Chapter 99: Final Bid

Olivia took the USB drive.

She looked at the injuries on Mia's face, at the lingering fear still visible in her eyes.

Suddenly, she reached out and gently pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay, Mia. Don't be scared. You're safe now."

Mia leaned against her shoulder, and the sobs she'd been holding back for so long finally broke free.

The crying came in waves, and to Olivia, she seemed like a child who'd been wronged.

The office was quiet.

Only Mia's broken sobs filled the air, mixed with the occasional sound of car horns from outside.

Making this long-overdue rescue feel all the more profound.

And in that moment, Olivia silently made up her mind.

She would make Noah and Selene pay for what they'd done.

She'd make sure Selene knew that Harmony City had laws and rules—it wasn't a place where she could do whatever the hell she pleased.

Soon enough, the day of the bidding conference arrived.

The conference hall at the city exhibition center was packed.

The final proposal review for the Rainbow District project had the entire Harmony City architecture community on edge.

Olivia's studio and the Peterson Group, as the main competitors, had become the center of attention.

In the conference break room.

The crystal chandelier cast light on Selene's custom purple suit, so bright it was almost blinding.

She held an unlit cigarette between her fingers, twirling it absently while the people around her followed her gaze to the corner.

Olivia was crouching on the floor, pointing out details on the blueprints to her assistant.

The white hem of her dress had picked up some dust at the knees, and her hair was casually pinned back, revealing the clean lines of her neck.

"Look at that posture—like she's revising plans on a construction site."

A woman in a Chanel suit covered her mouth as she laughed, her voice just loud enough to carry.

"The Rainbow District project's going in the city archives. We can't have some woman who's here for the first time trying to take the lead, can we? That'd ruin everyone's reputation."

Selene chuckled softly, dropping her cigarette and crushing it under her heel.

"Well, you don't get it—Ms. Smith's going for the 'woman of the people' approach!"

"I saw her at the building materials expo last time, haggling with suppliers for ages, just like someone buying groceries at the farmer's market. But I guess that makes sense—small studios have to stretch every penny."

A project supervisor nearby shook his head in agreement.

"But this isn't something you can fix by haggling."

"I heard she didn't even look closely at the geological survey report. The foundation depth in her proposal is a foot short of code requirements. If they actually built according to her plans, the whole thing would start settling within three years."

This was complete nonsense—he'd just been paid off by the Peterson family to muddy the waters.

"That's not even the worst part!"

Another woman wearing diamond rings picked up the thread, her eyes scanning Olivia's no-name handbag.

"My husband's assistant went to her studio to deliver samples last time and saw instant noodle containers piled on her desk. Her computer was five years old and couldn't even run rendering software."

"With that kind of setup, she thinks she can compete with Ms. Peterson's international team?"

"She probably can't even create 3D models."

Selene smoothed her curls, the contempt in her voice practically overflowing.

"Well, we can't say that."

"After all, she's got special resources—Charles personally delivered late-night snacks to her studio just the other day!"

"That's something we can't compete with."

She deliberately emphasized "special resources," and the people around her immediately burst into knowing laughter.

Olivia had just stood up.

She heard those words but simply brushed the dust off her dress and headed toward the conference hall.

Olivia knew perfectly well that this was all Selene's deliberate attempt to provoke her.

Earlier, when all the criticism had been directed at the Peterson family, those fair-weather friends had switched to supporting the Green Group. Now the situation had flipped again.

Clearly, this was all orchestrated by the Peterson family.

Olivia wasn't stupid enough to fall into such an obvious trap.

She had no interest in competing with Selene over who was superior—she had real business to take care of today.

As for the bad guys, the law would handle them.

But as she passed by Selene, the woman suddenly stuck out her arm to block her path.

"Don't rush off, Ms. Smith. Want me to have my team share some reference materials with you?"

"After all..."

She leaned in closer, lowering her voice.

"We wouldn't want you to not even finish your PowerPoint and embarrass Charles and your studio."

Olivia looked up, her gaze as calm as still water.

"No need. Ms. Peterson, you should worry more about your own proposal."

"Just make sure when you're up there presenting, you remember which parts you plagiarized."

Selene felt her heart clench at Olivia's words, like someone had publicly ripped away her cover.

She jerked upright, her purple suit's hem sweeping across the coffee table and knocking over a glass.

The sharp crash echoed through the break room!

"What the hell are you implying, Olivia?"

She raised her voice, the deliberate anger trying to mask the panic in her eyes.

"I think you know you can't compete, so you're trying to get attention by slandering people?"

"These underhanded tactics—only someone with no background like you would use them over and over!"

The people nearby rushed to support her, following her lead in their criticism.

"Exactly! What's wrong with you, Ms. Smith?"

"If you can't handle losing, just say so. Why resort to making baseless accusations?"

"Ms. Peterson's designs have won international awards. Why would she need to copy your work?"

The project supervisor joined in, pulling out his phone to show a photo.

"Everyone, look! This is Ms. Peterson's sketch from when she was abroad three months ago. It's totally consistent with the core concept she's presenting today."

"But you, Olivia, only submitted your final draft the day before yesterday. Who knows who's copying whom!"

The photo of the sketch was blurry and obviously fake, but the people around still nodded in agreement.

Someone shouted loudly.

"I think she just wants to take down the Peterson family! Getting close to Mr. Green wasn't enough—if she could step on Ms. Peterson to climb higher, no one in Harmony City would dare cross her!"

"Maybe even Mr. Green was deceived by her, thinking she was so talented, when really she just steals everything!"

The vicious words washed over her like a tide, but Olivia just stood there, watching coldly.

She looked at Selene's face, which flushed red with guilt, and at all those people following the crowd.

She found it oddly amusing. These people seemed to forget something important.

The design industry couldn't tolerate fraud—every line contained the designer's heart and soul.

Did they really think words alone could turn black into white?

Seeing Olivia's silence, Selene thought she'd been intimidated and grew more confident.

She straightened her slightly disheveled collar, walked up to Olivia, and looked down at her.

"I'd advise you to be smart about this. It's not too late to apologize now."

"Otherwise, when the review starts and the judges tear your proposal apart, you really won't have another chance."

Her assistant chimed in supportively.

"Ms. Smith, Ms. Peterson's looking out for you."

"You know who the chief judge on this review panel is? Ms. Peterson's mentor from abroad!"

"You think he's gonna believe someone who can't even produce proper credentials, or trust his own student's work?"