Chapter 119 Fractured
Isadora's sharp questioning echoed through the air, piercing and clear.
At the center of everyone's gaze, Cecilia finally put down her pen.
She ignored Isadora standing by her desk, simply picked up the thin sheet of design paper, stood up, and walked straight toward the host at center stage.
Completely ignored, Isadora's carefully maintained smile cracked for an instant, but under the cameras' watchful eyes, she could only swallow her anger.
Just as Cecilia handed her design to the staff, the clock hand on stage pointed exactly to the hour.
"Time's up!" The host's loud announcement rang throughout the art center. "All designers, stop creating! Now, let us witness tonight's most brilliant talent!"
Everyone held their breath.
Two spotlights simultaneously hit the giant high-definition screens on both sides of the stage.
The left screen showed Isadora's extremely luxurious yellow diamond necklace, "Celestial Heart."
The brilliance of the diamonds almost pierced through the screen, hurting people's eyes. It was a perfect commodity, symbolizing wealth and power—a pinnacle of light that ordinary people could never reach in their entire lives.
But when the right screen lit up, the entire venue fell into an eerie silence.
There were no dazzling diamonds, no gorgeous styling.
In fact, it looked somewhat oppressive, somewhat... broken.
The design's name was just one simple word—"Fractured."
The main piece was a neck chain, assembled from countless irregular, matte-textured black metal fragments. Those metal pieces had sharp edges, pressing against each other, creating a suffocating sense of restraint wrapped around the model's slender neck.
However, in this extreme darkness and oppression, a thin crack burst forth from the center of the middle metal piece.
A "light" seeped through that crack—gentle, carrying the warmth of life.
That glow spread continuously along the crack, breaking free from the dark enclosure, finally converging below the neck chain into a suspended water droplet.
At the droplet's core was a point of brilliant gold.
It wasn't showy or ostentatious, yet possessed a tenacious and stubborn vitality.
Like the first ray of dawn tearing through the world in endless darkness, the first flower blooming on silent ruins.
"What... what is this?" Someone in the crowd murmured as if in a dream.
The confidence and pride on Isadora's face completely froze the moment she saw that design.
Before "Fractured," her "Celestial Heart" with its piled-up diamonds became shallow, hollow—nothing but a pale display of expensive materials.
Cecilia took the microphone the host handed her.
Her cool voice transmitted through the microphone to every corner of the venue.
"I believe light has meaning not because of how brilliant it is, but because of how deep the darkness it overcomes."
"So, I first built the darkness. That's adversity, shackles, despair."
Her gaze swept lightly across the venue, finally settling on the design.
"Then, I let light be born from the crack."
"It's weak, but it's fighting, spreading, telling everyone who sees it—"
"As long as you don't give up, even in the deepest darkness, you will eventually welcome your own rebirth."
Her words fell.
Complete silence.
A few seconds later, applause rose from one corner, then a second, a third...
Finally, thunderous applause completely swallowed the entire venue!
"My God! Is this design? This is art! This is philosophy!"
"'Light has meaning because it overcomes darkness'—that line gave me chills!"
"So amazing, truly amazing! Ms. Penrose's design is beautiful, but compared to this 'Fractured,' they're not even in the same dimension!"
"This is crushing! A complete dimensional strike!"
Praise, amazement, discussion merged into a huge wave of sound.
Isadora stood in the crowd, hearing the praise that should have been hers, every voice now roaring in her ears, utterly humiliating. Her face alternated between red and white, her body trembling uncontrollably.
She had lost.
In front of all the media, all her industry peers, she lost to Amelia, who had no background.
Isadora lost completely.
Stefan walked out from the lounge area with his wine glass, looking relaxed.
"Congratulations, my chief designer." His face wore a pleased smile as he walked to Cecilia's side, not hiding his admiration.
"You've given me a huge surprise."
He turned to the surrounding media cameras and raised his glass.
