Ch. 141..150
Chapter 141 Pleasing the Gardner Family
Seeing as Nicole wasn’t elaborating, Colton didn’t insist either, and his face eased into a smile. “The trial’s tomorrow. You should have a good rest tonight.”
Nicole lowered her gaze and nodded.
She was about to leave when she suddenly remembered something. Stopping abruptly, she turned to look at Colton, then hesitated and thought for a while before asking, “President Gardner, if this matter involves Queenie, should we continue?”
Nicole fixed Colton with a steady gaze. After all, Queenie was his fiancée. During this hearing, everything would be picked apart, and Queenie would certainly be deemed the culprit.
There wasn’t much change in Colton’s expression. He pursed his lips and said, “No matter who it is, they must pay the price for doing something wrong.”
Relieved, Nicole nodded. “Okay, got it.”
When she got home, Whitney eagerly rushed up to her and gave her a big hug.
“Miss Nicole, you were amazing at the press conference today! It’s no wonder you’re the woman I look up to!” Whitney praised.
When Nicole saw her joyous appearance, she couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll be even better tomorrow.”
Whitney was filled with joy as soon as she thought of what would happen the next day. She retreated to the sofa, then sat cross-legged and exclaimed, “I’m happy just thinking of tomorrow’s scene!”
The evidence they possessed could completely prove that Daniella lied and that the winning design was Nicole’s. As long as they had this evidence, they had nothing to worry about.
“Nicole, how nasty do you think their faces will be when they find out?” Whitney asked with a smile.
…
As the next day was the day of the trial, Queenie’s heart was ill at ease, for fear that something would happen. At night, she couldn’t bear it anymore and went to the Gardner Residence.
In the Gardner Residence, Wendy was watching TV with her mother when Queenie, the unexpected visitor, came in.
Anna was still brooding about the incident with Queenie and Joseph, so she didn’t like Queenie much.
When Anna saw that it was Queenie, the smile on her face vanished. Her expression turned cold as she cast her a sideways glance and asked, “What are you doing here?”
The smile on Queenie’s face stiffened, but in order to please Anna, she pretended to be gentle and answered softly, “Well, Wendy’s birthday party is coming soon. I wanted to ask her what she likes so that I can prepare in advance.”
“You don’t have to bother with that. Please go back,” Anna said coldly, still not showing her any kindness.
Queenie stubbornly continued, “I’m Colton’s fiancée after all, so I have to take an interest in Wendy’s birthday.”
Anna was silent. When Wendy saw this, her expression eased a little.
“I don’t need any birthday gifts, as long as you attend the party.”
Seeing that Wendy was still speaking up for her, Queenie quickly smiled and sat down. “Of course I’ll come! Wendy, I’ll definitely attend your birthday party!”
When she noticed that Anna’s expression was mildly sour, she continued with a calm expression, “A few days ago, I contacted the people from Triton Studio and asked them to help customize a piece of jewelry. I wanted to give it to you to wear at the birthday party.”
At first, there was a dull expression on Wendy’s face, but when she heard the words ‘Triton Studio’, her expression immediately turned to one of joy as she widened her eyes and asked, “Really?”
Triton Studio was a well-known foreign studio. All of their jewelry was custom made by hand, but the most important thing was that they only made custom jewelry for the royal family. They wouldn’t accept any other orders no matter how rich one was.
Being able to wear jewelry designed by Triton Studio was a symbol of honor in itself.
“Yeah.” Queenie nodded and smiled.
It had taken her a lot of effort to find someone whom Triton Studio owed a favor to, and she had paid a lot of money to get them to agree.
When Anna heard what she said, her face finally eased a little as she said, “You finally did something good.”
Chapter 142 Place Righteousness Before Family
Because of this, Anna finally stopped treating Queenie coldly.
Queenie talked to the two of them for a long time. While they were chatting, they suddenly discussed the trial that was to be held the next day.
A trace of misery immediately appeared on Queenie’s face, and her tone became gloomy. “I didn’t expect my sister to do such a thing. At first, I thought…”
Queenie bit her lip. As if she had made up her mind, she said firmly, “If my sister really plagiarized, I will never speak for her!”
When Anna saw her being so righteous, her tone softened a little.
“Initially, I thought that as the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel, she wouldn’t do such a despicable thing. Hmph. If it hadn’t been for Wendy giving her some time, she would’ve been in jail long ago!”
On the side, Queenie nodded vigorously.
Anna inhaled and continued, “But, she brought this onto herself. The creator of the design has already sued her, and tomorrow is her final deadline!”
