I couldn’t help but let out a mocking laugh as I looked at him.

“Ethan, you speak of compassion and duty as though it were some great virtue. If that’s how you see it, then perhaps our engagement truly deserves a second thought.”

At my words, a flicker of panic crossed Ethan’s eyes. After all, much of the Miller Family’s reputation in the industry had been built on the unique designs created by the Carter Family.

I sneered, my voice soft yet cutting, each syllable deliberate.

“Ethan, tell me—does Chloe truly have nowhere to go, or is it simply that you’re eager to give her a home?”

Chloe’s sobbing hitched, her gaze darting in panic before she lowered her head again, shrinking behind Ethan as though I were some merciless executioner.

I lifted my chin, taking measured steps toward them.

Ethan faltered. Under the pressure of my advance, all he could do was retreat step by step.

My laughter was cold, wrapped in frost.

“You call me cruel, heartless.

But if I were truly as merciless as you claim, then the moment she stole my work years ago, I wouldn’t have shown leniency because she was a poor student. I would have dragged her through court until she was ruined—stripped of everything, disgraced beyond repair.

And now? She kneels here, putting on this pitiful act. What does she want? To stir guilt in me?”

My lips curved in derision as my gaze swept over her tearful eyes.

“Chloe, you play your part well. But unfortunately for you, I was never your audience.”

The room fell silent, so quiet a pin drop could be heard.

Ethan stood frozen, still shielding Chloe, but stiff as stone. Her sobbing stopped abruptly, leaving only the stubborn streaks of tears glistening on her cheeks beneath the harsh lights.

The news spread faster than I could have imagined.

In just three days, the entire U.S. architectural community was buzzing with headlines about Chloe Davis’s return.

It all began with an official statement posted on the Miller Group’s account:

“The Miller Group will partner with the Carter Studio to jointly undertake a Federal Landmark Architecture Project over the next five years. At the same time, architect Chloe Davis has been specially appointed to join the team, overseeing project development.”

Barely a few lines, but like a stone dropped into still water, they sent ripples crashing across the industry.

Everyone remembered how Chloe had been disgraced and expelled for plagiarizing my work. And yet here she was, returning boldly as an architect. Without the Miller Family’s support, who else would dare give her such a chance?

“A world-renowned architect forced to work alongside someone with a black mark on her record?”

“Isn’t this outright humiliation?”

“How could Sophia stomach working with the very woman who stole her work? Unless, of course, the story we know isn’t the whole truth…”

“Word is, the Carters were powerful back then. Maybe Chloe was silenced. Now that she’s made a comeback, perhaps Sophia’s family fears the past will be exposed—maybe that’s why she’s allowed back.”

Public opinion swelled and twisted. My name was mentioned again and again alongside Chloe’s, with some even daring to question whether my so-called international awards had been won honestly—or stolen.

I stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, a fresh newspaper clenched in my hand.

The headline on the front page blared:

“Genius Architect Feud? Former Classmates in the Design World Set for a Direct Showdown.”

“Miss, should we issue a statement?” my assistant asked nervously, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Clarify?” I let out a cold laugh. “Do you really think a clarification will silence gossip? They don’t care about the truth—they want a spectacle.”

I tossed the newspaper into the fireplace, watching as the flames devoured those glaring headlines.

“If they want a show,” I murmured, “then I’ll give them one worth watching.”

Three days later, the press conference.

The hall glittered with bright chandeliers, cameras flashing in dizzying bursts.

Ethan stood confidently on stage in a tailored suit, while Chloe wore a pristine white dress, her face radiant with a carefully cultivated fragility.

But the moment she began speaking, her voice cracked into a trembling sob.

“I know many of you hold prejudice against me, but I’m willing to prove myself with real talent.

The misunderstandings of the past… maybe they happened because I was young, reckless, and didn’t clarify things in time, which led people to believe I had plagiarized.”

She paused, gazing at the reporters through tear-filled eyes, her voice quivering.

“But as for some of those drafts—who first sketched them—well, I believe those who truly know the industry already understand.”

The words hit like a bombshell.

The room erupted. She hadn’t said it outright, but the insinuation was clear enough to spark suspicion:

Could the plagiarism scandal of years past have been a cover-up?

Was the so-called genius architect Sophia Carter actually the plagiarist?

Ethan quickly took the microphone, his tone steady and authoritative.

“I believe Chloe. I hope you’ll give her a chance.

She and Sophia were classmates in college—both rivals and partners who pushed each other forward. The Miller Family is willing to guarantee the projects she’ll lead in the future.”

