Holly Sinclair roared.

"AH!"

Vivian Linton hadn’t expected Holly Sinclair to return. Caught completely off guard, she was so startled that the object in her hand clattered to the floor.

She reacted quickly, nudging it under the table with the tip of her foot.

"Holly..."

Vivian Linton turned, forcing a stiff smile as she struggled to appear calm.

"What are you doing?" Holly stormed in, her fierce gaze looking as if it could swallow Vivian whole.

"I... I wasn’t doing anything..."

Caught red-handed, Vivian Linton couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. She swallowed quietly, her nervousness making her stammer.

SLAP!

Holly Sinclair slapped her across the face.

"AHH!"

Vivian Linton stumbled from the blow, her stomach slamming into the corner of the table. A sharp pain shot through her, and she broke out in a cold sweat.

"Holly Sinclair, you bi—" Humiliated and furious, Vivian Linton raised her hand to strike back.

But Holly Sinclair grabbed her wrist and demanded harshly, "I’ll ask you one more time. What did you do to the qipao?!"

"I didn’t do anything!"

Enraged, Vivian Linton stubbornly denied it.

Holly Sinclair glanced under the table.

She had seen Vivian’s furtive little kick from before.

When Vivian Linton saw her looking, she panicked and instinctively shifted her body to block Holly’s view.

Holly walked over and roughly pulled her aside.

Vivian Linton stumbled back. By the time she steadied herself enough to try and stop her, Holly had already picked up the object from under the table.

It was a lily, blooming in vibrant splendor.

Holly looked closer and saw that its pollen was gone.

She quickly looked at the bag holding the qipao.

Sure enough, faint yellow specks of pollen still dusted the bag...

’Vivian Linton had sprinkled pollen all over the qipao!’

’And Evelyn Morgan was allergic to pollen!’

’A severe one, at that.’

Holly was shocked and furious.

’To frame her, Vivian Linton was willing to risk someone’s life.’

’And if anything happened to Evelyn Morgan, she, the qipao’s designer, would be the first to be blamed.’

’Vivian Linton’s heart was truly venomous!’

Suddenly—

"What are you doing?"

A sharp rebuke cut through the air, the cold tone dripping with haughty arrogance.

Both Holly Sinclair and Vivian Linton turned their heads.

A young woman with an extraordinary aura entered, carrying herself like a queen.

It was none other than Miss Morgan—Evelyn Morgan.

"Miss Morgan..."

The color drained from Vivian Linton’s face, and she involuntarily took a step back.

’She had long heard that this Miss Morgan was ostentatious, domineering, and utterly ruthless. Anyone who offended her would be skinned alive, if they were lucky enough to escape death.’

At the same time, Evelyn Morgan also spotted the lily in Holly’s hand.

She flew into a rage. "Do you have a death wish? Don’t you know I’m allergic to pollen? How dare you bring flowers in here!"

"She brought the flower, not me."

Holly quickly tossed the flower into the trash can, then jerked her chin toward Vivian Linton as she stated the truth.

Her expression was composed, showing not a trace of panic or guilt.

"You’re lying!"

Without a second thought, Vivian Linton flatly denied it. "Miss Morgan, I didn’t do it! She’s framing me..."

Evelyn Morgan paid Vivian Linton no mind.

Because the moment she got a clear look at Holly’s face, she froze.

’Renee White?’

’No!’

’Renee White should be in her forties by now. She can’t possibly be this young!’

"Who are you?"

Evelyn Morgan blurted out, a strange sense of unease creeping into her heart.

"I’m Holly Sinclair from SH Studio," Holly replied, her tone perfectly level.

’The name had nothing to do with the one in her memory. Evelyn Morgan decided she was overthinking things.’

"So you’re Holly Sinclair?"

Returning to her usual self, Evelyn Morgan raised an eyebrow and looked her up and down with an intensely critical gaze before demanding in a cold, imperious tone, "Where’s the qipao?"