As a designer, Anna hated plagiarists the most, and Nicole was exactly that.
Naturally, Queenie knew that, which was why she had arranged such a huge scene.
Queenie wouldn’t have the opportunity to do such things if Nicole was innocent. Nicole sought trouble and plagiarized, so she deserved it!
“If my sister really plagiarized, I’ll make amends to Wendy on behalf of my sister,” Queenie promised sincerely.
Looking at the person in front of her, Anna let out a soft sigh. The reason she previously opposed Queenie being by her son’s side was because she felt that this woman was only attracted to the Gardner Family’s wealth.
Later on, because of the incident with the Anderson Family, she didn’t see them in a good light, but when she saw how sincere Queenie was with her gaze lowered, Anna found her to be okay, thinking that she could at least distinguish between right and wrong.
“Forget it. It’s not your fault. It’s all her fault!” Anna said.
Queenie was secretly happy, and now that she saw how Anna was behaving, it seemed that she wouldn’t help Nicole.
She figured Colton must more or less side with Anna. As long as Colton didn’t make a move, Nicole would truly be doomed this time!
…
Early the next morning, Nicole went out with Whitney. They were about to go to court when they saw a black MPV parked at the entrance as soon as they opened the door.
She looked at it strangely, remembering that her car wasn’t that big.
When the people in the MPV saw them, the door opened, and Colton was sitting inside. Today, he was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, and his slender legs looked a little too long to fit in the car.
“President Gardner,” Nicole smiled and greeted him.
“Get in. We’ll talk along the way,” Colton said slowly, his voice muffled.
Nicole didn’t refuse as she went into the car with Whitney. After closing the door, she asked, “President Gardner, why are you at my house?”
“Fortunately, you live in a high-class neighborhood. Otherwise, your house would be full of reporters now,” Colton said slowly as he looked sideways at Nicole.
Today, Nicole was a little different than usual. Her makeup was a lot more refined, and it made her look more exquisite and beautiful.
Sitting in the back seat, Whiteny saw Colton staring at Nicole, then she snorted and said, “The makeup I put on for Nicole looks good, right?”
Colton nodded and praised without hesitation, “It looks good.”
“By the way, I forgot to introduce you. This is Whitney Campbell, my assistant at F&M.” Nicole introduced her as an afterthought.
“Oh, hello, Miss Campbell,” Colton greeted in a gentlemanly manner.
Whitney was courteous toward him as she nodded and said hello back.
The MPV exited from the side entrance and went around, passing through the gate. Out of habit, Nicole looked out and found that there was truly a crowd outside her neighborhood. If it weren’t for the security guards, they would probably have a hard time getting out today.
“There are so many people,” Nicole muttered in a low voice.
Colton nodded. “Yes. You are going to trial today; they’re all waiting to see you make a joke of yourself and write some major headlines.”
Although he was right, why did it sound a little mean coming from his mouth?
Chapter 143 The Court Trial
As Colton said, not only her house, but even the court was crowded with people who had come to see her make a joke of herself.
“Miss Lisa, you’re about to go on trial for the plagiarism case. What do you have to say about that?”
“That’s right, Miss Lisa. Does what you said yesterday mean that you’ve already bribed Daniella to retract her statement at today’s court hearing?”
If Colton hadn’t expected this and hired bodyguards to escort them in, they might be surrounded by reporters outside.
However, Nicole sighed with emotion. The imagination of these reporters was certainly rich for them to think about her bribing Daniella. She truly didn’t know what they were thinking.
A smile played on Nicole’s lips, and they only stopped when they reached a safe place. She looked down from the top and raised her voice as she spoke. “If you have any guesses, you might as well go in and take a look to see who guessed it right.”
The case was open to the public, so reporters could enter.
When Colton took notice of Nicole’s confident appearance, his eyes flickered slightly.
When he went in, Queenie was already sitting on the side. Seeing that Colton had arrived, she quickly stood up. She looked happy, and her lips twitched as she stepped forward and uttered softly, “Colton, you’re here too.”
Colton cast a quick glance at Queenie, but didn’t say anything.
Queenie was stubborn, so she didn’t mind it at all and continued, “Colton, Mrs. Gardner and the others are here too. Do you want to go over?”
When Colton heard that, there was finally a little movement. He turned his head slightly and looked over. Sure enough, Anna and Wendy were sitting in the corner.
Wendy was involved in this matter after all, so it was only natural for them to be present.
Nicole followed Colton’s gaze and said thoughtfully, “President Gardner, the trial will begin in a moment. Why don’t you go over there first?”
