Chapter 681 Stolen Blueprints
After sending Kate and the others off, Tiffany tried her best to keep her anger suppressed as she reprimanded her brother, “Jayden, why did you borrow money from loan sharks? Don’t you know that they’re all heartless bloodsuckers?”
Jayden flashed her a guilty look as he explained, “Someone talked me into this, Tiff. They said I could earn millions if I got lucky! You may not know this, but my luck has been down in the dumps lately. I failed at starting a business, and I haven’t been able to close any deals as an insurance agent either.
That’s why I decided to try my hand at gambling instead. I was winning at first but somehow started losing after a while. Not wanting to give up so easily, I put all of my money into it and even borrowed some from the loan shark.”
“Are you stupid or what? How could you believe such ridiculous lies? Countless families have been destroyed because of gambling debts!” Tiffany yelled furiously in disbelief.
“Tiff, your brother only did it to help our family out! Your husband Derrick isn’t even complaining, so how about you stop scolding your brother?” Ophelia protested.
“The Hissons may be wealthy, but their money doesn’t grow on trees, and they aren’t obligated to settle Jayden’s debts either! Just so you know, a few million isn’t a small figure! They’re already looking down on me due to our family background, so you guys are only making things worse for me! Are you all trying to ruin my life?” Tiffany’s chest was heaving from anger as she said that. It was the first time she had gotten this mad.
I’ve been working my butt off all these years, but no one has ever thought to ask me if I’m doing all right! They only call me when they need money! What do they think I am, an ATM?
“Don’t be like that, Tiff. Your brother has learned his lesson, and he won’t do it again. We’ll take him home now to save you the eyesore, okay?” Ophelia said sarcastically.
Just like that, Tiffany’s family members took the next flight home after leaving that mess behind. Tiffany had thought that it was all over, but it turned out to be the beginning of her troubles.
Due to them being busy with their work, Tiffany and Derrick didn’t go on a honeymoon after their wedding. As the filming for the movie that Derrick invested in was about to start, they had no choice but to postpone their honeymoon. After all, it wouldn’t be easy for a publisher to do the work of a producer.
While Tiffany was busy with the script for the movie, her family members kept calling her to ask for money. They were practically treating her like an ATM after knowing that she married into a wealthy family, much to her chagrin.
Although she gave them the money as requested, their actions angered her so much that they messed up her creativity. In the end, she was completely stuck and couldn’t even write another word.
Noticing her frustration, Amelia brought her out on a date to help her relax. “Come on, talk to me. What’s going on?” she asked while handing her a drink.
“Oh, just my family is an absolute pain in the neck as usual. You know how it is. My mom is pretty much treating me like an ATM right now. As if calling me every few days asking for money wasn’t bad enough, she even called Derrick! She doesn’t care about my feelings at all!” Tiffany replied with a wry smile.
Amelia frowned and stirred her drink as she said, “I remember your mom being a reasonable and rational woman when we were young. She has never asked you for money when you started working out here, so why would she start now?”
Tiffany simply lowered her gaze and fiddled with her teaspoon in silence.
A greedy family is probably one of the worst fears a woman can face after marriage… They’d keep asking her for money regardless of whether her husband’s family is wealthy…
Amelia thought to herself with a sigh.
“Did your mother-in-law say anything about it?”
“She never liked me to begin with, so finding out about my failure of a family only worsens things even further!” Tiffany replied with a sullen look on her face, showing no sign of her usual high-spirited self whatsoever.
Instead of enjoying a sweet and happy life after marriage, all I’m feeling is mental and physical exhaustion. Knowing their ugly nature, I wouldn’t have invited them over to my wedding if I had a choice! Even if I did become a successful author, they’d still think of me as a mere white-collar worker!
“You need to bring back that positive energy you used to have, Tiff. When I was blind, you kept telling me to not give up. Right now, I’m returning those exact words to you. I believe this is all temporary, so you need to stop sulking and pull yourself together! Do it for Derrick too!” Amelia reminded her.
After taking a moment to regain her composure, Tiffany shrugged and said with a smile, “Don’t worry, Babe! I’m fine!”
