The CEO’s Wife Was Never Just a Substitute のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 51 - チャプター 60

The screen lit up.“Lonely Me.”Gregory’s gaze settled on the image.The initial casualness quickly faded.He leaned forward slightly, setting his teacup aside, his eyes growing more intent.The dining table fell silent for a few seconds.“Good,” Gregory said softly.He then looked up at Lizzie, a clear spark lighting his eyes.“Good work.”He pointed to a section of the painting, his tone carrying a rare seriousness. “Your handling of light and shadow here is very fluid. Skill like this takes years of refinement. It’s not something someone your age would usually have.”Gregory added with a sigh of admiration, “Impressive. The younger generation is truly formidable.”Lizzie only replied softly, “Thank you, Mr. Grant.”She didn’t mention that this was a piece she had completed seven years ago. Compared to her current work, the technique back then had still been a little raw.Gregory turned to Noah across the table with a smile and handed him the phone. “Noah, take a look as well.”The m

Macy Saunders sat on the other side of the judges’ panel, her expression calm, as if none of this had anything to do with her.Yet just two days earlier, Yvonne had reached out to her.At first, Macy assumed Yvonne was asking her to go easy on someone. It wasn’t anything new to her.She hadn’t climbed her way up from nothing to this seat on the panel through talent alone. She understood favors, knew how to build connections, and how to work along the edges of the rules to secure resources for herself.But Yvonne already had a reputation in the industry. She was talented, and she was a Grant. She didn’t need any help to advance. That was what made her reaching out unexpected.It wasn’t until Yvonne revealed her real intention—that she wanted Macy to reject someone—that things became clear.“That’s not easy to pull off,” Macy had frowned at the time. “There are six judges in total. If the work is genuinely strong, I can’t just give it a low score—that would be too obvious. And I alone c

The intern’s brows knit tightly as she tried to recall. A few seconds later, something seemed to click and she suddenly looked up.“I remember! I wasn’t at my desk then.”“Why not?” George pressed.“Miss Saunders asked me to grab her a coffee,” the intern said quickly. “I’m new, so I didn’t feel like I could refuse. I just rushed downstairs.”There was only one “Miss Saunders.” It was Macy.George’s gaze sharpened. “Do you have any proof?”“Yes! I do!” The intern hurriedly pulled out her phone. “This is the order receipt. Look, the timestamp is 3:10 p.m.”By now, George was already convinced.Just then, the technician seemed to think of something and asked, “Before you left, did you lock your computer? Log out of your account?”The intern’s face went even paler.She hesitated, then said quietly, “I… I don’t really remember. Probably not.”She had always been careless, treating things like locking her screen as trivial. Now that it had caused trouble like this, she regretted it deeply.

The call ended.The second update to the list quickly stirred up a wave online.[The list was already announced. How can they change it?][Who is this Lizzie Lee?][If the committee made an exception, she must have serious backing, right?]Some people also noticed the disciplinary outcome.[Another intern taking the fall? What did interns ever do to deserve this?]The direction of public opinion quickly shifted toward accusations that Lizzie had used connections to get ahead. Naturally, there were people deliberately fanning the flames behind the scenes.Just as the discussion reached its peak, the official account of the National Art Competition directly posted an image.Lizzie’s submission—“Lonely Me.”The original high-resolution version.The moment the image appeared, the comment section fell silent for a second.Then, the shift was immediate and visible.[Don’t really understand art, but this looks insanely good.][I—I’m an art student! Honestly, this is better than my professor’

[If either party fails to appear, the court will proceed directly to a divorce ruling.]Almost at the same time, Lizzie received the same notice.In the end, Nathan still reached out to the head lawyer of Hall Enterprise’s legal team, Daniel Cooke.When they met, his first instruction was clear. “This matter stays confidential.”Daniel was known in the industry for his discretion. He nodded, his tone immediately turning serious. “Understood.”It involved the marriage of the Hall family’s heir—no matter what, he wouldn’t dare let a word slip. Besides, confidentiality was a lawyer’s most basic professional duty.“Keep it from my mother and grandmother for now as well.”“Understood, Mr. Hall.”Nathan then forwarded Lizzie’s divorce agreement to him.Daniel read through it quickly.Division of assets, statements of fault, evidence list.He skimmed through the key clauses with precision. In less than a few minutes, he closed the file and looked up at Nathan.“Mr. Hall, your wife’s document