“All right.” Colton nodded, then stared at Nicole for a while, his eyebrows furrowed. “If anything unexpected happens, you can ask them to stop at any time.”
“Okay, don’t be such a mom. Nicole will definitely win the case,” Whitney said nonchalantly as she came up from behind.
Without saying much more, Colton went to Anna’s side.
After watching Colton walk away, the gentle look on Queenie’s face disappeared. She fixed Nicole with a cold stare, a mocking smile playing on the corners of her lips.
“Nicole, I’d like to see what you’re going to do!”
“Don’t bother. You still have to worry about how you’re going to explain after Daniella loses the case and sells you out.” Nicole fought back without reservations.
Queenie wasn’t angry, simply treating it as Nicole putting up a last-ditch fight.
She snorted coldly, then walked off with her head held high.
Seeing how Queenie was acting, Whitney couldn’t help but lament, “Nicole, your sister seems rather unkind.”
Nicole chuckled, then said solemnly, “If she were kind, I’m afraid the sun would be rising from the west.”
When the trial started, Daniella stood opposite her, but Nicole didn’t panic at all.
If Daniella could file a lawsuit, it meant that all the materials had been prepared. Nicole wanted to see how real these materials were, so much so that it could deceive the judge.
“Miss Nicole Anderson, what do you plead to Ms. Daniella Zimmer’s accusation of you committing plagiarism and threatening her to withdraw the lawsuit?”
Nicole smiled. There was no panic on her face as she cleared her throat and answered slowly, “I plead not guilty.”
Daniella frowned upon seeing how righteous she looked. “You copied my work, and even stopped me at my company to threaten me to withdraw the lawsuit. What’s there to not admit?!”
Nicole smiled, took out her phone, and clicked the play button. In an instant, the voices of two people could be heard.
This was the complete recording of the conversation they had in the private room.
Daniella’s expression changed. She probably didn’t expect Nicole to have a voice recording. At that time, after she published the article, Queenie had asked her to be prepared, saying that Nicole would definitely come and find her, so she should record everything. She didn’t expect that Nicole had thought of it too!
Chapter 144 It’s a Copy of Mine
The room fell silent as everyone present listened carefully. The recording sounded no different at first, but after they pondered it, Nicole was just questioning whether the design belonged to Daniella, then warned her to withdraw the lawsuit as soon as possible if she weren’t the actual owner.
Although it was also essentially asking for the withdrawal of the lawsuit, there was still a huge difference.
Daniella wrung her wrists nervously, but still stood firm and said, “This recording also shows that you asked me to withdraw the lawsuit!”
Nicole pressed the pause button, then instead of looking at Daniella, she looked up at the judge.
“The recording I have is the complete version. In the recording, I didn’t threaten Daniella to withdraw the lawsuit, but asked her not to falsely claim ownership of this design and sue me.”
“That design is mine! I didn’t steal it!” Daniella hurriedly assured when she heard Nicole’s statement.
The judge knocked the gavel once and demanded, “Silence!”
Daniella could only shut her mouth in frustration and let Nicole continue.
“So, the charge of me threatening her to withdraw the lawsuit is invalid.” Nicole spoke with reasoning and clarity.
Queenie, who was sitting at the side, gradually became solemn, and she tightly clenched her fists, not expecting Nicole to have this trick up her sleeves.
“Even so, the fact that you committed plagiarism is still true. These two designs can be judged by professional designers. It’s plagiarism!” Daniella immediately brought forth another piece of evidence.
Somehow, she felt guilty upon seeing how calm Nicole was.
After all, this wasn’t her design.
Seeing how panicked Daniella was, Nicole slightly narrowed her eyes and stated, “If this design really belongs to you, Miss Daniella, then I did copy it, but it’s a pity that this design is not yours.”
As soon as Nicole said this, everyone was in an uproar. Wasn’t she admitting that her design was a copy?
“It turns out that she wasn’t wrongly accused. It’s really plagiarism!”
“Initially, I thought that the trial might be reversed since Lisa was so bold yesterday. I didn’t expect her to just admit it!”
“Plagiarizing b*tch!”
“Silence! Silence!” The judge called out when he saw the commotion.
Everyone calmed down.
Queenie was a little puzzled as she stared at Nicole, who was in the stand. Isn’t she just seeking her own demise?
Now that they had brought the case to court, Daniella could only insist, “This design is mine!”
Nicole chuckled lightly, her eyes gleaming. “Then, please present evidence that shows this design is yours.”
Daniella immediately presented the evidence.
