Chapter 187 This Is All Your Own Doing
“The name Quiana was signed under a confidentiality agreement with the Adams Group. As a result, Quiana’s external contact information was also handled by Jeffrey’s team.”
“There was no way to trace it back to her being Amelia. Because of this, Amelia had also asked Jeffrey for Isabella’s phone number. Isabella had several numbers for external contact…” but this current number—the one originally used to contact Lika—wasn’t registered under her real name. She was very cautious. After thinking it over, Amelia pressed…” “She pressed the answer button.
‘Quiana?’ Isabella spoke first from the other end.
‘This is Isabella.’ Amelia coughed twice, pretending her cold hadn’t gotten better yet.”
“‘What is it?’ Amelia said hoarsely. She glanced at Briar, then walked out to the balcony.
‘Did you see the trending topic online?’ Isabella’s voice was full of smugness.”
“This was a brilliant solution she had been thinking about for a long time. Amelia closed the balcony door and said hoarsely, ‘I saw it.’
‘So, are you willing to give…’” “‘…it to me now?’ Isabella said confidently.
‘As long as you cooperate with me, I’ll give you a satisfying amount of money afterward, and even help build…” “…your personal brand.’ She chose her words very carefully, not mentioning authorship credit—only saying ‘it,’ avoiding giving anyone concrete evidence.”
“Amelia knew Isabella was guarding against being recorded. Thinking of this, she smiled and said hoarsely, ‘Authorship credit is authorship credit—why call it ‘it’?’”
“‘I didn’t say authorship credit. If you insist on pinning that on me, there’s nothing I can do,’ Isabella denied flatly.
‘Back to what we were talking about.’”
“Isabella continued, tempting her: ‘Quiana, you need to understand that Jeffrey and Amelia are very close, and the Adams Group will only put massive resources…” “…into Amelia, so helping Jeffrey gets you nothing. You’d be better off working with me.’
‘As for your contract issues with the Adams Group, I think the Brown Group…” “‘…can help you solve that,’ Isabella said with complete confidence. She couldn’t believe that, with things having progressed this far, the other party still wouldn’t agree.”
“But the hoarse voice came again: ‘I said I’m not selling, so I’m not selling. Isabella, do you know you’ve infringed copyright?’
But Isabella just laughed.”
“‘I haven’t,’ she said. ‘Or let me put it more bluntly.’ Isabella’s voice deepened slightly. ‘On the internet, do you think what you say will have credibility? Besides…” “…I actually haven’t done anything.’ Amelia understood what Isabella meant. Now Quiana’s name had been added to the credits for Love in Micro, and with Isabella’s…”“…current marketing campaign, most internet users believed that Quiana was just incidental, and that the whole song was still Isabella’s original creation.”
“With Isabella’s marketing tactics, as long as Quiana dared to speak up, Isabella could portray her as greedy and insatiable—someone who merely participated…” “…but wanted to steal all the credit. This was the crushing power of massive public opinion against Quiana. Sensing the silence on the other end, Isabella smiled with satisfaction.”
“She had already prepared everything. Even if Quiana produced copyright certification, she could claim that the song was originally recorded in the Adams Group’s…” “…practice building, and as a newcomer to the music industry who knew nothing, she had Quiana assist from the side. The copyright registration was also done by Quiana…” as a favor. If the registration didn't include Isabella, then Quiana had taken advantage of her. This way there would be a dispute between both parties, requiring a lawsuit.
“Lawsuits take a very long time, and even if the truth came out after all that time, the best opportunity would have already passed.
‘Have you figured it…” “‘…out?’ Isabella thought, speaking confidently. ‘Will you agree or not? You can still get something now, but later might not be so certain.’ Amelia smiled and said…”“‘Not selling.’
‘Quiana, you need to understand,’ Isabella’s voice showed some surprise. ‘Even if it goes to litigation in the end, I have the ability to just…” “‘…pay money.’
‘And the whole litigation process will be very long. You’d be better off agreeing to work with me now—you get money and resources.’”
“But Amelia just smiled and then hung up directly. She looked at her phone, knowing Isabella wouldn’t give up. She was just somewhat looking forward to seeing what other…”“…self-destructive actions Isabella would take. If at first Isabella could still claim she didn’t subjectively intend to infringe, she could say she thought buying the song meant…” She could call it her original creation. Now, however, Isabella was deliberately refusing to issue a public apology for infringement. Instead, she was going her own way, attempting to blur the facts by adding misleading details.
…the name. The difference between the two situations was significant—intentional wrongdoing could be judged far more severely. Based on her actions, Based on her understanding of William, he would immediately terminate any project that carried excessive risk. But what if Isabella insisted on pushing forward?
Amelia lowered her eyes slightly. Isabella, you brought all this on yourself. She clenched her right hand to steady her emotions, then returned to the hospital room.…and continued focusing on her work. In a few days, the Jenkins Group’s first batch of new products would go on sale. She needed to prepare thoroughly to ensure a strong launch. …opening.
On the other side, after several days of rest and recovery, William’s health had improved. He looked down at Isabella, tapping his fingers lightly.He tapped his index finger on the tablet, which displayed the re-recorded version of Love in Micro.
“What were you thinking?” he asked.
Isabella looked at him innocently.
“William, I added her name,” Isabella said innocently. “Wasn’t it about infringement before? Adding it should fix it.”
William felt a headache coming on. “The authorship…” “…credit belongs to her alone. It’s not about whether you add her name or not,” he said.
Isabella didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she led William to sit down. “William,” she began, … “You need to understand something,” Isabella said seriously. “If it only lists Quiana, that’s an admission of the previous infringement. That would mean all my earlier…” "Public image will instantly collapse."
"It also means..." She paused slightly and said, "I'll lose."
William was very clear about this, which is why he went— To find Quiana and seal things up afterward. However, Quiana disagreed, so the matter had no solution. The only option left was to terminate the short drama. They hoped the project could be minimized to reduce the losses. However, Isabella’s side strongly disagreed. All of this gave William a headache. Isabella looked at William, smiled faintly, and said:
“Now that I’ve added Quiana, it doesn’t count as excluding her — I’m acknowledging that she contributed to this song,” she said matter-of-factly. “Then give her some money.”“…and resources, which means she participated in the song. The money is allocated, so she isn’t being wronged.”
“William, this is a win-win.” It was a solution he had thought about for a long time. William looked at Isabella with a complicated expression. The entire premise of her plan depended on Quiana’s agreement.
If Quiana didn’t agree, then it would constitute infringement.
“You still want to move forward with the short drama project?” William asked.
“Yes.” Isabella refused to back down. “William, I won’t give up. Even if you don’t agree, I’ll do it myself.”
Only the short drama could allow her to achieve a spectacular victory. Quiana was merely a minor artist in comparison. She made a living selling songs and was called to the company on a hot day to work in a heavy mascot costume — clearly a low-status position. Quiana simply wanted more money. That was why she was acting this way. She believed Quiana would eventually agree. In her view, dealing with Quiana would be easy.