جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 240

The Riverrun Studio signing ceremony took place aboard a luxury cruise ship on the Riverrun River. The water shimmered beneath the morning sun, reflecting the city skyline that stretched along both banks.By 9:30 a.m., nearly an hour before the ceremony was scheduled to begin, industry insiders and media representatives had already gathered in small groups, speaking quietly among themselves."Riverrun keeps a low profile, but their output is incredible, and the quality of their work is the best in the industry right now.""And that designer named Zephyr... Her work stands in a league of its own. All three firms signing today came specifically because of her. I wonder if the rest of us will ever get the chance.""Nobody seems to know whether Zephyr is a man or a woman. They say they'll finally make a public appearance today. I've been looking forward to this.""I've seen their blueprints. The ideas behind them are genuinely extraordinary. Every design breaks new ground and takes pe

The words fell into the room like a stop sign, and every voice died at once. The air turned heavy. Even the sound of breathing seemed unnaturally loud.Lucille's face darkened. Her knuckles whitened around the stem of her glass.Otto had been tapping his fingers idly against his glass. They stopped. He looked at Gideon, and not a trace of warmth remained in his eyes.Gideon drained the remaining wine from Lucille's glass in a single swallow, refilled it for himself, and turned to face the room. "Thank you all for recognizing my wife's talent. She deserves every word of your praise. Allow me to drink to each of you on her behalf."He emptied his glass again.The alcohol took hold, and whatever restraint he had left dissolved. Something close to frenzy seized him. A reckless, almost manic urge to put on a show.He reached out, pulled Lucille against him in full view of everyone, and arranged his face into a self-satisfied smile. "My wife's achievements bring me nothing but pride. I

After the signing ceremony, Lucille became as tightly wound as a drawn bowstring. She threw herself into her work with everything she had.Design was like writing. It demanded complete mental focus. There was no room for distraction.The only reason Lucille could devote herself so completely was that Joanne kept everything at home running smoothly.She wanted to justify the trust Otto had placed in her with real, measurable results.…One evening, the office lights burned bright and cold. Her colleagues had trickled out one by one, yet Lucille remained at her desk, completely absorbed in her work.Otto rapped the edge of her desk twice with two long fingers."Lucy, take a break. No overtime tonight." He paused, and a hint of warmth softened his voice. "Come on. I'll take you somewhere for a proper dinner. We can stop by the baby store while we're out."Lucille looked up slowly, her eyes still unfocused after staring at blueprints for so long. "Oh? Why all of a sudden..."Otto

It was Rayne.She and Michelle had planned to spend the day shopping at the mall, and by chance, she saw Lucille and Otto walk into a baby store.As though drawn by an invisible force, she abandoned Michelle without a word and followed them inside. Pretending to browse the baby clothes, she listened carefully to every word they exchanged.Something flared inside her as she watched Otto fuss over Lucille with such deliberate care before buying an expensive gift for Lucille's daughter without the slightest hesitation.Jealousy consumed her until she barely recognized herself.The Riverrun signing ceremony had dominated the news just a few days earlier. Photos of Lucille and Otto standing side by side had topped every major headline and covered the front pages.Seeing them everywhere had already filled Rayne with enough rage to make her want to scream. That anger was the reason she had dragged Michelle out shopping in the first place.She had hoped a day of shopping therapy would d

Rayne and Michelle relentlessly whipped the group into a frenzy. Elaine and Wendy quickly joined in. Yet the person at the center of it all remained silent from beginning to end.When they finally realized Gideon still wasn't going to act, the group chat gradually fell quiet.Michelle was livid. She dragged Rayne to a coffee shop, ordered the largest iced latte on the menu, and drank it in long, forceful gulps, trying to cool the anger burning inside her.Rayne's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Michelle, we've tried everything, and Giddy still protects them. At this point, I think we have to take the risk."We need to get a DNA sample from the child and run the test ourselves. If we have hard proof that the girl belongs to someone else, Lucille and Otto are finished."Michelle straightened immediately. "You're right. Why didn't I think of that?"Rayne nodded, a hard glint settling in her eyes. "She's getting closer and closer to Otto. He's making her famous, buying her cars, and giv