Unexpectedly, Queenie had actually helped Daniella make a document. It looked rather real, and it was almost no different from what she had.
It seemed that they had put in a lot of effort.
“I have a question,” Nicole uttered after seeing the so-called evidence. She pointed to a point on the screen and said, “At that time, the design was indeed sent by email, but it wasn’t signed as ‘anonymous’, but ‘June’!”
“What nonsense are you spewing? When I participated in the competition, I just wanted to give it a try, so I didn’t sign it at all!” Daniella immediately retorted.
“This can be proved by a judge from that competition,” Nicole pointed out.
After that, someone actually brought the judge onto the stand.
When Queenie saw the judge coming onto the stand, her face changed instantly. At that time, she thought of inviting the judge from back then to confirm Nicole’s plagiarism, but the judge had expressed her unwillingness to get involved. She was only willing to post a certificate on the Internet to prove that Nicole’s design was similar to that of the champion from that year.
Unexpectedly, Nicole had invited her over now.
The judge wasn’t very old. She was in her early fifties, but she maintained her appearance quite well, and she seemed to have a decent temperament.
She appeared as a witness and stood there, then said, “I didn’t take a close enough look at that time. Later on, Miss Lisa reminded me to check the email carefully, and I found that the signature was indeed ‘June’. The reason the design was said to be anonymous was because the signature was written in the remarks column.”
Chapter 145 The Design Isn’t Hers
This judge had a great reputation in the design industry, so whatever she said was indeed trustworthy.
The sudden flip caught the spectators a little off guard. This design really isn’t Daniella’s!
But, even if it wasn’t Daniella’s, it just meant that the lawsuit didn’t stand. Nicole’s crime of plagiarism was still valid.
So, they were all a little curious about what Nicole was thinking. Could this be her plan? Is she just trying not to go to jail?
Albeit being initially bold, after the confirmation, Daniella instantly felt guilty. Queenie had given this evidence to her and repeatedly assured her of its authenticity.
She didn’t expect to be exposed in public now!
She was in complete panic now. Whether or not Nicole had plagiarized had nothing to do with her anymore. She had claimed someone else’s design as her own. This alone could plunge her into hell!
In the future, she figured she couldn’t involve herself in the design industry anymore.
Queenie noticed Daniella’s panic and shot the lawyer a look. When the lawyer saw her signal, he quickly called for a pause.
Initially, Queenie was sitting next to Anna, but she walked out with the excuse of using the restroom when she saw Daniella leave the stand.
Queenie went through the toilet to Daniella’s room.
Upon seeing Queenie, Daniella immediately panicked. She grabbed Queenie and asked, “What should I do? Didn’t you say that this evidence was ironclad?”
Queenie frowned and hissed, “Calm down!”
“How am I supposed to calm down? If they find out this design isn’t mine, I won’t be able to continue in the design industry anymore. I’ve been in this industry for more than ten years! If I can’t do it anymore, how am I supposed to carry on with my life!” Daniella couldn’t help but cry out.
She was short of money because of her gambling husband, but if she lost this job, she would truly be doomed!
“When the time comes, you can just say that you can’t stand the fact that Nicole plagiarized, and since no one was speaking up, you chose to come forward to let the public witness the consequences of plagiarism!” Queenie had already thought of an excuse on her way there.
After Daniella heard this, she hesitated a little, but now that it had gotten to this point, there didn’t seem to be a better solution.
Seeing that she was still hesitant, Queenie continued, “I’ll give you a sum of money. Even if you’re fired from Pinnacle Group, you can still use the money to move to another city, but if you say anything you shouldn’t…”
Daniella’s heart tightened. Knowing that Queenie was the fiancée of the Gardner Corporation’s president, she gulped nervously.
If she gave Queenie up, Queenie could easily kill her like squashing a bug.
Sure enough, she shouldn’t have done such a thing for a momentary benefit. Now, she had truly shot herself in the foot!
She couldn’t even voice her hardships!
However, she understood what Queenie was saying. If she gave Queenie up now, she had nothing to gain, and she would even lose everything.
Clasping her hands tightly, she could only do as Queenie said.
Seeing that she was still hesitant, Queenie took a step forward, then reached out and patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. As long as you do what I say, you’ll definitely have something to gain!”
Daniella gritted her teeth and nodded. “Okay.”
Queenie gave her a smile, then didn’t stay any longer as she turned around and returned to her seat.
At this moment, Anna was talking to Colton.
“Mom, let’s wait and see how it goes first, then you can draw conclusions based on the final outcome.”