Amelia took a sip of her drink. “I am glad to hear that, Tiff! Just talk to me if you ever need to get something off your chest, okay? Your brother may have gone a little too far this time, but he is still your family. You can’t possibly sit by and do nothing unless they’ve really crossed the line.”
Tiffany nodded.
Of course, I understand that perfectly well. It’s just that the way my family constantly asks me for money is really driving me up the wall! They’ve been doing it in the past, but not to this extent. They really showed their ugly side the moment they found out about me marrying into a wealthy family. Honestly, they never fail to test my patience…
“Babe, you know what? I suddenly get this feeling that your adoptive parents aren’t actually half as bad. They may have been cold to you, but at least they don’t screw you over like mine!”
Not wanting to comment on that statement, Amelia simply smiled at her in response.
Every family had its own fair share of problems, and things weren’t necessarily what they seemed.
Realizing she had misspoken, Tiffany was quick to apologize, “I didn’t mean it like that, Babe. I was just a little stressed out by my family’s shenanigans! Please don’t take it to heart, okay?”
“Don’t worry about it!” Amelia replied with a chuckle.
The two of them then chatted for a little while longer before returning to their respective homes.
While Amelia dove deep into her work, Tiffany tried her best to rid her mind of distractions and focused on writing the script. Fortunately, her family members had stopped calling her for some reason, much to her relief.
Right as everyone thought things were taking a turn for the better, news about Amelia plagiarizing someone else’s blueprints started spreading like wildfire on the internet.
Another blueprint that looked exactly the same was found online, and it was actually published before hers.
Amelia was flabbergasted to find out that someone had accused her of plagiarism. Her colleagues in the design department were equally shocked but didn’t dare say anything due to her status as Oscar’s wife. After all, the Clinton family wasn’t one that they could afford to mess with.
It wasn’t long before Amelia was summoned into Shane’s office.
“Have a seat, Amelia. I still have a document to take care of,” he said while pointing at the couch.
Amelia did as she was told, and Shane made his way over as soon as he was done with the document.
“Don’t worry, Amelia. I’ve already had someone take care of the plagiarism issue. Still, this incident did cause quite an uproar on the internet. Most of the companies that requested for your blueprints have all withdrawn from their contracts, so you may have to take a break for a while.”
Amelia groaned in frustration and said, “Shane, I have never plagiarized anyone’s work. I’m not entirely sure how the exact same blueprint was published before mine, but I believe someone might’ve stolen mine. I would like to investigate this matter personally.”
Shane flashed her a smile. “I do believe you, Amelia. I wouldn’t have summoned you to my office to reassure you if I didn’t. You are without a doubt an incredibly talented designer, but my faith in you isn’t enough to convince everyone else. While I will be investigating this matter myself, I have a feeling that Mr. Clinton won’t just sit by and ignore it either. If you are innocent, then it’s only a matter of time before the truth gets revealed.”
Amelia nodded.
“All right, you can either get back to work or take a few days off and rest at home.”
“Oh, I can work. I’ve done nothing wrong, so I have nothing to fear,” Amelia replied decisively while heading for the door.
“Do be more careful of your colleagues, Amelia. That person was able to steal your work so easily, so it is highly possible that the culprit is someone you trust a lot,” Shane reminded her.
Amelia paused briefly before replying, “Got it.”
Jolin, who had been waiting outside the door, quickly followed behind the moment Amelia left Shane’s office. “We will get to the bottom of this plagiarism issue, Mrs. Clinton. It was my mistake that led to your blueprint being stolen. For that, I am truly sorry.”
Amelia flashed her a smile in response. “This isn’t your fault, so don’t beat yourself up over it. I just got careless, that’s all.”
I thought I’d been careful enough to avoid conflicts at the workplace, but it looks like I was wrong. Sure, not everyone here likes me, but I don’t think I’ve offended anyone in particular either. Looks like people are a lot more complicated than I’d imagined. Maybe I’ve gotten soft and slow after being pampered for too long, so someone took advantage of that opportunity. They stole my favorite design and accused me of plagiarism, which is a great insult to a designer. It is basically saying I’ve lost my talent.
