Chapter 467 The One Who Plagiarized Is Her
Lauren was like, "So, was it Bennett who slapped that virus on the video?"
Blake's words made Lauren's eyes pop wide open.
Blake went quiet for a sec, then scrunched up his face. "I can't say for sure if it was Bennett. Could be someone who snagged his USB drive."
Blake's words made Adeline's heart skip a beat.
Adeline chimed in, "So, whoever posted the video online must be tight with Bennett, right?"
Blake nodded. "Yeah, maybe they stumbled on Bennett's USB drive, or it could be someone who had beef with Bennett and Sebastian."
After saying that, Blake pursed his lips. "There's another angle. What if Bennett himself made these videos?"
Adeline was floored.
"No way!" Lauren pouted. "Even though I think Bennett's still kicking, he wouldn't pull something like this. These videos are all about trashing and hurting Mom. Bennett wouldn't go there!"
Blake nodded in agreement. "You're right."
Then Blake looked up and gave Adeline a serious look. "Mom, chill. I'll keep tabs on the internet. When these folks make a move again, I'll track them down. No matter who they are, we gotta get Bennett's stuff back."
Adeline pursed her lips and nodded. "Okay."
She was different from Blake and Lauren; she didn't buy that Bennett was still alive. But Blake had a point. She still needed to get Bennett's stuff back. It was probably the last thing she could do for him.
In a swanky five-star hotel in Radiance Springs...
With a stern face, Bennett shut his laptop and glanced at Molly. "I wiped all the virus-loaded videos like you asked."
Molly smiled and ruffled Bennett's hair. "Good boy."
Bennett furrowed his brows. "Where's Sebastian?"
The next evening, the International Jewelry Design Competition kicked off at the biggest exhibition center in Radiance Springs.
As soon as the doors opened, Adeline and Violet, in disguise, slipped in with the crowd.
Violet couldn't help but pout as they entered. "If I were you, I wouldn't be here. Watching Luna win with your work, won't that just give you a heart attack?"
Adeline smiled and followed the crowd, lowering her voice with a chuckle. "If that so, I'd have died a million times since coming back to Radiance Springs."
Adeline's words made Violet sigh again.
Violet said, "You're something else! If I were you, I'd have died a million times over."
Adeline chuckled softly and said nothing.
Since they got there early, their seats were up front, making them pretty noticeable.
Luckily, Adeline had a mask on, so most people didn't recognize her as the Adeline who got roasted online a few days ago. But as soon as Luna hit the stage with her crew, she spotted Adeline right away.
Luna narrowed her eyes and shot a cold glance Adeline's way. Luna thought, 'Adeline's got some nerve. If I were her, I wouldn't show up to such a humiliating event!'
Soon, the competition kicked off.
Jerry led a bunch of big-shot designers into the venue.
The order of appearance was decided by drawing lots. Unfortunately, Luna drew the last slot.
Violet sighed. "So we gotta stick around till the end?"
Adeline nodded. "Even if they weren't last, we'd still have to stay till the end."
She had promised Richard she'd watch him judge and then grab dinner with him. After all, it had been years since Adeline and Richard last hung out, and Richard still called her his teacher. She had to show him some respect.
The competition kicked off.
Violet, who didn't know squat about design, was all hyped at first but then dozed off, leaning on Adeline's shoulder.
Adeline held the sleeping Violet, frowning as she watched each team's work. When she saw the second-to-last entry, she finally felt a bit relieved. The Foster Group's team was definitely gonna take the win.
"Hey everyone, I'm Luna from the Foster Group's jewelry design department. This time, I'm leading the team, and our piece is called Rebirth."
"The word 'rebirth,' I don't know what it makes you think of, but for me, it means finding light after loss and despair."
Luna nailed Adeline's speech, full of emotion.
After the intro, the crowd burst into applause.
"Hold up."
Just as everyone was getting excited, Richard stood up from the judges' table.
Seeing Richard stand, the other judges and organizers got up too.
The host on stage got nervous. "Mr. Evans, got a question?"
"Yeah, I do." Richard sneered and strode up to the stage, giving Luna and her eight-member team a cold once-over. "Your team, just the nine of you?"
Luna pursed her lips and quickly nodded. "Yes, Mr. Evans. Is there a problem?"
Richard laughed. He took the laser pointer from Luna and pointed to a circle of hexagrams on the edge of the jewelry on the big screen. "Who designed these?"
Luna was stunned and instinctively glanced at her team.
Robert frowned and shook his head at Luna, signaling that the designer wasn't in the team.
Luna was taken aback. "Mr. Evans, is there a problem?"
"Of course, there's a problem!" Richard snorted. "The rationale and insights you just spouted about the hexagrams, their arrangement, the forms and techniques used, are exactly like my mentor, Moon!"
The more Richard spoke, the more fired up he got. "I can spot my teacher's work a mile away! She loves hexagrams over pentagrams and always puts them on the outer edge as decoration! Not just the hexagrams, a lot of your work is ripped off from my teacher's design habits and concepts!"
After that, he glared coldly at Luna. "Since you're in charge, tell me, who in your team is shamelessly plagiarizing my teacher?"
His words caused a stir in the audience.
Everyone knew that even though Moon had retired, she was still a big deal in the design world.
Before Richard pointed it out, no one suspected the Foster Group's mostly new team of plagiarism. But once he did, everyone was shocked. It really was plagiarism!
In an instant, the judges and contestants were in an uproar. Some were cursing, some were angry, and some were demanding disqualification.
Luna stood there, panicking. What the heck was going on?
Luna turned to her team again.
Raymond whispered, "Those plagiarized parts were designed by Adeline."
Luna frowned, her eyes suddenly lighting up! She quickly stepped forward. "Mr. Evans, please calm down. I just asked our team members. These plagiarized parts weren't designed by anyone in our team."
As she spoke, she raised her hand and pointed to Adeline sitting in the crowd. "The person who plagiarized is her!"
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