Chapter 375

One billion dors?

The sheer audacity took my breath away.

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound?" Olivia snapped, her voice dripping with disdain. "Making outrageous demands like that—have you no shame?"

I stood frozen, my fingers curling into fists. Evelyn Carter didn't steal designs. That much I knew with absolute certainty.

"The truth always comes to light," Juliette countered smoothly, ignoring Olivia's outburst. "No amount of fame can rewrite facts. Aren't you worried your precious fans will see the real you?"

She moved closer until mere inches separated us, her cold smile never wavering.

"I'll be direct, Ms. Carter." Her manicured fingers tapped against her elbow. "You have two options—pay the settlement or we all go down together. Your choice."

My nails bit into my palms. The venom in her gaze confused me. We'd never even met before this accusation.

Yet she looked at me like I'd personally ruined her life.

"Ms. Blackwood," I said through gritted teeth, "I've never encountered someone with such breathtaking lack of integrity."

She merely laughed. "Coming from you, that's rich. After everything you've done?"

Everything I'd done?

The cryptic remark sent warning bells clanging in my mind. What game was she playing?

"Three days." She held up three fingers like a countdown. "That's all the time you get to produce the money. Fail, and I'll destroy what's left of your reputation."

The silence stretched unbearably until Harrison's voice cut through it.

"Seven days," he countered. "A sum that large requires coordination with multiple financial institutions."

Juliette's smirk widened as she turned back to me. "Does he speak for you, Ms. Carter?"

I met Harrison's steady gaze, drawing strength from his unshakable calm.

"Seven days," I confirmed.

"Perfect." Juliette's heels clicked against the marble as she turned to leave. "I'll expect your compliance."

The moment she disappeared from view, her polished facade shattered.

"Juliette, are we really just taking the money?" her companion asked nervously.

Her face twisted into something ugly. "The money?" she hissed. "The money is nothing."

"But a billion dors—"

"Is pocket change to the Kingsleys," she finished bitterly. "This was never about money. I want her ruined. I want her to suffer like—" She cut herself off, taking a shuddering breath. "Just make sure there's no trail leading back to us. No mistakes."

Her companion nodded hastily.

Juliette stared at the space where I'd stood moments before, her expression glacial. "Evelyn Carter... you have no idea what's coming."

Back in the conference room, Olivia was nearly vibrating with outrage.

"Evelyn! Why would you agree to this? She's the one who plagiarized your work! Now she's extorting us while dragging your name through the mud!"

Harrison placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "We needed time."

"For what?" Olivia demanded.

I exhaled slowly, the pieces clicking together. "To prove she's lying." My phone buzzed with an incoming message from Elliot. "And I think my brother just found our smoking gun."