Evelyn Morgan was quite fond of Holly’s designs.

But right now, she thoroughly disliked Holly Sinclair as a person!

As Evelyn Morgan asked, her gaze naturally fell upon the bag on the table.

She reached for it.

After a long and careful selection process, this qipao was the one she was most satisfied with.

She was planning to make a dazzling entrance at the banquet later, and this was the qipao she was going to wear.

But before she could touch it, Holly snatched the bag away.

"I’m sorry, Miss Morgan, but I can’t give you the qipao today," Holly said.

"What did you say?" Evelyn Morgan’s eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing within them.

She was clearly furious.

’My hair and makeup are already done!’

’If I don’t get the qipao, how am I supposed to make my dazzling entrance tonight?’

’And if I don’t make a dazzling entrance, how am I supposed to seduce the man I have my heart set on?’

"Someone has maliciously sprinkled pollen on the qipao," Holly said. "Miss Morgan, please give me a little time. I promise I’ll sort this out as quickly as possible."

"Who? Who would dare sprinkle pollen on my qipao?"

Hearing this, Evelyn Morgan was incandescent with rage. Her vicious gaze swept over everyone in the room.

The others didn’t dare to breathe, terrified of displeasing Miss Morgan.

"It was her!"

"It was her!"

Only Holly Sinclair and Vivian Linton spoke, pointing at each other and shouting in unison.

’Vivian Linton felt she had no choice. She couldn’t afford to offend Miss Morgan; admitting guilt would be a death sentence.’

’Evelyn Morgan was arrogant, domineering, and unreasonable. If she got on her bad side, Vivian feared even Tristan wouldn’t be able to protect her.’

’So, her only choice was to deny everything to the bitter end.’

Holly watched Vivian coldly, her expression icy as Vivian twisted right and wrong.

’This was Vivian’s usual trick. Holly was long past the point of being surprised by it.’

"Miss Morgan, it was her! You saw it yourself just now—the flower was in her hand..." Desperate to protect herself, Vivian Linton frantically tried to smear Holly’s name.

Evelyn Morgan raised an eyebrow, a sinister smile playing on her lips.

Suddenly, she was in no hurry to assign blame. She crossed her arms, eyeing Vivian Linton and Holly Sinclair.

She looked as if she were settling in to watch a good show.

"Hah."

Holly let out a sneer, her gaze as cold as ice. "Vivian Linton, did you leave your brain at home today? I’m the one who made this qipao. If I wanted to tamper with it, would I really do it here? Besides, Miss Morgan is my most important client. What good would it do me to ruin the qipao and offend her?"

"Maybe you thought you were being clever, assuming Miss Morgan would like a floral scent on her clothes, so you sprinkled pollen on it."

"Hah."

Hearing Vivian Linton’s twisted logic, Holly couldn’t help but let out another cold laugh.

Her eyes were filled with scorn.

"What are you laughing at?!" Vivian Linton snapped, her face flushing with humiliation and anger.

"Vivian Linton, understanding a client’s preferences and things to avoid is part of a designer’s basic professional conduct. Do you really think I wouldn’t know that Miss Morgan is allergic to pollen?"

"..." Vivian Linton was speechless, her face turning deathly pale.

Just then, a tall, imposing figure walked in through the door.

"Tristan!"

Seeing Tristan Sterling, Vivian Linton looked as though she’d seen her savior and immediately rushed toward him.

Her eyes were red with unshed tears, and she put on a pitiful, deeply wronged expression.

Holly sneered silently.

Evelyn Morgan’s expression, however, turned icy.

Vivian Linton cried, "Tristan, you have to help me! Holly’s framing me again..."

"Is that so?"

Tristan Sterling’s tone was chilling.

"Tr-Tristan..."

Sensing something was wrong with his tone, Vivian Linton looked up in astonishment.

Seeing the frosty expression on his face, she was so stunned that she forgot to cry.