Chapter 70
Dason Gust, the wincee of the product launch, stepped onto the stage, took a deep breath, and forced a strained smile,
He said, “No one would’ve thought today’s product launch would feature twin creations, coming from twin designers. Let’s welcome both designers to the stage
In the lounge, Julianna gave Stephanie a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “You got this! I’ll scout out the best spot for the photos. I can’t wait to see Florence, Alicia, and Douglas eat humble pile.”
Stephaniec nodded. “Make sure it’s clystal clear.”
Julianna gave her an okay gesture.
When Stephanie left, the rest of the designers gathered around. Someone piped up, “Please spill the beans, Ms, Saunders. We’re dying to know the truth!
Orp exclaimed, “Yeah! Ms. Saunders, stop keeping us in suspense, What’s going on?”
Julianna pointed at the big screen and said, “Be patient. The truth is coming soon.”
Everyone hushed, their eyes glued to the screeri..
Stephanie was about to step onto the stage from the waiting area behind the runway when her phone buzzed.
Seeing the familiar caller ID, she answered, “What’s up, Mrs. Hayes?”
Matilda responded, “Stephanie, you should know what’s appropriate to say and what’s not. Your grandpa hasn’t been doing well lately, and at his age, accidents can happen easily if he’s feeling unwell”
Stephanie chuckled lightly and replied, “Sult yourself.” Then, she hung up and slipped the phone into her handbag.
Under everyone’s
e’s watchful eyes and the glare of the spotlight, Stephanie took the stage and made her way to the front of the runway.
She didn’t even spare a glance at Florence, who was by her side.
Taking the microphone handed to her by Dason, she greeted everyone gracefully. “Hi, everyone. I’m Stephanie Hayes, the chief designer at Starlight Design Studio.”
Florence was wearing long sleeves and a long skirt because of the scars all over her body, which made her appear somewhat bulky.
She smiled sweetly and said, “Hi, everyone. I’m Florence, the chief designer at Fantasy Boutique. I’m also the creator of tonight’s pieces.”
After their introductions, Dason asked, “I didn’t expect your designs to be exactly the same. Could this be due to the tacit understanding between twins?”
Florence suddenly looked dismayed, remarking, “I never thought Stephie and I would come up with the same designs. We didn’t even talk about it beforehand, so I’m really surprised.”
“Surprised?” Stephanie interrupted. “So, you’re saying it wasn’t intentional?”
With an innocent expression, Florence uttered, “Stephie, what do you mean?”
Stephanie shot her a glare. “Don’t call me Stephie. I cut ties with the Hayes family a long time ago. It seems like you have a terrible memory despite your young age. And don’t play innocent here. Remember how you viciously threatened me over the phone using Grandpa?”
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Florence choked up as she said, “I didn’t…”
“You never said or did that?” Stephanie turned to her. Florence, can you swear that you didn’t say those words and do those things? You’ll be in big trouble if you lie!”
Florence’s eyes were moist, her teacul appearance invoking people’s sympathy. She said, “Stephie, even if you won’t admit it, it’s a fact that we share the same blood. Why are you being so aggressive now? I’m not afraid to admit anything. It’s just that you feel so distant and scary now.”
Stephanie cuffed. “No one can be as pretentious as you. Cut the act, and let’s talk about the designs. How will you prove that they’re yours?”
Florence replied, “I have photos and videos as prool, plus Alicia can vouch for me. We worked together on the rough sketches, and my whole team was involved in the drafting and cutting process.”
Stephanie shook her head. “That doesn’t prove anything. We have it too. Let’s compare the timing”
Florence was confident. She had sought help from the third-best hacker in the world to manipulate the timestamp of the photo, so no one would notice
at all.
“Fine,” she stated.
The two handed over their evidence to the staff.
Soon, a comparison image appeared on the screen behind the stage.
Florence’s rough sketch was dated three months ago, while Stephanie’s was only a month ago.
As expected, the audience began to whisper among themselves.
A person remarked, “From the timing alone, we can see Florence’s rough sketch came first and Stephanie’s came later, Case closed.”
