Chapter 395 Teach Them a Lesson
When Harper dropped that bomb, Audrey had just rolled up. Hearing the name, her face went from zero to a hundred real quick!
This low-key Harper? Turned out she was Elodie's kid.
Back when the internet was still dial-up, Elodie was already a big deal in the elite circles.
In those circles, Elodie was like a living legend.
Elodie once pulled off some crazy intricate designs, and she did it all in just two weeks. The kicker? Her craftsmanship was off the charts.
Even as a young gun, Elodie was dubbed a genius designer. Queens from other countries were hitting her up for custom dresses, making her the talk of the town!
But then, outta nowhere, Elodie announced she was retiring and vanished, leaving everyone stunned and bummed out!
For almost twenty years, no one saw a trace of Elodie. Rumors flew around that she went off the grid or even kicked the bucket, but nothing was ever confirmed!
Audrey knew all this because Elodie had some hush-hush ties with her uncle, Arthur Hernandez.
The reporters were losing their minds! Every journo worth their salt knew who Elodie was.
And now, Harper's claiming to be Elodie's daughter? Mind blown!
They all felt like they hit the jackpot today. Elodie's daughter? That's front-page material!
The reporters switched gears with their questions, and Audrey's eyes went ice-cold, her lips turning pale.
The Sackler family, based in Southvale, was no joke, right up there with the Hernandez family, but they had some serious family drama.
Elodie was the eldest son's kid, but her parents died in a car crash. Then, even the super-talented Elodie disappeared. So, people only remembered the standout second son of the Hernandez family, and Elodie's family faded into the background.
And Harper? She was a big deal in the Sackler family and might be looking to reclaim her family's fortune.
If Harper, as a Sackler, was to married into the Getty family, she would be marrying up, but the gap between the two families wasn't an insurmountable chasm.
No wonder Harper threw shade, saying there were other rich families besides the Hernandez family. She was totally mocking her!
Audrey's nails dug into her palm, her eyes icy cold. She gave a quick signal to her assistant.
The assistant caught on quick, stepped up, and whispered something to the chick accusing Harper of plagiarism.
Rosie, who was hanging with Audrey to catch the drama, asked all curious, "Audrey, you know who that is?"
Audrey shook off her shocked look and smirked a bit, "Yeah, she's got some ties to you too."
Rosie scrunched her face. "Me? I don't know her. She looks kinda basic."
On stage, Harper was rocking the no-makeup look, but she still looked fresher and younger than Rosie, who was all dolled up. That made Rosie feel some type of way.
Audrey caught that vibe and smirked, "She also knows your boyfriend, Robert. Does that count as a connection?"
Hearing Robert's name, Rosie blushed. "Oh, stop it! What boyfriend? You're just messing with me!"
Rosie's face was all shy and girly.
Audrey knew Rosie was head over heels for Robert, but Robert had his eyes on someone else.
Chloe was old news, so Audrey was scouting for a new pawn. She eyed Rosie and thought she might fit the bill.
"The Mitchells and the Perots are tight. Isn't it a done deal between you and Robert?" Audrey said.
Rosie loved hearing that. She clung to Audrey's arm and giggled, "Then it's a done deal for you to become Mrs. Getty too, right?"
Audrey soaked up Rosie's teasing with a calm smile.
As long as the air hadn't been clear, she could keep her fiancée status a bit longer. Plus, she had more tricks up her sleeve.
Francis wanted to ditch her? Not happening!
Rosie was off in dreamland, leaning her head on Audrey's shoulder, all happy, "It'll be awesome. After we get hitched, our husbands will be buddies, and we can go on honeymoon trips together."
Audrey didn't say anything. Rosie looked up and saw tears in Audrey's eyes.
She gasped, "Audrey, why are you crying?"
Audrey, like she didn't want anyone to see, quickly wiped her tears and said in a raspy voice, "It's nothing. Let's bounce."
Saying that, Audrey started to leave.
Rosie grabbed her arm, all worried, "What's up, Audrey? Spill. I'm your friend."
"Rosie, it's not like that, it's just..." Audrey hesitated, biting her lip. "You better not ask."
"No way!" Rosie raised her voice. "Who messed with you? Tell me, I'll back you up."
Audrey's lips went pale, looking all sad as she said, "The woman I just saw is actually Francis's ex-wife."
