Chapter 25
Surprised gasps rippled through the office one after another.
Each day everyone worked together. Whatever they thought privately, at least they maintained a polite facade.
"Victoria, your design drafts are so good. Do you have any tips? We're all colleagues here, why don't you share with us!"
"I heard this company has really high standards. You're truly amazing!"
"Victoria, you..."
Everyone chimed in with praise. Among them, Victoria could even spot some familiar faces from the break room gossip a few days ago.
When Victoria heard the news, a flash of delight crossed her eyes.
She steadied herself and curved her lips into a faint smile, responding calmly, "Just lucky, that's all. The client happened to like my design. Nothing special."
She spoke with complete ease, but hardly anyone around her believed it.
Quite a few people secretly rolled their eyes behind her back, while still putting on a friendly act on the surface.
Victoria saw it all.
She pressed her lips together, a hint of impatience flashing in her eyes.
She was sick of these scenes and didn't want to keep up this fake dance with these people.
But now wasn't the time to drop the pretense.
Victoria lowered her eyes, but suddenly a jarring voice cut through the air.
"Who knows if this so-called sales surge isn't someone secretly using connections behind the scenes to benefit themselves!"
The female voice was full of provocation and malice.
Victoria frowned and looked in that direction. "Faye Martinez, what are you trying to say?"
She remembered this person.
At the staff meeting, Faye had also been praised.
But when it came to design drafts, Faye had never been particularly outstanding, so naturally her sales couldn't compare.
Victoria narrowed her eyes, her expression cooling.
Was Faye trying to start trouble with her?
"Are you saying you didn't?" Faye sneered, standing up fearlessly.
She spoke mockingly, "Those rumors from before—are you trying to say they're all fake? Who would believe that? How ridiculous!"
She spoke with complete conviction.
A few colleagues nearby silently agreed in their hearts.
They were all people who had been questioned by Chase and had long been annoyed with Victoria.
Now that someone was speaking up for them, of course, they were happy to watch.
Victoria couldn't read minds, but with one sweep of her eyes, she could guess pretty well.
A mocking smile curved at the corner of her lips.
She'd been absorbed in her work lately—did these people really think she was a pushover?
Before, she had no choice.
But now, Victoria raised an eyebrow and sneered, "Want to suspect I got ahead through connections? Fine."
She pointed at the design drafts nearby. "If you can produce work that's better than my designs, then no matter what you say, I won't have any complaints. But if you don't exceed it..."
Faye looked at her warily. "If we don't exceed it, what do you want?"
Victoria glanced at her and spoke calmly, "If you don't exceed it, you'll apologize to me in person and swear never to appear in front of me again."
The colleagues watching the drama exchanged glances and fell silent.
Faye gritted her teeth and said impulsively, "How hard can that be! You really think all this success is your own doing? Just you wait!"
She glared at Victoria furiously, then turned and left.
Her high heels clicked against the floor, echoing sharply through the quiet office.
Victoria remained unaffected, calmly withdrawing her gaze and continuing with her work.
The surrounding colleagues looked at one another, all keeping their mouths shut.
Why was Victoria different from before?
Had her previous low profile all been an act?
Looked like they needed to be more careful.
After Faye left, she grew angrier the more she thought about it, like a fire burning in her chest.
Why?
Victoria just had a pretty face, but at the end of the day, she was useless!
Why would Mr. Windsor treat her differently?
If it were her, she could definitely do better!
No, she had to make people see Victoria's true colors!
Faye narrowed her eyes, trying to calm down.
She looked back, her gaze venomous as she stared in Victoria's direction, a cold smile forming at the corner of her lips.
Victoria.
Let's just wait and see!
Victoria didn't see Faye all day, which puzzled her a bit.
She frowned slightly, her gaze sweeping lightly over the empty workstation.
What was Faye up to now?
Whatever.
No matter what she wanted to do, she'd just deal with it.
Was she supposed to be afraid of Faye?
Better to finish work early and spend more time with Yara at the hospital.
She shook her head, stopped overthinking, and sped up her work.
Victoria left on time, packed up her things, and headed out.
Her desire to see Yara peaked at this moment.
So she didn't notice.
Not far behind her, the person who'd been absent all day quietly appeared.
The next morning.
As soon as Victoria walked into the office, she sensed something was wrong.
Who had touched her computer?
She frowned, scanning the room, her gaze finally settling on Faye.
It was her.
Victoria's tone was certain. "Faye, you touched my computer."
But Faye wasn't afraid. She just covered her mouth, acting wronged. "Victoria, don't make false accusations! I took the whole day off yesterday and didn't even come to the office. You're slandering me!"
She spoke righteously, even pulling nearby colleagues to vouch for her.
Victoria's brow smoothed out, her words pointed. "My computer has important design drafts, so I installed a camera at my workstation. Since you say it wasn't you, I'll hand this footage to Ms. Garcia. You don't mind, do you?"
At these words, Faye's face suddenly stiffened, and she squeezed out two words through gritted teeth. "Of course."
Damn it, there was surveillance?
Then her plan wouldn't...
Victoria was about to speak when her phone suddenly rang.
She glanced down, immediately serious.
A call from Aiden.
She stopped paying attention to Faye's ugly expression, grabbed her phone, and walked out.
Once in a quiet corner, Victoria answered the call, her tone unfriendly. "What is it?"
"There's news about a matching kidney donor, but I have one condition."
Aiden's voice came through. "I want you to give me custody of Yara first. As long as you sign the contract, I'll tell you about the kidney donor."
He was here to negotiate.
"I refuse. Until Yara recovers, I won't agree to give you custody!"
Victoria's expression was cold. "And Aiden, let me ask you, the incident a few days ago, when someone switched Yara's medication at the hospital, and she almost had a problem, was that you?"
Thinking of that day, of Yara's small figure trembling so vulnerably.
Thinking that she might have rarely heard that soft 'Mommy' again, her heart felt like it was splitting apart.
If it really was him...
A dark shadow flashed through Victoria's eyes.
She would never let this go!