Mrs Hale, I Surrender
Chapter 360 - 359 Plagiarism? Junior President Payne questions, demanding an explanation from Finn Hale

Chapter 360: 359 Plagiarism? Junior President Payne questions, demanding an explanation from Finn Hale

The Purple Gold Cup architectural design competition and judging event began promptly at seven o’clock.

After the host warmed up the audience, the chairman of the Architectural Association delivered a speech that lasted for over twenty minutes, while Michale Shaw yawned incessantly. In this season, a warm breeze could make one so comfortable that sleep seemed inevitable.

Wyatt Hale caught a glimpse of William out of the corner of his eye, his brow furrowed...

The kid was actually using his phone to study.

"When did I not notice how studious you were?"

"Finals are right after New Year’s Day; it’s crunch time."

"Did you fail any subjects last semester?"

"I did not! You think I’m like you? I heard you often failed classes when you were studying."

"..."

Michale Shaw hummed lightly; he was never one for studying, and yawned again, "Speaking of which, you’re prepping for exams and still have the nerve to be here? Little Wyatt, be honest with me, is there something I don’t know about?"

This kid loved a commotion.

He wouldn’t show up without a good reason.

"You guess." Wyatt Hale’s smile was begging for a smack.

"I’ll give you two hundred."

Little Wyatt’s face darkened.

Two hundred? What, is he charity?

"Two-fifty?"

You’re the two-fifty!

Little Wyatt frowned: "Bro, is your company going bankrupt or something?"

This time, it was Michale Shaw’s turn to look annoyed.

At this moment, the speech came to an end. After another performance, the competition rankings were announced one by one. To keep the suspense, the higher ranks were announced later. Sussie Lopez had no entry in the competition and was entirely preoccupied with how she was going to come clean to her senior brother.

Wyatt noticed that Declan Saunders sitting next to him looked especially serious.

"Brother Saunders, don’t be nervous, even Mr. Hale praised your design this time; your chances of winning should be pretty high."

Declan Saunders laughed wryly.

He did not expect Finn Hale to attend personally.

Fear, anxiety, and unease.

"And everyone from work is saying in the group chat, if you win and get the prize money, remember to treat us to a meal." Sussie Lopez looked at her phone, where her colleagues naturally all hoped Declan Saunders would win an award.

Declan Saunders’s face stiffened: "Of course."

He swallowed nervously, "Lopez, has Mr. Hale given you any trouble?"

"What?"

Sussie Lopez was somewhat stunned by his abrupt question.

"Oh, it’s just that, Junior President Payne and Mr. Hale are arch-enemies, right? I was worried he might give you a hard time."

"Not at all."

If he were to give her a hard time...

Sussie Lopez glanced at the spot where Finn Hale’s assistant should’ve been.

It was now completely empty.

The things he had told her previously, for some reason, stuck in her mind.

Having heard what Sussie Lopez said, Declan Saunders’s heart eased slightly. He glanced seemingly unintentionally at Finn Hale not far away, certain that the staff at M & R had taken notice of Lopez’s published work.

In the past, when faced with plagiarism, M & R always acted swiftly.

But this time, they remained still. It seemed his guess was correct:

To Finn Hale, Sussie Lopez was someone special.

Special enough that even plagiarism was not pursued.

As a creator, plagiarism was absolutely intolerable.

—

The judging had been going on for nearly an hour when they were finally about to announce the best design of the year. To build suspense, the organizers posted three works on the big screen and declared that the best design was among these.

Zoe found it very boring and glanced at William Hale by her side.

"Let’s leave early."

"What’s the hurry?"

"It’s dull."

"The exciting part is about to start." William Hale squeezed her hand.

Zoe looked at the big screen.

Declan Saunders’s work was among them.

Tim Payne gave the big screen just a brief glance before his brows tightened.

This...

His face turned utterly dark.

And, sure enough, the host, loving to stir things up, specifically asked, "We are honored to have Junior President Payne from Payne Jewelry here today. I wonder, from his perspective, which design work he prefers?"

Tim Payne wasn’t in this field; he could have just mentioned any design casually, but as he stared at the screen, he fell into a long silence.

The host was left somewhat embarrassed.

"It seems that Junior President Payne is so engrossed that he finds it difficult to choose," the host said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

Sussie Lopez also felt it was strange.