"Francis's ex-wife?" Rosie was floored. "Wasn't she supposed to have died in some river accident?"
Only a handful of people knew about that.
Rosie knew because a few years back, when Francis was killing it in his career, he suddenly dropped off the radar.
One time, Rosie went to church with her mom and bumped into Francis. She was shocked to see him looking all haggard and thin, a total 180 from his usual self.
Later, she found out Francis was wrecked over his ex-wife's death. At that time, Rosie was touched by how deeply he cared.
After that, Rosie noticed it was Audrey who stuck by him, helping him through the rough patch.
So, she always admired Audrey's loyalty.
Rosie looked at Audrey's face and guessed, "Is his ex-wife trying to get into his pants again?"
Audrey looked all hurt and nodded slightly. "Yeah, she's been reaching out to Francis."
"Bitch!" Rosie spat out.
Robert also had a first love he couldn't forget, so Rosie always had a thing against ex-girlfriends and ex-wives.
Instantly, she started hating Harper.
Rosie fumed, "You were the one who stood by Francis during his darkest times, and now she thinks she can just stroll back in? Just 'cause she's pretty?"
Audrey shook her head, looking helpless, and said, "I don't know."
Rosie couldn't stand the thought of some chick getting her way.
She grabbed Audrey's hand and advised, "Francis is a catch. His ex-wife won't let go easily. You gotta keep an eye on him and lock down your spot."
Audrey lowered her head a bit, "Yeah, but there's something else. I'm not sure if I should tell you."
Rosie was puzzled, "Does it have to do with me? What is it?"
Audrey said mysteriously, "This Harper is tight with Robert's first love."
Rosie's eyes went wide, "You mean Quinn?"
The only woman Robert had ever publicly acknowledged was Quinn.
Rosie instinctively thought Quinn was Robert's first love.
Audrey said mysteriously, "Not Quinn. Actually, Robert's first love was the daughter of the former Koch Group. They were classmates and super close."
"The Koch Group?" Rosie was surprised, "The one whose president jumped off a building after the family went under?"
"Yeah, that one. Ms. Koch is back in Northfield now and seems to be in touch with Robert."
Audrey added worriedly, "Rosie, you gotta watch out. Those two are sneaky."
Now Rosie got why Robert had been so busy that she couldn't even get a glimpse of him.
Rosie stomped her foot in anger and spat out, "Those two bitches, they're so hateful. I'll teach them a lesson!"
Audrey saw Rosie's rage and smirked a bit, then advised, "Rosie, don't be thick. If Robert finds out I told you, it'll be tough for me with Francis."
Rosie said straightforwardly, "Don't worry. I'm not dumb. I won't say anything."
She glanced towards the venue and fumed, "We can't let these women who seduce our men get away with it."
At the press conference.
The woman in sunglasses and a mask was still not backing down.
Seeing the reporters buzzing with questions unrelated to plagiarism, she shouted several times in frustration.
But no one paid her any mind!
She jumped onto the stage and yelled, "Even if Elodie is your mom, can you put her work under your name? How is that not plagiarism?"
The room went dead silent.
Everyone looked at her like she was an idiot. It was clear her claim of being a VelvetVogue Studio staff member was bogus.
As someone in the design industry, how could she not know Elodie's story?
Harper couldn't be bothered and said, "Security, please escort this lady out."
The woman jumped up and shouted, "Why are you kicking me out? Just because I exposed you as a plagiarist? You dare to hold a press conference? Have you no shame?"
"Excuse me, ma'am!" Before Harper could speak, a reporter couldn't hold back.
"Are you really in the design industry? If so, how could you not know that Ms. Sackler mentioned in an interview that some of her traditional series works were co-created with her six-year-old daughter."
Elodie started with avant-garde designs, but later, influenced by Harper's drawings, she began creating traditional series works.
Elodie would enhance Harper's drawings and use Dreamlandia's craftsmanship to perfectly present them on clothing.
After that, Elodie was completely captivated by traditional styles and was determined to promote traditional style works worldwide.
Now it seemed that Harper was doing the same thing as Elodie, which was highly commendable!
The woman in sunglasses was left speechless.
She was just there to stir the pot and didn't know anything about Elodie.
She rolled her eyes and mocked, "She says she's Elodie's daughter, and you believe her? Who knows if her works are outsourced? If she's so capable, let her create something on the spot!"
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