Free Web NovelChapter 95: Chapter 95: Mr. Blackwood, Leniency for Those Who Confess, Severity for Those Who Resist
Sophie Shaw got in the car and started the engine.
The Cayenne slowly reversed out of the yard.
She glanced at Alaric Blackwood in the rearview mirror and said thoughtfully, "Those photos look like they were taken secretly."
"Nonsense."
Alaric Blackwood feigned composure. "I had just gotten a new camera back then. I was just testing it out, not taking secret photos."
Sophie Shaw wanted to laugh.
There were at least two hundred photos of her in that album. Did he really need to take that many just to test a camera?
Not a single one was taken with her permission, yet he claimed they weren’t secret photos...
"Taking secret photos of me from middle school through college, just to test a camera? Mr. Blackwood, confession brings leniency, but resistance invites severity."
Sophie Shaw’s tone was heavy, deliberately trying to put some pressure on him.
The man’s heart began to pound, but he calmly lit a cigarette. Amidst the curling smoke, he said in a nonchalant voice, "I was into photography when I was a student. I happened to hear I had a fiancée, so I just snapped a few photos on a whim."
"Mr. Blackwood, do I look that gullible?"
"..."
Alaric Blackwood rolled down the window and tossed the cigarette out. Then, he went into ’play dead’ mode.
No matter what Sophie Shaw said, he didn’t respond, just sat quietly in the back seat with his eyes closed, resting.
Soon, the car arrived in front of the Blackwood Tower.
Alaric Blackwood had secretly taken her photos without apologizing, accepted a ride from her without a word of thanks, and now simply pushed the door open and left.
Watching his figure disappear into the building, she turned the steering wheel, intending to make a U-turn. BANG! A car from behind crashed into hers.
The left-side mirror was completely knocked askew, and a large patch of paint was scraped off.
She was stunned for a moment. She unbuckled her seatbelt and tried to push the door open, but it wouldn’t budge. The other car was pressed right against her door.
"Could you please back up a little?"
She rolled down her window, stuck her head out, and yelled at the other car.
A young man in a suit quickly got out of the driver’s seat. Sophie Shaw recognized him at a glance—it was Yuri.
He acted as if he didn’t recognize her. He walked over, stuffed a business card into her hand, and tossed out, "Sorry, I have urgent business. You can call me after 3 p.m. to discuss compensation."
After saying his piece, the man returned to his car and drove straight into the Blackwood Group’s surface parking lot.
Through her windshield, Sophie Shaw saw Yuri park his car and immediately enter the Blackwood Tower.
Because of this minor accident, she was pulled over by a traffic officer on her way to the office. Since the left-side mirror was dangling precariously, the officer deemed the car unsafe for the road and told her to take it for repairs.
She had no choice but to drive to the dealership and then take a taxi to her company.
That morning, she only managed to get one thing done: contacting Evan Ford to handle the transfer paperwork for the factory building.
After lunch, she took Hannah Sutton to the old factory. She contacted a moving company to have all the usable equipment moved to the new factory building. As for the old, second-hand equipment, it was all sold off at a low price.
The lease on the old factory was due to expire in less than a month, so it was the perfect time not to renew.
Once she was done, Sophie Shaw returned to her office. Remembering the car accident, she picked up her phone and dialed Yuri’s number.
It rang for a long time before the call connected.
"Hello, this is Yuri." The man’s deep voice came through the receiver, devoid of warmth or emotion, and inexplicably oppressive.
Sophie Shaw collected herself and said politely, "This is Sophie Shaw. You hit my car this morning."
"Have you decided how much compensation you want?"
"The car is still being repaired. After insurance, the repair cost is about eighteen thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight."
"Send me your account number. I’ll just send you twenty thousand."
"That’s not necessary. Eighteen thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight..."
"The account number!"
The man’s tone was non-negotiable, tinged with a hint of impatience.
Sophie Shaw pursed her lips, hung up, and sent her payment account information via text message.
A few minutes later, twenty thousand arrived in her account.
Just as she received the text confirming the deposit, her phone rang.
The caller ID showed it was Yuri.
She hesitated for a few seconds before answering.
"It just occurred to me, you’re Lynn’s daughter?"
"Yes."
"Are Lynn’s posthumous works for sale?"
"No."
"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP..."
A dial tone droned from the receiver.
He had hung up.
"What a terrible attitude."
Sophie Shaw muttered, putting down her phone to continue refining her mother’s design drafts.
Just as she was getting busy, a knock came at the door.
"Come in."
Hannah Sutton opened the door and walked in, holding a tablet.
"President Shaw, take a look at this."
Hannah Sutton went straight to her desk and handed her the tablet.
On the tablet was a paused advertisement. She pressed play, and what appeared on screen was a promotion for a new product from Wynn Jade Jewelry, a brand under the Kane Group.
The spokesperson was Vianne Kane, and the design of the upcoming new product line looked exactly like her mother’s drafts.
Sophie Shaw picked up the design drafts she was working on and compared them closely. She went numb.
"How could this be?"
Hannah Sutton didn’t know what was going on either. She had only seen the design drawings on Sophie Shaw’s desk. Although they were incomplete, they were incredibly similar to Wynn Jade Jewelry’s new products.
"President Shaw, could the designs have been leaked?"
"That’s unlikely. The designs are locked in the cabinet at night. During the day, you and I are the only ones who have been in and out of this office. No one else has seen them."
Hannah Sutton’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly tried to clear her name, "President Shaw, it wasn’t me."
"I know it wasn’t you."
"Then the Kane Group’s new products..."
"It probably wasn’t a leak of the design drawings."
Sophie Shaw thought of another possibility—she had been deceived.
Deceived by her own father, Joseph Shaw.
Back then, she had left her mother’s drafts on her desk to dry. Joseph Shaw had told her the cleaning lady had thrown them out, thinking they were scrap paper. She had believed him at the time.
’He must have lied to me.’
She told Hannah Sutton to get back to work, then picked up the phone on her desk and dialed Joseph Shaw’s number.
He picked up almost immediately.
"Sophie, you’ve finally remembered your old father?"
"What’s going on with the new products from the Kane Group?"
"What new products?"
"Don’t play dumb. That entire jewelry collection is clearly an enhanced version based on my mother’s drafts."
Just enhanced, without a single bit of innovation. It was a complete copy.
Joseph Shaw was silent for a long time. He hadn’t expected Sophie Shaw to see through it at a glance.
Sophie Shaw had seen Mina Ford’s sketches before. He had been worried that Sophie would remember them and, after getting back the Heart of the Ocean, use the designs herself. That’s why he worked overtime, having his designers perfect Mina Ford’s drafts to quickly produce a complete set of jewelry samples.
After getting Bianca Kane’s approval, he had eagerly invited Wynn Jade Jewelry’s spokesperson, Vianne Kane, to shoot a commercial for the new products, launching a massive promotional campaign, all to get ahead of her.
"Sophie, surely you also want your mother’s leftover drafts to become red-hot bestsellers, don’t you?"
"I do, but why did you have to lie to me?"
"Because I am Mina Ford’s husband, the first-in-line heir. If her drafts are considered part of her estate, then I have the right to inherit them."
"I’m an heir, too."
"But you were too slow, Sophie. You already have the Heart of the Ocean. Why didn’t you act faster?"