Tim Payne was not an architectural designer. Whose work he favored wouldn’t directly affect the competition results, but a design he took notice of could still ride on this hype for promotion, even if it didn’t win an award.

Everyone thought that given his friendship with Sussie Lopez, he would definitely show some courtesy to Northern Architecture Studio.

But...

He just couldn’t make up his mind.

He even glanced at Finn Hale beside him.

Choosing a design that caught his eye shouldn’t have been a big deal, and the crowd had no idea what Junior President Payne was struggling with, including Zoe Payne who frowned:

Her brother’s behavior was abnormal.

To save face, the host could only smile and say, "Perhaps all the works are so excellent that Junior President Payne really cannot decide. Each of the three designs has its own unique characteristics, especially Northern Architecture’s entry this time—it has an impressive air of grandeur. I believe Junior President Payne thinks the same, doesn’t he?"

He specifically mentioned Northern Architecture, thinking that Tim Payne would certainly follow along considering Sussie Lopez’s face.

He just needed to nod or smile, and they could move past this segment...

But,

He refused.

The atmosphere chilled once more.

"What’s going on? Junior President Payne looks odd."

"It seems he’s quite fond of his junior sister, so why won’t he even show this bit of courtesy?"

"Could it be that the designer has offended him?"

...

Everyone’s gaze suddenly centered on Declan Saunders, who was already as nervous as a cat on hot bricks, sweating profusely on his back.

He had always been worried that Finn Hale would suddenly come forward, but he never expected that the first to unsettle him would be Tim Payne. His hands, resting on his knees, instinctively clenched, although he had to maintain his composure on the surface.

He couldn’t afford to lose his composure.

If his face fell, his whole persona would collapse.

The host was extremely embarrassed; he had cued Tim Payne at the organizer’s suggestion, never imagining it would come to this. Just as he was about to skip this part, Tim Payne suddenly spoke up.

"The work of Northern Architecture, it’s designed by you, right?" he asked, pointing directly at Declan Saunders.

He nodded immediately.

"How long did you spend on the design?"

"A few months," Declan Saunders replied, not daring to say that he had copied it and completed the draft in just a couple of days.

"When was the final deadline for submission?"

"Just a few days before the competition."

"So, what you are saying is that this design went from its initial concept, first draft, to repeated revisions, and was finalized a few days ago, right?" Tim Payne inquired.

Declan Saunders didn’t understand the implication and could only nod in agreement.

"By that account, the design should not have been leaked before it was submitted, right?"

Declan Saunders’s breathing grew tense.

He looked at this Junior President Payne who was just as renowned as Finn Hale.

His expression was cold, and he naturally exuded a strong sense of distance. The defiance and loftiness that surrounded him were fully evident as his gaze lifted.

Unreadable, unfathomable—Declan Saunders dared not answer.

"What’s the matter? Is my question making it difficult for you?"

Tim Payne saw his discomfort but continued to press him.

Sussie Lopez began to doubt.

Her brother was always a man of dignity; why would he suddenly make things difficult for his own colleague?

Tonight, many experts and big shots from the industry were present. Declan Saunders knew he couldn’t show weakness. Yet, Tim Payne chuckled lowly: "This design only bears your name, it seems to be your independent work, and probably hasn’t gone through a second person’s hands."

"Not at all!" Declan Saunders remained outwardly composed, but inwardly he was roiling like the tide.

"There might be something, everyone here knows, that my family’s old mansion has been undergoing renovation recently."

"I entrusted that project to Finn Hale."

Tim Payne changed the subject abruptly, leaving everyone baffled.

Finn Hale, however, remained unperturbed.

"None of you here are familiar with me, so you haven’t been to my house and don’t know that there’s a private museum at the back of our old mansion. We started renovation work there several months ago..."

Museum?

Upon hearing these three words, Declan Saunders’s face turned instantly pale.

And the following words Tim Payne spoke caused an uproar in the hall because he said:

"What I’m curious about is why your design bears so many similarities to the drafts Finn Hale gave me several months ago!"

"If you can’t explain this to me, then I can only..."

"Ask Finn Hale for an explanation!"

Tim Payne casually dropped these sentences and relaxed into his chair with ease, appearing nonchalant, yet stirring up a commotion in the room.

Plagiarism, theft!

These are the most despised acts in the entire design circle.