Anna was still brooding about Nicole’s plagiarism of the design and the fact that Wendy had worn it, so she grunted coldly. “Even if this design isn’t that person’s, the fact that Nicole plagiarized still stands true.”
When Queenie returned, she happened to hear that, so she leaned over to add fuel to the fire. “My sister may not have done it on purpose. Maybe she wasn’t in her right mind.”
When Colton heard her remarks, his expression turned a little cold as he asked coldly, “The results aren’t even out yet, but you’re already sure that Nicole plagiarized the design? Aren’t you her sister? Shouldn’t you trust her?”
Queenie’s face stiffened when she heard Colton’s question, and she reluctantly answered, “I want to believe my sister too, but she just admitted it herself.”
Chapter 146 Reversal!
Colton didn’t pay any more attention to Queenie, who had decided to shut her mouth and stop making a fool of herself.
After a break, the trial continued.
Daniella’s stance changed. Under Nicole’s pressure, she admitted that she was indeed an impostor.
However, the reason she gave was that because she wanted to use this case to let everyone understand the consequences of plagiarism. This move instantly placed herself in the position of utmost morality.
Nicole couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh when she saw Daniella’s performance. It seemed that Queenie had given her a trick to use during the break just now.
She asked calmly, “Then, what evidence do you have to prove that I copied it?”
Daniella smiled and said, “Miss Lisa, didn’t you already admit it just now? It was indeed plagiarism. I admit that the design isn’t mine. I will accept if the original designer sues me, but today, I just want everyone to know that this land is governed by law, and those who plagiarize will definitely be punished as they deserve!”
Nicole smiled, thinking that this was a good move.
It seemed that just Queenie wanted to pin plagiarism on her no matter what.
Nicole sneered and handed in her evidence. This moment was truly an earth-shattering twist.
The plagiarist suddenly became the original designer!
After the judge of the competition saw Nicole’s evidence, he confirmed the authenticity of Nicole’s evidence and said that she was indeed the champion of that year!
When Queenie saw this, her face turned pale. She never would’ve imagined that Nicole turned out to be the original owner of the design!
This is great.
After Daniella realized that Nicole was the creator of that design, she was desolate. This was the worst possible outcome.
“I remember Ms. Zimmer said that she’s willing to accept the lawsuit of the original designer. All right, then I’ll sue you for falsely claiming ownership of my work and impersonating me!” Nicole called out.
Daniella’s eyes turned dark and she nearly fell to the ground. Initially, she thought that since no one had come along to sue Nicole even after so long, the owner of the design must have not seen the news or had already passed away.
Who would’ve thought that the creator of the design would turn out to be Nicole!
At this moment, the spectators watching the excitement instantly exploded into an uproar. Initially, they reckoned Daniella not being the original creator of the design was a huge enough surprise; they didn’t expect the reversal to be as exciting as a roller-coaster ride.
The person who was accused of plagiarism turned out to be the owner of the original design!
At this moment, there was a shift in the roles of the defendant and the plaintiff.
When Nicole saw Queenie’s expressions changing like a color palette, she was a little amused. She had used so much effort, but in the end, she ended up helping others instead. Nicole figured she must feel terrible.
When Anna heard Nicole’s statement, her originally gloomy expression was replaced with one of astonishment. She frowned and looked at Colton, a little dissatisfied. “You knew about this?”
Upon seeing his mother looking so grim, Colton quickly shook his head to deny. “I just found out.”
“But before that, you kept promising me…?” Anna obviously didn’t believe him.
Colton hurriedly explained, “Nicole is the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel after all. With such a high position, I didn’t think she would plagiarize and destroy her own reputation, so I’ve always believed her.”
Anna’s expression changed. She had made quite a lot of awful remarks because of Nicole’s plagiarism. At this moment, her face gradually turned red, as if she had been slapped across the face.
Wendy didn’t know whether to be happy or sad with the outcome. On the one hand, the dress she was wearing had been cleared of plagiarism, which was worth being happy about, but on the other hand, she had rushed into Nicole’s office and angrily questioned her…
Nicole’s evidence was conclusive, and there were even witnesses. Hence, the judge ruled that the charge for plagiarism was invalid and asked Daniella to apologize for ruining Nicole’s reputation.
At this moment, Daniella had certainly suffered a double loss.
Chapter 147 Not Worthy of Sympathy
After the court declared the sentence, Nicole walked slowly toward the dishonored Daniella. Many reporters were present, and they were sitting in the audience.
Nicole smiled and said, “Ms. Zimmer, I advised you not to take what’s not yours, but you still did it. Now, do you know what it means to suffer the consequences of your sins?”
