Chapter 394

Evelyn's mind whirled with confusion. Who was this mysterious man?

That faint trace of sandalwood clinging to him felt hauntingly familiar.

Had she encountered that distinctive scent somewhere before?

And what had he meant by those cryptic words?

Could Juliette have sent him? Yet Evelyn sensed no malice in his demeanor.

She scanned the bustling crowd around her, only finding more questions swirling in her mind.

"Evelyn, what happened?"

Callum rushed to her side, slightly out of breath. He'd been alarmed when Evelyn suddenly dashed into the throng, forcing him to abandon his vehicle mid-traffic.

She gripped his forearm tightly. "Did you see that man just now?"

Callum's brows furrowed in confusion.

"What man? Did someone harass you? Point him out - I'll handle it." His posture shifted into protective mode.

But Evelyn shook her head slowly.

"No. Just... a stranger. He looked..."

She struggled to articulate the man's features, realizing she couldn't recall his face clearly despite their proximity.

Callum's sharp gaze swept the area but detected nothing unusual. "Maybe you imagined it?"

"Are you exhausted? Should we return to the car?"

Evelyn bit her lower lip, tension evident in her stiff posture. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded. As she turned, realization struck like lightning.

That scent - identical to her mysterious savior from the underground parking garage in Frenda!

The broad shoulders, the height, that unique sandalwood aroma - it had to be the same person!

Certainty flooded her, but questions remained. Who was he really? And why approach her now with such an ominous warning?

"Evelyn, I've got something." Harrison's voice shattered her reverie.

She blinked up at him. "What is it?"

Harrison handed over his laptop. "Take a look at this."

The screen displayed several photographs that made Evelyn's pulse quicken.

"I've dug into Juliette's background. There's no record of her cosmetic procedures in any Coronian hospital database. She must have purged those records."

"But I discovered something better - your original design featured in Coronia University's public archives months before Juliette's alleged creation."

Relief washed over Evelyn as she pointed at the timestamped image. "This proves it! This is my original sketch from last year!"

Harrison nodded. "They clearly didn't anticipate the university's public server keeping backups of student submissions."

"Harrison, this clears my name completely."

Evelyn snapped a photo with her phone. "I'll send this to Natalie immediately. We'll feature it prominently for a full week."

Joy bubbled up inside her. After weeks of darkness, she'd finally found daylight.

With this evidence, she could demolish the plagiarism accusations against her boutique.

Juliette's billion-dollar extortion scheme would crumble. Her mission to Coronia would succeed.

It felt surreal. She'd arrived drowning in doubts, endured countless obstacles, and now... victory came almost too easily.

A nagging suspicion crept in. "Harrison... is this really everything?"