Someone asked, “How come it’s not the same as before? Didn’t they say on the phone that Stephanie was the one who drew all of Florence’s rough
sketches?”
One replied, “Maybe Florence was confused by Stephanie’s words and couldn’t react in time.”
Another person said, “I didn’t expect Stephanie to be proven wrong so quickly. Is she going to own up?”
Florence hid the smugness in her eyes and said, “I’m not asking for much. Just admit you’re wrong.”
Hearing that, someone commented, “It’s incredible how Florence stays so calm even when someone has copied her design. She’s so generous.”
“Yeah. In comparison, Stephanie is so aggressive,” replied someone else.
Another person whispered, “I thought Stephanie would have some evidence to clear her name, but it looks like that’s not the case. Seems like her lies have been busted.”
Stephanie arched an eyebrow and said to Florence, “Is that all?”
Watching Stephanie’s calm demeanor, Florence felt a knot of anxiety form in her stomach.
She couldn’t help but wonder, “Could Stephanie have a trick up her sleeve?’
As expected, Stephanie stepped down and approached the laptop operator, passing the microphone to him.
Her fingers flew over the keyboard while lines of code appeared on the scr
screen. Then, with a final keystroke, the timestamp of Florence’s photo changed
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to a week ago.
The audience below erupted in surprise.
Seeing this, Florence covered her mouth and exclaimed, “Stephile, how could you change diy date?”
Stephanie took back the microphone, saying, “I didn’t change it; I just restored it.”
She turned to the audience and asked, “Does anyone here know about computers? Could you please help me out?”
A guy in his twenties with black framed glasses stood up, explaining, “The program Stephanie just wrote is indeed a recovery program. Some of its code snippets are pretty slick; I couldn’t have come up with them myself. The program can easily restore the photos and videos deleted by top-tier hackers. Stephanie, you’re awesome!”
Florence’s face turned paler as she retorted, “Maybe he’s your plant.”
The guy snorted, saying, “How shameless of you to cheat and then falsely blame others. This show is live. Many people are watching, and I’m sure there are plenty of programmers among them. Let’s have everyone testify together then.”
Many viewers chimed in, agreeing with the guy in glasses and praising Stephanie’s computer skills,
Meanwhile, outside the Hayes manor, Vincent narrowed his eyes as he stared at his phone.
Stephanie’s computer skills amazed him, not because she was incredible at restoring content, but because some code snippets in that program looked just like the style of Hacker Yern, whom he often clashed with.
He thought, “is Stephanie Hacker Yern? I’ll have to keep an eye out. It’ll be intriguing if it’s true.
Zane checked the rearview mirror and asked, “Mr. Fletcher, do we begin now?”
“Yeah, keep it low-key,” Vincent said softly.
Zane nodded. “Got it.””
He made a call, ordering in a low w
voice, “Take action now, and keep it neat.”
Five minutes later, the other party called back to report that everything had been done.
Vincent glanced at his watch and remarked, “Go in and look for him after ten minutes.”
Zane responded, “Okay”
Vincent then continued watching the charismatic Stephanie on the screen, impressed by her talent.
She was seen bringing Newton Toole, the president of the Fashion Designer Association, to the stage.
Newton got straight to the point. “Starlight Design Studio filed for design protection before, and these rough sketches were registered with our association. Our team found no similar submissions.
Florence’s face turned even paler, her fingers gripping the microphone while she trembled from head to toe.
She protested, “I just didn’t think of registering with the design association, but that doesn’t prove anything.”
Stephanic nodded. “Fair point. Then, let’s present some evidence that will clear up any doubts.”
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She pulled out a flash drive from her handbag and played some surveillance footage.
In the clip, a person disguised as a janitor cut the power at Starlight Design Studio, entered Stephanie’s office, snapped photos of the rough sketches, and left with a brown envelope.
With that, Stephanie turned to Florence. “Do you think you could pull this off without anyone noticing? Do you really think I can’t find the janitor you sent away? That’s absurd! Let’s call the janitor forward now!”