Chloe turned to him with glistening gratitude in her eyes. He returned the look with open tenderness, as though they were the ones about to be engaged.

The press surged with excitement, flashes snapping like lightning, reporters whispering feverishly among themselves.

Then, slowly, I walked onto the stage.

My black gown swept the floor, my makeup was understated, but the cold fire in my eyes was impossible to miss.

I didn’t spare a glance at Chloe or Ethan. Instead, I faced the sea of cameras head-on, my voice sharp and unwavering.

“Since we’re discussing talent and clarification, why don’t we have Chloe present hers—right here, right now.”

I raised my hand toward the giant screen behind me.

“This is my latest proposal, submitted last month—City of Dawn.”

The screen lit up, revealing sweeping lines and a bold, visionary design.

The hall fell silent; reporters held their breath.

A faint, icy smile curved my lips.

“If she truly has the ability, let her offer a revision… or better yet, present her own design and compete against mine.”

Chloe’s face drained of color.

Moments ago, she had implied I was a plagiarist. Now, with the spotlight fixed on her, she couldn’t form a single word.

Her hands gripped the edge of the table, knuckles trembling, her eyes darting wildly. Even her breath seemed to falter.

The silence in the hall grew suffocating. The cameras zoomed in, magnifying every flicker of panic on her face.

Reporters lifted their microphones but didn’t dare speak; only the relentless clicking of shutters and the harsh glare of flashbulbs filled the air, weaving a blinding white pressure around her.

Chloe’s lips trembled. Her pale face glistened with tears, the makeup she had so carefully applied streaking into ruin.

Chloe clutched the hem of her dress, her knuckles bone-white, like a caged animal with no way out.

I wasn’t in a hurry.

I walked toward her slowly, each step steady, my voice unhurried, every word carrying clearly through the microphone.

“What’s wrong?”

A cold curve pulled at my lips.

“Didn’t you just say everyone in the industry already knows the truth?”

“Then go on—tell them. Share your vision, your ideas, even your last design concept. Let’s hear it.”

The hall fell into a suffocating silence.

Only the cold, unblinking cameras remained, magnifying the panic flickering in her eyes.

“S–Sophia…”

Her voice rasped, raw as gravel.

Trembling, she reached for Ethan’s sleeve, her words broken, laced with sobs.

“I always thought of you as my best, best friend. Can’t we just leave the past in the past?

I don’t want to drag up old wounds and ruin what we have.

If you say I plagiarized, then fine—I plagiarized. I don’t want to argue anymore. People will judge for themselves.

Some of those drafts… who they originally belonged to—I won’t say too much. But one day, the truth will come out.”

The words shot through the air like a bullet, striking the soft underbelly of public opinion.

She hadn’t said it outright, but her insinuation was enough.

The hall erupted.

Reporters’ faces shifted with sudden realization, whispers breaking into a storm.

Could the plagiarism scandal have been more complicated than it seemed?

Was the so-called genius architect Sophia Carter really the one who had stepped on someone else to rise?

A dry laugh slipped past my lips, sharp as a blade.

“So this is your so-called ‘truth the industry knows’?”

I met her gaze head-on, my eyes like steel.

“Chloe, you can’t even articulate the basics of your work, yet you dare to slander me with lies?”

My words landed like a needle piercing straight into her weakness.

The reporters could no longer hold back. Scenting blood, they surged like sharks.

“Ms. Davis, just now you implied Sophia plagiarized. Do you have concrete proof?”

“If not, are you deliberately defaming her?”

“What really happened back then? Please don’t dodge the question!”

“Can you present one of your original drafts right now, so we can compare?”

“Sophia’s design, ‘City of Dawn,’ has already passed international certification. Can you produce a work on that level?”

Flashes exploded in a storm of white light.

Chloe’s breath quickened, her forehead damp with sweat. She clung to Ethan’s sleeve with trembling hands, her voice quivering to the breaking point.

“I… I don’t want to fight anymore. I just… I just want justice…”

She deflected again, shaping herself into the portrait of a victim crushed beneath power.

And yet, that only goaded the reporters into pressing harder.

The hall was chaos. Every lens zoomed mercilessly on her face.

At that moment, Ethan finally spoke.

He pulled Chloe behind him, his dark eyes locking onto me with a cold, sharp intensity. His voice was low, edged with steel.

“That’s enough, Sophia. How long will you use your family’s influence to bully an innocent girl?”

His chest heaved as though he were restraining his fury with great effort.

For a long beat, he turned to the restless sea of reporters and, with sudden force, declared—