Victoria's work and sell it for money.

At first she held onto her principles, but later she saw those bad people taking millions and living freely, and her mindset changed.

This time Eleanor promised her that if she cooperated, she'd get $50 million and an introduction to study with Martin.

So she could only let Victoria down.

And why not!

She'd studied jewelry design since childhood, but couldn't match Victoria's one year of talent!

Jade gritted her teeth and took responsibility for everything. "Yes, they're all mine. Victoria stole my work! She's a bitch, she's fake, she's actually just a thief!"

Victoria's last bit of hope for her disappeared.

This woman had clearly made her choice.

"Since you say that, let me show you the evidence. Maybe you don't know... these design drafts weren't completed a year ago, but two and a half years ago."