Daniella’s expression was nasty. She wanted to speak, but she thought of the fact that the Gardner Corporation was cooperating with F&M Apparel, so since she slandered Nicole, both companies might not let her off the hook!
If both companies made a move, she was afraid even Queenie might not be able to back her up.
Daniella stumbled a little, then took a step back to stabilize herself. Her lips trembled as she had a pleading look in her eyes, and her voice softened considerably.
“Miss Lisa, I didn’t know better. Can you please not sue me? I can compensate you for all your financial losses!”
As Nicole looked at the pitiful person in front of her, she didn’t feel any sympathy whatsoever. She did this to herself!
She stood up straight and said coldly, “I warned you when I went to your office last time, but you didn’t listen. It’s too late now. I’ll get F&M Apparel to send you a subpoena. It won’t be long before we’ll meet in court again.”
What happened to Daniella wasn’t worthy of her sympathy. She did this to herself, so there was nothing to sympathize with!
After Nicole left, Daniella collapsed to the ground. Her eyes were blank, and when she blinked, tears fell from her eyes.
Initially, Nicole thought Daniella would give Queenie up, but she didn’t expect that she wouldn’t say anything and bear it all on her own instead.
She walked slowly to Queenie. At this moment, Anna, Wendy, and Colton were all there.
There was a forced smile on Queenie’s face as she looked at Nicole and said slowly, “Nicole, congratulations. You’re cleared of suspicion now.”
Nicole looked down at her, the corners of her lips curling up. “It’s all thanks to you. If it weren’t for you, none of this would’ve happened.”
Queenie’s face turned pale because Anna and the others were still there, so she quickly denied. “Nicole, you can’t say such nonsense.”
When Nicole saw how Queenie was acting like a do-gooder, she had no intention of continuing to speak enigmatically to her. She looked sideways at Wendy, a slightly apologetic look on her face.
“Miss Gardner, although I didn’t copy the design, I’m very sorry for the impact it caused you,” Nicole said sincerely.
Wendy blushed. As she thought of what she had said before, she felt a little ashamed. She lowered her head in embarrassment and said in a low voice, “I apologize for what I said before.” Although Wendy had been a little arrogant since young, she still had some basic manners.
Nicole shook her head. “No, I didn’t clarify matters with you, Miss Gardner. It’s me who should apologize.”
When Wendy saw how humble Nicole was, her expression eased considerably.
“Next time, I’ll definitely clarify the matter before I question anyone.”
Nicole didn’t say much else, but pointed to the outside and said, “Now, there’s a group of reporters waiting for me outside. I’ll go out first. We’ll talk more later.”
“Okay.” Wendy nodded, seemingly quite content with Nicole’s gentle reaction.
When Whitney saw Nicole come out after winning the case, she was extremely happy. Stepping forward, she hugged her, grinning from ear to ear. “Nicole, you’re awesome. This feels so good. When I saw the look on her face, I was so happy!”
Nicole smiled as well upon seeing how happy Whitney was, and she felt the depressing atmosphere of the past few days lighten.
It was a pity that Daniella didn’t sell Queenie out in the end. Otherwise, she could use this chance to get rid of Queenie!
Chapter 148 Adapt to the Situation
When Nicole left the courtroom with Whitney, the reporters were already waiting outside.
“Miss Lisa, why didn’t you explain the plagiarism before this? Why are you only coming forward now to say that it’s your design from many years ago?”
“That’s right, Miss Lisa. Can we assume that it’s a publicity stunt?”
Obviously, she had already won the case, so she didn’t expect that this group of reporters would still ask such direct and unfriendly questions.
“Miss Lisa, why didn’t you explain that this design belonged to you so that none of this would’ve happened?”
Nicole looked over. The person who asked this question was a man in his early twenties, wearing a plaid shirt and black-rimmed glasses.
She remembered meeting this person at the press conference last time, but she didn’t expect him to be here now.
All of his questions were targeted at her.
Nicole raised her eyebrows, then looked at the man and asked, “Didn’t I say that I didn’t plagiarize the design? But, did you believe it?”
Seeing as Lisa was asking him a question, the man brazenly said, “Then, you could have released the evidence before this. Obviously, you could’ve cleared the suspicion early on, but you delayed it until now. Aren’t you trying to pull a publicity stunt?”
Nicole was a little amused, and the corners of her lips curled up. Faced with his constant questioning, Nicole replied, “Sir, netizens are the ones slandering me for plagiarism. I said that I didn’t plagiarize, but none of you believed it. Afterward, someone came forward to defame me. Why don’t you ask her why she defamed me? Instead, you’re asking if I was pulling a publicity stunt?”
