Chapter 1043: Jane Watkins, are you convinced now?
Jane was rarely this polite to people. Madeline thought Jane was scared, so she immediately asked her assistant to bring her laptop and connect it to the big screen.
A file named "West" was on the desktop, containing dozens of photos. Although different, it was clear they came from the same place as tonight's award-winning work.
"Were these photos taken in the northwest of our country?" Jane asked.
"Of course!" Madeline answered with assurance.
"Are you sure?" Jane asked again.
"Jane Watkins, just admit it!" Madeline couldn't hide her smugness and said magnanimously, "If you formally and sincerely apologize to me now, I can forgive your rudeness tonight!"
Anthony had excellent eyesight. From over 30 feet away, he precisely locked onto one of the photo thumbnails.
In that photo, a tall tree with linear, spiky edges stood in an endless desert. The tree's crown was significantly larger than those of desert vegetation in the country.
"Third row, second photo, enlarge it," Jane said decisively.
The third row, second photo, was exactly the one Anthony had locked onto.
Madeline gave Jane a puzzled look but still enlarged the photo as instructed, grumbling, "What are you still struggling for!"
Jane chuckled and asked the staff for a microphone.
Her clear yet cool voice slowly echoed from the central sound system. "The photo you are looking at now is of a Joshua tree, primarily found in the western region of Moalia. They mostly grow in deserts at altitudes between 2,000 to 6,000 feet, and one of the main features of this desert is the Joshua tree."
Smart people already understood the point Jane was making.
Some even knew when Jane pointed out the photo that Madeline had lost this battle!
"Madeline, our country is indeed vast and rich, but that has nothing to do with this photograph. These photos were not taken in the west of our country but in the desert of Moalia!"
"No..." Madeline's face changed dramatically, trying to argue.
But Jane interrupted. "Then tell me, how did a tree from Moalia grow in the desert of our country?"
Madeline quickly thought of an excuse, "First, how do we know what you just said is true? Who knows if you're just making it up! Second, I did take this photo in the desert of our country!"
"Is this woman out of her mind?"
Jane heard a male photographer beside her complaining about Madeline and she silently added, 'Whether she's out of her mind or not, she's not far from being a fool.'
Jane had explained it so clearly. Among the many photographers present, at least dozens had been to Moalia. Could anyone not know if she was telling the truth?
"This is indeed a Joshua tree, and it cannot survive in our country's desert." Lydia stood up, her face stern and serious. "Madeline Stewart, you'd better honestly explain how you got these photos."
"No! I took them myself!" Madeline changed her tune. "This photo of the tree got mixed in by accident; it wasn't taken in the west."
"The light refraction in these base photos is almost identical, Madeline Stewart. Where did you learn your professional knowledge to tell such a lie?" Jane spoke very bluntly.
Jane also pulled up her passport and visa records on her phone to show those around her, "I have the same base photos on my computer, and I have all the entry and exit records from three months ago when I went to the desert of Moalia. Do you?"
By now, the truth was clear.
Madeline's face turned pale, and she stood under the spotlight on stage, swaying as if she might faint at any moment but couldn't. "I..."
Anthony, who had been silent, didn't give Madeline a chance to speak. "I may have a lot of money, but I won't let anyone waste it. Now that the matter is clear, how to deal with Madeline Stewart can be decided within your industry later. First, correct the photographer's name and the winner of the championship, shall we?"
Anthony's stance was clearly a command, yet he pretended to ask for opinions. It was obvious he was here to support Jane.
Jane instinctively glanced at Anthony, and their eyes met.
Anthony was looking at Jane, always looking at her!
Jane was startled and looked away.
The organizer's representative appeared from somewhere and managed to persuade the reluctant Madeline to leave the stage, looking as if he didn't dare offend her.
The Stewart family might not be top-tier, but they were quite influential in this generation. As the only daughter of the Stewart family, Madeline was very pampered, and most people didn't dare to offend her.
Jane had been considering how far to take this matter. Seeing Madeline's unwilling and defiant look, she decided to make as big a fuss as possible!
"Now that the issue of the original work has been clarified, I also want to know," Jane paused, "since your side discovered the doubts during the review process, who suggested not to ask me for clarification? To be blunt, I have more professional awards than I can count on both hands. Even if you suspect plagiarism, shouldn't you suspect someone else first?"
Even if there were suspicions, shouldn't they first suspect Madeline, who had been obscure for years and suddenly produced an award-winning work?
Such a incident should not be determined solely by the order of submission.
With Jane's words, the ten or so judges looked at each other. "Not me! I was the one who pointed out the duplicate work, but I didn't suggest not verifying with Ms. Watkins!"
"Why are you looking at me? I was still on a field trip in Icewind at the time. When I came to score, I wondered why there was no work from Jane Watkins."
"I remember now! Jerry, wasn't it you who said that Jane Watkins might have made a mistake in a moment of confusion, but since she's young and sensitive, we shouldn't ask her to avoid discouraging her?"
"Yes! I remember now, it was Jerry!"
Jerry's face turned extremely ugly.
It was indeed Jerry who had suggested not verifying with Jane. When he received Jane's work, which was identical to Madeline's, he almost immediately concluded that Madeline's submission was not her own work. Madeline was a distant relative, and they were in the same field. Madeline's parents had always asked him to look after her, so he paid more attention to her and was well aware of his distant niece's capabilities.
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