Eliza stared at the painting in front of her.

No matter how she looked at it, it was exactly the same as hers.

The only difference was that this one was placed in a fancy frame. It looked very grand as if it was well preserved.

The signature on the painting was a name that she had never seen before, but the date was exactly half a year earlier than hers.

How could it be possible? Her inspiration for this painting came from that sea of flowers.

Half a year ago, the flowers had not even bloomed!

Also, where did this painting that was identical to hers even come from?

Eliza tried to think hard, but she could not figure out what was wrong or how it even happened.

In everyone's eyes, Eliza was now guilty.

The hall became noisy once more.

As Eliza listened to the people's relentless scoldings, her face turned as paler than a sheet of paper.

At this moment, the manager, who had been standing by at the side, started to speak.

"Eliza, what's wrong with you? How could you submit plagiarized work! You've dragged the company through the mud! The evidence is in front of you. Now, apologize to them quickly!"

Mr. Kidd tidied up his clothes triumphantly as if he was royalty and waited for her to kneel before him and apologize.

Seeing this situation, before Eliza could say anything, Lina immediately stood up for her.

"Ms. Stone is not that kind of person. We have worked together for a long time, and I know her well!"

Upon hearing that, Mr. Kidd showed a gloomy look.

"Oh, so it seems that you are her accomplice!"

Lina was so angry that she wanted to argue with him.

"You!"

However, Eliza pulled her back.

"Don't be impulsive, he is here for me. Don't get yourself into trouble."

Eliza whispered in her ear softly.

"But what should we do now?" Lina knew Eliza's character well. She was very worried about her.

Eliza felt that there was something strange about all this. It was obvious that someone was deliberately trying to frame her, but how did that person get her work?

Before she could even think of an explanation, Mr. Kidd spoke.

"Come on, Ms. Stone. The evidence has been revealed. Aren't you going to admit it? As long as you kneel, apologize to me, and swear that such a thing will never happen again, we'll settle it privately. Otherwise, I will have to report it to the police and have you prosecuted. A serious offense can result in imprisonment! Think about that!"

Eliza was now in a dilemma. She would never admit to something she didn't do. The whole thing was strange, but she just couldn't replace figure out what went wrong!

Lina secretly tugged on her hand and said, "Eliza, is there anyone in your family who has a strong background? I think that someone deliberately wants to make trouble for you. If there is, let him come forward so that we can suppress this matter first."

Lina was younger than Eliza, and she entered the company a little later than her.

Someone with a strong background...

In terms of power, there was no one else who could be compared to Tanner. The Deleon family was like royalty in San Francisco.

However, she quarreled with him the night before. Should she call him...

Seeing how much of a dilemma she was in, Lina quickly tugged at her!

"Eliza, these people did not come with good intentions. They are not going to let this end so easily. If this matter is spread out, you will be known as a plagiarizer. After that, your future will be ruined!" Seeing how anxious Lina was for her, Eliza felt grateful. Lina was the only person who trusted her.

"Thank you for trusting me." Eliza tried hard to force a smile.

\"What are you talking about, Eliza? We have been together for so long. I know that you won't do something like that... Oh, you should hurry up and call someone!"

Under Lina's encouragement, Eliza dialed Tanner's number.

"Hello, the number you have called is unreachable. Please try again later..."

She listened to the mechanical female voice from the other end of the phone, and her heart sank little by little.

It was almost 12:50 p.m. He should be working in the company now. Why was he not answering her call...

At that moment, Tanner was about to reach the foot of the mountain. At that moment, his satellite phone rang once more.

"President, we have found out who is the person behind it. It's Michael. What do you think we should do now?"

"Don't do anything for now. Send me Eliza's address. We need to solve the problem on her side first."

"Yes."

Tanner fastened his pace. He could already see the car that was parked by the side of the road.

As soon as Tanner sat down, the driver could feel the temperature in the car instantly dropping by more than ten degrees. The coldness exuding from the president's body made him tremble. He threw his phone to the driver and said in a cold voice,

"Get to this address, quickly."

"Yes." The driver dared not delay, he immediately started the car.

Michael was a bold man. Back then, he was bold enough to kidnap her. Tanner did not finish him off. He only gave him a little bit of warning.

However, if he dared lay another finger on her, then Tanner would not be polite to him any longer.

On the other hand, Eliza's situation was quite sticky.

If she refused to apologize, then that man would call the police. Judging by the current situation, she would be taken away directly. By that time, she would either have to face a fine or risk going to jail. Now, she only had two options. One was to apologize and admit that she had plagiarized the work. The other was for her to replace evidence to prove that the work in Mr. Kidd's hands was fake!

However, how was she supposed to prove herself like this? Even if she knew that this whole situation was weird, she could not replace the evidence to back her up!

She was facing a dead end. In any case, Eliza would be labeled as a plagiarizer from now on!

Seeing how she was not taking any action, the man could not stand it anymore. He could not wait any longer. Otherwise, the situation would change!

"If you don't apologize or kneel, I will call the police!" He threatened.

"I bought her work."