"I announce that Amelia Design Studio's first product line will be themed around 'Fractured.' We will send this design to all the world's top jewelry exhibitions."
These words gave Cecilia the highest level of recognition.
However, in this wave of enthusiasm, one person hadn't made a sound from beginning to end.
Rufus.
He stood in place, motionless, all the blood in his body suddenly ice-cold.
Rufus's gaze was fixed on an enlarged detail on the screen.
It was the neck chain's clasp.
To match the overall broken, struggling design aesthetic, the clasp was designed as an extremely complex knot made from two twisted metal wires.
That knot.
The way that knot was tied.
Rufus's breathing suddenly stopped.
That was Cecilia's habit.
It belonged to his dead wife, Cecilia—a unique habit that no second person would know.
He had seen it countless times.
Before she married him, on those jewelry design sketches she secretly drew.
Next to the signature on every piece, she would draw such a complex and unique knot as her own mark.
That was her unique signature.
Impossible!
A thought screamed madly in his mind, burning his rationality.
Cecilia was dead!
He watched with his own eyes as she was pushed into the cremation furnace! How could there be a second person in this world who would tie this knot in exactly the same way?
Coincidence?
A huge sense of absurdity and uncontrollable doubt gripped his throat, nearly suffocating him.
Just then, a discordant, bitter voice rose from the crowd.
"I still don't think it's possible! How could a newcomer like her come up with such a deep design in such a short time? And the theme is something as grand as 'light'!"
The speaker was a young designer named Atticus from Isadora's team.
Seeing Isadora's pale face, he couldn't help but stand up for her.
"Who knows if she bribed the organizers in advance, knew the topic, and prepared the design beforehand?"
His malicious speculation instantly chilled the atmosphere.
Many people showed doubtful expressions.
Yeah, Amelia was too talented—talented to the point of being unreal.
"Right, one hour to conceptualize and draw, with such profound meaning—how is that possible?"
"Ms. Penrose's design is normal level. This Amelia is indeed a bit suspicious."
Whispers echoed Atticus's accusation.
Before Cecilia could respond, Stefan laughed.
He turned his head, his gaze falling on Atticus, his tone flat as he asked: "You're from the Chapman Group's design department?"
Atticus froze, instinctively straightening his chest: "So what? I'm just raising reasonable doubts!"
"Reasonable?" Stefan's smile deepened, but his eyes were ice-cold. "So at the Chapman Group, when you can't win, slandering your opponent as a cheater is part of the corporate culture."
"When you lack skill, you question the fairness of the rules. This behavior isn't called reasonable—it's called incompetent and pathetic."
"You!" Atticus's face flushed red.
Isadora's expression grew even worse.
But Stefan didn't look at them anymore, instead turning toward the judges' panel.
"I trust that the Starlight Design Awards organizers and judges will give us a fair explanation."
He directly handed the matter to the organizers to resolve.
Eddy Bowers, the white-haired elder on the judges' panel, suddenly stood up.
Eddy grabbed the microphone, his aged but resonant voice filled with offended fury.
"Nonsense!"
He pointed at Atticus, scolding without mercy.
"The theme 'light' was drawn by lottery from twenty backup topics by us seven judges one hour ago! Besides us seven judges, no one knew in advance!"
"Are you questioning the professional integrity of our entire judging panel?"
Eddy's chest heaved, clearly furious.
"Or in your young people's eyes, must talent be measured by credentials and background? Without a prestigious school halo, without a distinguished resume, you don't deserve earth-shattering creativity?"
"Let me tell you! True genius is never bound by formalities!"
"And you!" Eddy pointed at Atticus again. "Because of your own shallowness and jealousy, you slander a genius who deserves applause! You don't deserve to be a designer!"
Eddy's words rang with conviction.
Atticus's face turned ashen. Under Eddy's authority and everyone's gaze, his legs went weak, barely able to stand.
No more doubts remained in the venue.
Only more fervent praise for "Fractured" and its creator.