Chapter 396 I Know Your Secret
The place got real quiet, real fast.
People present had to admit, that nosy lady had a point.
Elodie had retired, and just taking Harper's word that she was Elodie's daughter? Yeah, not enough.
A few reporters jumped in.
"Yeah, we can't just believe her."
"Let her show us Ms. Sackler's special technique, only her daughter would know it."
"Exactly."
Harper clocked that the chick in sunglasses was here to stir the pot.
She whispered something to her assistant Ronald, then turned to the crowd with a smile, "Alright, since y'all wanna see, I'll give it a shot."
Soon enough, the staff brought out the tools.
Everyone got hyped.
This was totally Elodie's vibe.
Years back, some reporters had filmed a doc on Elodie's process, but no one could ever copy it.
Harper sat down, grabbed the tools, and her fingers moved like magic. Her skill and speed left everyone stunned.
People held their breath, eyes glued to the fabric, still clueless about how she did it.
For a moment, it was dead silent.
After twenty years, Elodie's mind-blowing technique had everyone in awe again.
All eyes were on Harper's delicate hands, thinking those hands were worth a fortune.
A single clap broke the silence.
Vincent, in the crowd, looked at Harper with pride and clapped hard.
He hadn't stepped in to stop the troublemaker because Harper had told him not to, she had her reasons.
A few seconds later, the crowd snapped out of it, and the place erupted in applause.
Elodie had once said only her daughter knew this technique. She'd discovered by accident that five-year-old Harper had a knack for it, so she taught her. In less than half a month, little Harper could do the whole process, which had blown Elodie's mind. Harper was clearly more talented.
Harper stood on stage, her delicate face glowing under the camera's focus.
Seeing everyone so excitedly filming her work, her eyes got a bit misty.
She'd thought Elodie had been forgotten, but turned out, people still remembered.
Harper had come ready today. She needed this chance to send a message to the long-missing Elodie.
So, even if that woman hadn't questioned her, she planned to show off Elodie's technique at the press conference.
Harper was using this to tell Elodie that the daughter she lost had come back.
Even though Elodie had been missing for years, Harper still hoped she might see this.
The troublemaking woman tried to speak again but got stopped by the cops.
The lead officer flashed his badge and said, "Ma'am, we got a report you leaked company secrets and sold them for profit. Please come with us for the investigation."
The woman freaked out and tried to run, but the cops nabbed her before she got to the door.
She yelled, "What are you doing? I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything."
Her sunglasses and mask fell off as she ran.
Ronald saw this and couldn't help but be amazed.
This was the same woman who badmouthed Harper at CelestialGlow Entertainment and got fired.
Ronald looked at Harper, surprised, "Harper, how'd you know it was her?"
Before Harper showed the technique, she had whispered to Ronald to call the cops.
Last time, Jeffrey had pulled up footage showing this woman sneaking into the dressing room where the ceremonial dresses were kept, taking photos, and selling them to small studios for pattern copying.
VelvetVogue Studio had noticed, leading to plagiarism accusations.
This woman was here likely because she was bitter about getting fired. As for how she knew about Harper's high-priced acquisition of Elodie's work, there had to be someone behind the scenes.
But those were matters for the cops to handle.
Harper told Ronald, "She has a small mole at the corner of her mouth."
Harper had a photographic memory, honed to perfection by the demands of her job.
Ronald was blown away by Harper's skills, looking at her with admiration.
Who knew what other tricks Harper had up her sleeve!
After being escorted off the stage by security, Harper left with Vincent.
The cameras caught Vincent's face too. To keep Harper from getting jostled, Vincent kept his hand protectively behind her like a true gentleman.
Everyone started speculating if Vincent was Harper's boyfriend.
Some reporters even tried to ask, but the elevator arrived just in time.
Harper, not wanting to hold up the elevator, just smiled and stepped in without saying a word.
Outside the hotel, a black car was parked by the curb.
Inside, Francis's sharp profile looked like something out of a painting.
He was glued to the live stream on his tablet, catching every last bit of the scene.
