Chapter 221 Mrs. Yates is Trending Again
Kelsey's eyes lit up with fire as she snapped, "Mr. Yates, when I signed that contract, I was crystal clear—I wanted a design that was one-of-a-kind in the whole damn country. If it turns out these shoes are knock-offs, I get every right to call out the Yates Group, don't I?"
The Yates Group was the Yates family's bread and butter, and a paycheck for a ton of folks. If it went down, Aurora's economy would take a serious hit.
Ethan's eyes flickered. He had a lot riding on this, so he had to play it smart to keep the Yates Group from spiraling into chaos again.
Kelsey's words set off a buzz among the crowd.
The live stream blew up, shooting to the top of the trending list, with people from all over tuning in.
The Yates family.
Ivy fumed, "Damn Ashley, always bringing bad luck to our family. James, what do we do? The Yates Group just got out of a mess and started new investment plans. Isn't today's livestream gonna throw us back into crisis?"
James was sweating bullets and said, "My son's a genius. He'll figure this out, he has to..."
All James could do was clasp his hands together and pray silently.
Meanwhile, Michael, who was in the hospital, was finally up and about. Just as he was about to take a walk, he saw the nurses glued to their phones.
"Hey, check this out! Ethan's wife is caught in a plagiarism scandal, and the Yates family might get sued by Kelsey again. It's one thing after another!"
Michael nearly had a heart attack hearing that. Luckily, he had his meds. After popping a couple of pills, he leaned in to see the nurse's phone.
"Quick, let me see what's happening!"
The White family.
"Landon, look, Ashley's trending again."
Landon leaned in, furrowed his brow, and said, "Ashley copied Elisa's design? Doesn't that mean the Yates Group is in hot water again? Their recent land financing, is it gonna tank?"
"Yeah, I think so too. Bro, let's watch the live stream together. Maybe there'll be a twist!"
Psychiatric Hospital.
John saw others watching the live stream. As soon as he saw Ashley's face, he got all worked up. But this time, hearing that people were ganging up on his precious daughter, he almost lost it. He held back and told the people watching, "That's my daughter. My daughter is the best in the world. She didn't copy anyone's work..."
But who'd believe a madman?
The Jones family.
Doris was also glued to the live stream. Seeing Kelsey grilling Ethan, for some reason, Ethan's serious face made her nervous too...
Ferndale.
Facing Kelsey's question, Ethan was at a loss for words.
He could stand by his girl, but risking the whole Yates Group? That was a different story. Just as he was stuck in a tough spot, Ashley squeezed his hand and flashed him a sweet smile.
"Babe, chill. The Yates Group ain't going down."
Ethan, who had been all tense, decided to trust her completely after hearing her confident words.
Ethan's lips curled into a smirk as he locked eyes with Kelsey and said firmly, "Your Majesty, before you jump to conclusions, you might wanna dig a little deeper."
Kelsey snorted and turned her gaze to Ashley.
All eyes were on Ashley, and every media camera zoomed in on her face.
Ashley spoke up, "This pair of women's shoes is called Celestial Swift. Elisa posted the design on Zephyr's official site three months ago. But do you know how many actual pairs exist?"
Everyone exchanged puzzled looks. Clearly, no one had a clue.
Someone piped up, "I heard it's a limited edition, but no one's been seen wearing them."
Another asked, "So, are there any finished products or not?"
Ashley declared, "Nope!"
As soon as she said it, everyone looked at her in shock, wondering why she was so sure.
Ashley continued, "Zephyr's official site drops new design sketches every season. Some get made into actual products, some don't."
"During that time, Elisa was in a bad place. But the site still needed new sketches, so she just whipped up a few and sent them in."
Everyone was stunned.
Casually drawn sketches turning into market hits? How talented was Elisa?
Ashley looked at the design sketch, emotions swirling.
Because when she drew this sketch, it was during a time when Ava had messed her up, leaving her unable to move her hands and feet. She was in a dark place and had Pauline draw the sketch based on her verbal instructions.
Ashley shot a look at Pauline in the crowd, and Pauline got the hint, quietly slipping away.
"Your Majesty, Elisa only posted this design on the official site. There's no finished product, and no one's worn it. So, Your Majesty, the shoes you're rocking are still one-of-a-kind!"
Chloe burst out laughing, "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard. Why should we believe you? The shoes still look like Elisa's design, and you can't dodge the plagiarism accusation!"
Seeing Chloe's aggressive stance, Ashley sighed.
Chloe raised an eyebrow, hoping to see fear on Ashley's face.
Ashley felt cornered. It seemed her long-hidden secret was about to come out!
"Because... whether it's the sketch in your hand or the shoes on Your Majesty's feet, they were all created by the same person from the start!"
As soon as Ashley dropped that bombshell, the place went nuts!
What did Ashley mean by that?
What did she mean...
Created by the same person?
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