At Pink Beach, everyone was staring with sinking hearts at Freya, who had been “exposed” and left “speechless.”
It turned out that Freya, who had always appeared cold but easy to have a good relationship with, had indeed plagiarized Riley, the one who was always so arrogant!
Some were disappointed, some gleeful in a sinister way, and some remained indifferent, simply watching the drama unfold.
Freya pursed her lips and remained silent.
Eric and the judge discussed in low voices before turning back to address the crowd.
“After a serious discussion, the following decision has been made…”
Freya closed her eyes and sighed with disappointment, preparing to speak up.
“Wait a minute!” a voice rang out from the crowd.
Freya turned her head and saw Leah attempting to walk out of the crowd, but she was firmly. pulled back by Helga’s assistant.
“Miss Kaufmann did not plagiarize; it was Riley who copied her formula!” Leah loudly shouted.
The assistant was so anxious that she wished she could cover Leah’s mouth, but Eric’s face. turned solemn. “Let her speak!”
Helga turned around and glared at Leah, but now was not the time to teach this ignorant and poor cousin a lesson.
“Director, Mr. Warren, this is my cousin.”
Helga walked over with a smile, approached Leah, and held her arm, secretly pinching her
hard.
“This cousin of mine and I have never had a good relationship. She has always been close to Freya. Her words cannot be trusted, so it’s better not to listen to her.”
Helga finished speaking and smiled at Leah. “Leah, you’re still young. It’s normal to misjudge people, but you must not go astray and provide false testimony for others.”
“I didn’t provide false testimony for anyone. Miss Kaufmann is a good person.”
1/4
For the first time in her life, Leah broke free from Helga’s grip and walked forward with big strides.
“It was me. I gave Riley Freya’s formula!”
Riley frowned, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes. “You’re talking nonsense! You’re just slandering me because you’re close to Freya!”
Eric looked at Leah. He remembered her. Her fragrance was good, and she seemed honest, but she did have a close relationship with Freya.
“Do you have any evidence?” he asked.
Freya breathed a sigh of relief. From the moment Leah left her room yesterday and the discovery that the ingredient list had disappeared, she had already guessed what would. happen that day.
She did have evidence, but she wanted to wait for Leah to speak up first, to give her one last chance, and Leah seized it.
Freya looked up at the director, about to speak up with her evidence.
“I have it!” Leah suddenly exclaimed.
Freya was taken aback and looked at Leah. “Do you have evidence?”
“Yes!” Leah’s eyes turned red as she took out her phone from her pocket. “When my cousin. Helga and Riley approached me to do things for them, I recorded them.”
Helga and Riley looked at Leah in shock.
How was this possible?
Helga looked at the phone in Leah’s hand, and her heart raced even faster!
If Leah had really recorded their previous conversation, her future would have been completely ruined!
Leah used to be her timid cousin, who never dared to say much. Why would she suddenly
do this?
Leah never used to resist her!
Helga anxiously spoke up. “Leah, think about how I treated you before! I supported your education and even brought you into the fragrance industry! I paid for your mother’s medical expenses. Now, you’re slandering me and Miss Freeman for the sake of an outsider?”
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2/4
Freya coldly looked at Helga. While Helga’s words sounded like she was being wronged, anyone with a bit of intelligence could tell that it was a threat!
“I’ll cover the medical expenses. Leah, show us your evidence.”
Leah gritted her teeth and suddenly turned to look at Helga, her eyes filled with resentment.
“You financially supported me just so I can work for you. When I was your assistant under your brand, I even wrote several formulas, but you took them and either used them as favors or put your own name on them. You never truly treated me as a cousin!
“You only wanted to use me, and while using me, you constantly belittled me, telling me that the perfumes I designed were worthless. Without you, I wouldn’t even have enough to eat, right?”
Leah’s words silenced the entire room.
“It seems like, if Helga really treated her well, how could she not even have an assistant for this competition?”
“After all, they’re actual cousins. Helga is quite ruthless.”
Leah had already handed her phone to Eric.
“There are three recordings here. The first one was when they first approached me and asked for my help. They wanted me to search Freya’s room for clues to prove that there was something fishy about her first top-50 qualifying match. I didn’t agree to it, so they sent Riley’s assistant instead.
“The second recording is about this time. They found me and asked me to steal Miss Kaufmann’s recipe for this competition.”
Leah took a deep breath. “I know they won’t admit it, so I decided to play along to see what would happen. I agreed and stole Miss Kaufmann’s formula, then handed it over to Miss. Freeman. I wanted to see what she would do. The last recording is of Helga and Riley insulting Miss Kaufmann in their usual manner. I didn’t even record the worst things they
said.”
To establish one’s sinister side, the truth had to be first established.
Freya’s eyes welled up with tears. She had thought that she was giving Leah a chance, but she didn’t expect that Leah would steal the formula just to help her retaliate against Riley and Helga.
“If I didn’t do this, they would definitely cover their crime up like they did the first time, saying there was no evidence.”
3/4
Leah bit her lip. “I know what I did goes against the rules of the competition, so whether they make me withdraw or never allow me to participate in the competition again, I am willing to accept it.”
Freya stepped forward. “Mr. Warren, Leah had acted under duress!”
“Let’s listen to the recordings first before making a decision,” Eric said with a complicated expression.
The recordings were quickly played.
Indeed, as Leah said, Riley’s voice sounded extremely sinister and aggressive in the recordings.
“Please assist me in searching Freya’s room. It is highly unlikely that she can make it into the top 50! She must be relying on the Kaufmann family or someone within the organizing committee who has been bribed by them!”
“The Marshall family could also be a potential culprit!”
The words from the recording played one by one, causing Riley to feel as if she might faint.
She tightly clenched her jaw and forced herself to remain upright.
Helga approached Riley and spoke in a lowered voice. “Don’t worry, you still have the undeniable evidence in the photo album, right? Leah is unaware of that. You just need to hold on!”