She paused, then sighed before continuing, “When I was previously slandered for plagiarism, you pursued me to ask why I plagiarized. Now that I’ve cleared my name, you’re pursuing me to ask if it’s a publicity stunt? Can I also suspect that you’re paid to deliberately make things hard for me?”
Despite Nicole’s argument, the man didn’t back down at all. With a blank expression, he said righteously, “I just want to seek the truth.”
Before Nicole could speak, a cool voice rang out from the side.
“If you really want the truth, you should ask the people inside why they slandered Miss Lisa instead of being aggressive here,” Colton said in a cold voice, his expression solemn.
He glanced at the crowd, then cleared his throat and continued, “I don’t know who’s behind this incident, but what is certain is that this person wants to destroy the cooperation between F&M Apparel and the Gardner Corporation.”
After Colton finished speaking, his gaze fell on the person who had just fired questions at Nicole before he cast a quick glance at his name tag. “Daily Entertainment Express. All the websites under the Gardner Corporation will no longer cooperate with you.”
As soon as Colton spoke, the man’s expression changed, and his voice trembled a little. “President Gardner, you can’t use your power for personal revenge!”
The Gardner Corporation’s largest industry wasn’t clothing, but network technology, so any media company would be involved with them. Colton’s statement was equivalent to ending their business.
Looking up, Colton sneered, “You can’t possibly want me to discuss my company’s decisions with you.”
Now, the reporters could see that Colton was clearly partial to Lisa!
Afterward, the reporters learned to be wise and picked some good questions to ask.
“Miss Lisa, do you have any plans for the person who defamed you?”
“That’s right. The slandering had a great impact on your reputation. Will you continue with the lawsuit?”
Nicole smiled, thinking that these people were sensible for being able to adapt to the situation.
“As she wishes, I will file a lawsuit and completely clear my name,” Nicole answered.
Chapter 149 Even More Famous
Originally, everyone thought that Nicole would be done for this time, so they didn’t expect that such a shocking reversal would happen in court. Not only did the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel not plagiarize, she turned out to be the champion of the national competition a few years ago as well!
After that design won the competition, it was quite a sensation in the design industry, but so long had passed since, so everyone had long stopped talking about it. If it weren’t for this plagiarism incident, it might’ve been forgotten forever.
Now that it was brought out again, everyone admired the design with relish.
The bad comments on the Internet about Lisa had begun to change for the better as verbal abuse turned into compliments.
Topics such as ‘Worthy of Being the Chief Designer of F&M Apparel’ and ‘Lisa Won the National Design Competition Anonymously’ were trending.
Although this could be said to be a farce, it was also because of this that the products which were supposed to begin their preorder in the beginning of May were now receiving a lot of attention.
However, the farce wasn’t over yet because Lisa was going to file a lawsuit to sue Daniella for impersonating her.
The heat of this matter would continue to rise.
In the evening, Nicole posted a long passage on social media.
Lisa: ‘I didn’t clarify the plagiarism before this because I believed that rumors would stop with the wise. I didn’t expect the spread to continue, or that someone would falsely claim ownership of my design and sue me. I’m very sorry for wasting public resources. Moving on, I’ll file a lawsuit and regain my innocence. Thank you.’
Although it was short, it justified her innocence.
When Queenie returned home, she was near insanity. She never expected that the situation would end up being reversed like this!
Lydia was getting her nails done. She was in a good mood today because she could witness Nicole’s demise. When she saw that Queenie had returned, she said with a smile, “Queenie, come here. The people from this nail parlor are excellent. You should try it too.”
Queenie was livid. Clenching her hands into fists, she spoke to the person doing Lydia’s nails in a deep voice. “Get out.”
Taken aback, the girl stopped to look at her.
Queenie repeated, “Get out.”
Finally sensing that something was wrong, Lydia turned and looked over. When she saw Queenie’s livid expression, the smile on her face vanished. “What’s the matter? Queenie?”
Queenie bit her lips, and tears pooled in her eyes. Lydia retracted her hand and said to the girl doing her nails, “You should leave first. Come back next time.”
The girl sensed that the atmosphere was a little off, so she packed up her things and left in a hurry.
After she left, Lydia frowned and asked, “Queenie, what’s the matter?”
Angrily stomping her feet, Queenie gritted her teeth and said, “Mom, Nicole won the lawsuit!” Resentment was written all over her face, and she was so angry that she nearly spat blood.
