"This is slander. 'Aurum' was purely your creation, and I was there from the very first sketch," William said sharply, throwing the court summons onto the studio table.

Evelyn stared at the official letter from the law firm representing Clarissa. Her hands trembled, but her gaze remained focused.

"Clarissa’s accusing me of stealing the design from Hartford’s system while I was still the creative director…" she said quietly.

William gripped the edge of the table.

"When in fact, she’s the one who stole the blueprint from your laptop. We both know that."

"The problem is," Evelyn replied softly, "she has system access. We don’t."

---

Ever since news of the...