The crowd was still discussing the matter. However, just as they were accusing her, a different male voice could be heard.

A tall and straight figure came out of the crowd, he was dressed in a suit and tie, and he looked graceful. His temperament could not be covered up at all.

Eliza had some doubts as she did not know that man at all.

Who was he? Why was he helping her?

Mr. Kidd was thinking about the same question too.

"Who are you? Don't you know that this painting is plagiarized work?" Mr. Kidd looked at the person who had walked out, and his eyes were gloomy.

"You don't need to know who I am. All you need to know is that there will always be someone who can see the truth."

Upon hearing the words of that man, Mr. Kidd frowned.

"What do you mean by that?"

The man did not pay any attention to him.

"First of all, it should be known that when it comes to clothing design, the concept of plagiarism does not exist." "There are only copies, references, and borrowing. All of these should be explained by the original designers."

When he talked about copying, he intentionally looked at the painting that Mr. Kid brought out.

Mr. Kidd looked at him unhappily. This matter should have been flawless...

"The painting Mr. Kidd brought is obviously a copy."

In the next moment, the man's words reverberated like thunder in the hall.

The onlookers did not say anything anymore. Their mentality had probably changed by this spectator who did not have anything to do with it. They had gone from investors to spectators.

Mr. Kidd could no longer remain calm. "Don't talk nonsense. What evidence do you have!"

The man spoke slowly, "Anyone experienced in evaluating art can tell. There are traces of modification in her design, but yours has none."

It was true. When he inspected the painting Mr. Kidd brought, no changes had ever been made there. It was just that Eliza was too shocked, which was why she did not notice it.

"How can this be seen as proof? Perhaps she's just not skilled enough, which is why she drew it wrongly herself!"

"That's right, there are indeed some places which are not done that well. Compared to her, yours is a lot better."

"But..."

The man deliberately paused for a moment, then he strode towards Mr. Kidd.

As he walked up to him, he grabbed the pen that was in his pocket.

"What's this?" The man asked.

Mr. Kidd looked at it, his face pale.

"It is just an ordinary pen. Give it back."

Mr. Kidd secretly cursed. He thought that the investors of such a small company were blind and that they would not care about such things.

"Is that so? Why does it look like... there is a hidden camera here?"

"What do you think the police will replace out if we hand this item over to them for investigation?"

The man's voice was warm and gentle. He was even smiling warmly when he spoke.

"What are you talking about? I don't understand! Give it back to me!"

Mr. Kidd was anxious now. He wanted to snatch it back. However, the other man was a lot taller than him, and he could not reach it no matter how he tried.

The scene was very funny. Everyone had their hands covering their faces, trying to suppress their laughter. Eliza was no exception.

At this moment, the man spoke once more.

"Mr. Kidd, don't blame me for not reminding you that you can be sentenced to three years for slander."

Mr. Kidd was so anxious that he was sweating, but he still refused to admit that this was a premeditated trap.

"Are you not going to admit it? Otherwise, why did you frame your painting up in an old frame? If you take the painting out from the frame, it would be brand new, right?"

At this point, the clues which Eliza could not grasp a moment ago became clear.

It was true that this was just a design drawing, not a world-famous painting. Why should the other party frame it?

Now that the matter was almost cleared up, the onlookers all showed disdainful expressions. There were even younger people who directly grabbed Mr. Kidd and said that they would beat him up, and then they walked out.

The man turned around slightly. He remembered some of the people who scolded Eliza. Those people were probably on the same side...

Whatever! He was not curious about this situation, nor did he want to know what would happen at the end of it.

The manager was trying to smooth over the situation. He had already wasted a lot of time by coming over, and he was ready to leave.

Eliza watched from the side, she was thinking about how to thank the man. When she saw him turning around to leave, she quickly followed him.

She followed him all the way out of the hall. But before she could think about a way to stop him, he turned around first.

They looked at each other and paused awkwardly.

Eliza spoke first, "Thank you for your help just now!"

"It's nothing," The man said.

He looked good when he smiled. How should she describe it? It was a signature smile...

"This may be nothing for you, but my future was on the line. Well... If you don't mind, I want to invite you to dinner to express my appreciation."

"I still have something urgent to do, so I might not have time." His expressions were calm as if he was not trying to escape from her.

"Then... Is it convenient for you to leave your contact number? I don't mean anything else. I just want to treat you to dinner to thank you for helping me." Seeing her clear eyes, the man thought for a while. After that, he took out a business card and handed it to her.

"This is my business card. Don't lose it," The man said.

Eliza reached out and accepted it.

"By the way, I haven't asked yet. What's your name?" He looked at her.

"Eliza Stone," she replied.

What an interesting name...

"I still have something else to do, so I will be leaving first." He nodded politely, and he did not stay any longer.

Eliza looked down at the business card in her hand. The design of the business card was simple and elegant with no unnecessary frills on it.

The man's name was Nicholas Abbott.

On the side of the road, a Lincoln limousine quietly left.

Tanner had just rushed over from the mountains. He arrived just in time to witness the scene between Eliza and the mysterious man.☐☐☐☐☐

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