“Grandpa, what’s going on?” Iris frowned as she looked at Jorge, hoping to get some answers from him. But Jorge, too, was shaking his head, unable to understand what was going on. Be it, Winifred or Joseph, he understood them both well enough to know they would never be able to invite prominent business owners with their insignificant network. “Has Autumn Field perhaps given them money to have them fill up the scene? Right. That must be it. She had previously gotten a loan of one billion, which is enough for her to splurge.” Seeing as half the twenty tables were filled, Iris flared up in anger. She had no choice but to comfort herself with excuses. “Hmph! So what if a lot of people show up? If our Zea Group hosts a banquet, we can get many prominent business owners like this too.” Jackson, Lilian, and the others nodded. “You’re right, Iris. Our Zea Group can invite this level of guests as well. And we wouldn’t even need to spend any money.” “Heh!” Iris smirked. “Once Winifr
As they accompanied Drake and Donald into the banquet area, the initial twenty tables were now filled. The venue was joyous and lively. It did not look like a company’s opening ceremony. Instead, it looked more like a networking event hosted by a local celebrity. Those present were all famous and influential figures. Being surrounded by these prominent figures immediately made the Zea family members feel tiny. Even Jorge was feeling nervous on the inside. Iris was pale as a sheet. It was like a huge rock was pressing into her chest, making it hard for her to breathe. “Why… Why do Drake Tucker and all these people attend Autumn Field’s opening ceremony? Why do Winifred and her crew have such a huge network?” Iris inadvertently looked at the gift area again. Many of those gifts cost a fortune. If they were converted to cash, they were probably worth over millions. At that moment, the Zea family’s present, the large pendulum clock, was still placed at the most conspicuous locati
Ian was not joking. On the second day of Autumn Field’s operation, the Zea Group was investigated by multiple parties. Throughout the years, the Zea Group had committed multiple tax evasions. Together with other illegal activities, this cost the Zea Group a considerable loss. More than ten of the Zea Group’s top management were being investigated, and even Jackson and Lilian were detained for a few days. Finally, this disaster ended with the Zea Group being fined for three million dollars. The Zea Group was already in trouble because of the collaboration with the Smith Group. This investigation by the government officials was just one disaster on top of another! Although they had loaned twenty million from Golden Peony Bank, it was now clearly not enough. Inside the Zea mansion, everyone’s hearts fell into the deepest pits of their stomachs. Ever since Tyr married into the Zea family, they seemed to be facing bad luck one after another to the point of hitting rock bottom. “
To be frank, Tyr had initially wanted to use Zachery’s connections to help Winifred get a place. To him, it was only a matter of one command. But when he saw how serious and dedicated Winifred was in pouring all her experience into her design, Tyr changed his mind. He believed that with his wife’s attitude and professional skills, even if he did not do anything, she would be able to get a place in this competition. He even believed that Winifred could get first place! In contrast to Winifred’s enthusiasm, Iris was lazy beyond words. A few days ago, Iris still showed some interest. She would stay in the design department every day to develop a good design with the staff there. But after three days of vigor, Iris realized that designing a good piece was not as easy as she had thought. Be it her professionalism, imagination, or leadership skills to lead her design team, she was inferior to Winifred by a long mile. Iris Zea was no better than a freelance designer, much less a profess
There were no words to describe Winifred’s current feelings. It was like the energy in her body had been instantly sucked dry. Her mind was blank for a long while before she abruptly regained her senses. “Everyone, return to your positions.” At Winifred’s command, the other designers immediately returned to their posts. “President Zea, what are you trying to do?” Winifred answered, “We don’t have any time at all. But our Autumn Field Group will enter this competition no matter what. We’re coming up with a design in one hour!” The whole room fell silent. Everyone was looking at Winifred, feeling lost. To come up with a design in one hour was totally impossible. Even if they could do it, there would definitely be nothing remarkable. How could it get a place in the competition? “Just do as I say.” The more pressed for time they are, the more clear-headed Winifred felt. “Before this, I’ve designed many other works. I even have the base drafts. Now, we just have to complete
That afternoon, when Yara disappeared from the company, everyone could already guess. Winifred never thought that a naive university student like her would actually do something like this. The police had started their investigation, but Yara had fled the city. Even if they could get her back, everything was futile now. The matter had already happened, so Winifred no longer wanted to pursue it. To prevent Tyr and Helen from worrying, Winifred did not tell them about this incident. After submitting their design, what was left was to wait for news from the competition organizers. Although her masterpiece was gone, Winifred was still confident of her previous design. The fashion design competition was divided into three processes. The first process was for contestants to prepare their work and submit it during registration. This process was now complete. The second process was for the organizers to have the professional judges choose their top twenty designs. After that, the orga
She turned to Tyr and said with much difficulty, “Tyr, now that it’s come to this, I have to be honest with you. What we’ve designed previously is not the one we submitted for this competition.” “Why?” Tyr did not understand. “Because that design was stolen! This current design is a past work of mine that our team had spent around two hours to put together. It’s only a substitute!” Tyr looked shocked. He had never expected something like this to happen. “Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier? Did you catch the person who stole the design?” “It’s a university student in our design department. Although the investigation was done, the perpetrator was never caught.” Winifred sighed. “But what use will it be even if we catch her? The competition’s already over.” Tyr sighed as well. “It’s great that you can still get a place in this competition nonetheless.” By then, another two models had completed their walk, but their grades never exceeded Winifred’s. “Top three is sec
That moment, Iris had no doubt become the brightest star in the venue. The Zea family below the stage were thrilled. Even Jorge’s hands were trembling with excitement. “I never knew Iris could come up with such a masterpiece.” “Yeah! It’s too stunning. Iris is too awesome!” “First place! Iris’s design has gotten first place! That means our Zea Group will be heading toward success!” Lilian turned to look at Winifred contemptuously and mocked, “Iris was right. Previously, our Zea Group couldn’t grow our business because Winifred, your designs, were rubbish. Winifred Zea, you were the obstacle to our family’s road to success. Thankfully you’ve left our family now. Otherwise, our family would’ve been ruined by you.” It was hard to imagine that this was something an aunt would say to her niece. Iris had now assimilated Winifred’s relatives, and the whole family became as nasty as her. Winifred felt numb. She had never dreamed that Iris would be the one to steal her design. How c