The comments were blowing up with praise.
[Both are talented and good-looking, they really match well!]
[Such a gentleman, and his gaze is so loving. They look so affectionate.]
[Ms. Sackler's daughter is so beautiful. Ms. Sackler was also beautiful back in the day. Those genes are amazing!]
These comments made Francis's eyes darken.
On the screen, Harper was glowing with confidence, a far cry from five years ago.
So, Harper's mom was Elodie.
Elodie Studios—how did he miss that?
Finding out Harper's other identity hit Francis like a ton of bricks.
Harper was so amazing; of course, lots of guys would be into her. Among them, there might have been individuals who were even more accomplished than him.
Thinking about the slim chance of getting back together, Francis felt like his mind was being stabbed by a million tiny needles, causing chaotic pain.
The usually proud Francis was having a seriously insecure day. He'd asked himself in his darkest moments if he could handle Harper marrying someone else, if he could handle her being out of his life, but he never found an answer.
Just thinking about it felt like someone was ripping his heart out, causing unbearable pain!
Could a guy survive with his heart ripped out? No way! Just like he couldn't accept any scenario where Harper wasn't his. So, no matter what, he wasn't letting her go.
Harper and Vincent made their way to the ground-level parking lot.
Just as they were about to get in the car, a dark figure popped out and grabbed Harper.
Vincent quickly pulled Harper behind him and blocked the dirty hand.
"Why are you blocking me? I'm her uncle!" a raspy voice said.
Hearing this, Harper looked up. When she saw it was Thorne, her eyes went cold.
Thorne looked at Harper with a sleazy grin and said, "Harper, long time no see!"
Harper thought about how Thorne hadn't shown up when Delaney passed away, and her eyes grew even colder. "So, you're not dead."
Thorne spat a few times and said, annoyed, "Who are you cursing? I'm very much alive."
Harper saw that Thorne was still the same as ever, even in such a sorry state, with no sign of remorse.
She immediately frowned and stepped back, saying, "Then stay that way. We gotta go."
With that, she turned to get in the car.
Seeing Harper about to leave, Thorne panicked and yanked her back.
"Hey, you bitch, stop right there." Thorne blurted out without thinking.
Vincent's eyes turned icy, and just as he was about to act, Harper swiftly kicked Thorne in the knee.
Instantly, a scream of pain erupted.
Thorne doubled over and dropped to his knees, cursing, "You bitch! How dare you kick me! I'm your uncle, you ungrateful brat. Now that you have a new identity, you don't recognize me anymore, huh?"
Harper laughed coldly. "What kind of uncle are you? Where were you when Delaney passed away? Have you ever visited her grave?"
Harper remembered that after everything, she had taken Agnes to Silvercrest once.
Although Delaney wasn't her biological grandmother, she had taken in the amnesiac Harper by chance and raised her. Harper had always been grateful and remembered Delaney's kindness.
Harper had asked the cemetery manager, and besides her, no one had visited Delaney.
Later, she left her phone number with the manager to ask him to inform her if anyone visited Delaney, but no one ever did.
Seeing Harper's gentle tone when mentioning Delaney, Thorne immediately remembered why he was there. "Hey, I just forgot, okay? Harper, our family raised you. Can you give me some money?"
Harper sneered, "Did you blow through that $400,000?"
"That was ages ago. Why bring it up now?" Thorne wiped his eyes guiltily. "I got scammed, okay?"
Harper didn't buy it; he probably gambled it all away.
"I paid off $400,000 for you back then. That was more than enough!" She said coldly, "You better leave. I won't give you any more money!"
Seeing Harper about to leave, Thorne's face turned dark and he cursed, "Just wait. I'll go to the media and expose you. We took good care of you, and this is how you repay me!"
Harper didn't care about his threats. Her eyes were steady as rocks. "Go ahead, expose me."
Thorne didn't have the guts. If he showed up, who knew how many enemies would come after him.
Seeing Harper getting into the car, Thorne urgently shouted, "Wait, I know your secret!"
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