Seeing how furious she was, Lydia could almost guess what had happened. She got Queenie to sit as she comforted her, “If she won, so be it. Nicole’s reputation is so bad now anyway. We can regard that as a success.”
In Lydia’s heart, if Nicole won this lawsuit, it was probably because F&M Apparel took action, which wasn’t unusual.
Queenie shook her head, her eyes burning with rage as she clenched her fists. “No, Nicole has not only won the lawsuit, but she’s even been cleared of the plagiarism scandal!”
“What?!” Lydia cried out in surprise, then hurriedly asked, “What’s happened?”
“Nicole submitted that design a few years ago. Now, not only is Nicole cleared of suspicion for plagiarizing, but it also gave her a wave of publicity, which made that b*tch even more famous!”
Lydia was dumbfounded, and a trace of disbelief flashed across her eyes. “How could this happen?!”
Chapter 150 Utterly Disappointed
Right now, Queenie was suffering in silence because she couldn’t voice them!
“Mom, there’s one more thing: Nicole wants to sue Daniella!” Queenie suddenly remembered this matter.
Although she promised to give Daniella a sum of money, if she was actually sued and imprisoned, she was afraid that Daniella would sell her out.
“Did Daniella expose you?” That was the first thing Lydia thought of.
Queenie shook her head. “Not yet, but if Nicole really sues Daniella and sends her to jail, that woman might not be able to keep her silence.”
Lydia’s heart clenched. Now, the Anderson Family was completely dependent on the connection between Queenie and Colton to survive. If something happened to Queenie, their family would be ruined.
“Let me think about it. There must be a solution!” Lydia tried hard to calm herself down.
“Mom, you must figure out a way to solve this, or we’d be screwed!” Queenie said anxiously.
She never thought that Nicole would turn things around. Initially, the worst thing that could happen was that they would find out that Daniella was an imposter. As long as the creator of the original design didn’t step forward, she could still escape unscathed.
However, the current situation was completely beyond her control.
…
Early the next morning, Nicole went to see Henry, accompanied by Colton.
After Colton had found Henry, he was locked up in a hotel, and guards were specially arranged to keep watch.
When Nicole entered, Henry was sitting at the head of the bed in a daze. He immediately reacted when he heard noise at the door. As soon as he looked up, he saw Nicole and Colton.
With a thud, he kneeled onto the ground. Before Nicole and Colton could speak, Henry began to beg for mercy.
“Nicole, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have… shouldn’t have…” He glanced at Colton, then swallowed his words and continued, “I shouldn’t have said that to you. Nicole, will you let me go?”
Nicole’s face was void of expression, and she didn’t feel any pity despite Henry begging so desperately.
Colton looked down at the man kneeling on the ground. Frowning slightly, he fixed him with a dark gaze and said coldly, “You must bear the consequences of your mistake.”
Henry glanced at Colton, looking a little frightened, then he gritted his teeth and timidly called out, “President Gardner.”
After calming down a little, Nicole was finally willing to look right at him. “Henry, I did feel a bit guilty for breaking up with you back then, but you know why I did it.”
Henry hurriedly nodded. “Nicole, I know. Your mother was sick, and you didn’t want to drag me down.”
When Nicole heard what he had blurted out, she realized that he knew it after all.
Calming down, she continued, “I felt guilty not because I slept with someone else five years ago, but because I broke up with you due to my mother’s condition!”
Henry hung his head and responded repeatedly, “I know, Nicole. I was just a little dissatisfied…”
“Dissatisfied?” Nicole looked down at him and suddenly laughed, her calm face looking a lot more vivid because of the laughter.
“What are you dissatisfied about? Didn’t you leave because you were afraid I’d drag you down?”
Now that the truth was so blatantly laid out, Henry’s expression was a little sour, but Nicole was right. That was indeed what happened back then. He was afraid that he would be dragged into debt if he continued to be with Nicole, so they broke up…
Nicole closed her eyes, and a trace of loss flashed across her face. Although she already had a child, she had only been in one proper relationship.
She didn’t expect that she would be so blind as to fall in love with such a person back then.
“Nicole, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have slandered you. I can post a video to clarify things. Forgive me.” Henry kowtowed three times, causing a series of banging sounds to ring out.
Feeling utterly disappointed in him, Nicole pursed her lips. “I can ignore that you slandered me and not pursue it.”
A trace of joy immediately appeared on Henry’s face, and he said with a smile, “Nicole, I knew you—”
Before he could finish speaking, Nicole interrupted him, “But, you stole the design from the Design Department, and there’s even surveillance footage as evidence. I can’t control how President Gardner will pursue it!”