CHAPTER 511: TIME TRAVEL?

Grandma Morris grew even more smug. And why shouldn’t she?

Hannah’s smile was graceful and composed. "You flatter me."

"No, no, no," Anthony replied, "it’s Turner Group’s honor to work with you. Let’s make this official—my name is Anthony from Turner Group, the lead on our side for this collaboration. Welcome aboard."

Anthony shook Hannah’s hand—then, in front of everyone, called out another name:

"Mrs. Victoria."

The room fell into a strange, heavy silence.

Most people didn’t quite process it at first—wasn’t the designer supposed to be Hannah? Why would Anthony address her as Victoria?

But Joe and Grandma Morris’s expressions changed instantly.

Grandma Morris’s smile nearly cracked. She thought to herself that Selina must have stirred up trouble and somehow tipped the Turner family off—but outwardly, she didn’t dare show the slightest impatience. Forcing a smile, she said, "Secretary Turner, you... you must be mistaken. This is my daughter-in-law Hannah, not Victoria."

Damn it—Victoria’s been dead for years, so why is she still the first name people associate with the Morris family? Victoria wasn’t even married to Joe, so how could she be considered their daughter-in-law? It was all Joe’s fault—still hopelessly hung up on that dead woman.

Anthony pulled back his hand, his smile gone, his face blank. "Hannah? I was under the impression that Chairman Morris’s wife was Mrs. Victoria. At least, that’s what your Morris family has always claimed, isn’t it?"

"T-this is Joe’s second wife..." Grandma Morris rushed to explain. "But, but these are her designs. They have nothing to do with Victoria."

"Oh?" Anthony’s eyes swept over them, his gaze sharp as a blade. Then, in a sudden shift, he raised his voice, the disdain in his tone impossible to miss:

"Old Mrs. Morris, I can understand the Morris family wanting to claim the credit—but these designs clearly belong to Mrs. Victoria. How did they suddenly become Hannah’s? Do you really take the Turner family for fools, that we’d be tricked by such cheap tactics?!"

The room went dead quiet.

Grandma Morris’s heart lurched. She didn’t understand why Anthony had suddenly turned hostile and wanted to explain—

But Anthony cut her off. "I get it now. The Turner family must think—Victoria’s dead, so giving her the credit would be a waste. Better to do someone a favor and hand Victoria’s designs to Hannah. The Morris family gets the deal, Hannah gets the glory, and everyone walks away happy!"

Hannah’s face drained of color. "Mr. Turner, please don’t—"

"Old Mrs. Morris, Joe, I’ll ask you one more time—who is the real author of these designs?!" Anthony didn’t even look at Hannah, his voice sharp and commanding.

The reporters and guests exchanged baffled glances. Turner Group wouldn’t move forward with a partnership without doing their homework—they had to know who the real designer was.

And now, seeing Anthony this angry... Could it be that the designs really weren’t Hannah’s?

Then people began to remember what Selina had said earlier—The designs belong to my mother. Hannah stole them.

If that were true, then everything suddenly made sense.

Anthony let out a cold snort. "It seems the Morris family has no intention of cooperating in good faith. Show them out."

Grandma Morris snapped back to her senses, panic flashing in her eyes. "N-no, please, Secretary Turner—we are acting in good faith!"

"Good faith?" Anthony sneered. "You can’t even state the designer’s real name. You tried to pass off an imposter to deceive us—and you have the gall to call that good faith?"

"Th-this..." Grandma Morris was spinning in circles with desperation.

"Mr. Turner." Hannah’s gentle, intellectual voice rang out. She stepped forward with perfect poise and decorum. Just from her appearance, no one would suspect she was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Hannah spoke softly. "The designer of these sketches is me, not my sister Victoria. I don’t know what rumors you might have heard, but Joe, Madam Morris, and even Victoria’s daughter Angela all support me. Would they all lie to you together?"

Angela immediately caught on and chimed in, her tone delicate and frail. "Mr. Turner, you’ve really misunderstood! Did Selina say something unpleasant that made you think otherwise? I’m also my mother’s daughter, and I can say with full responsibility that the author of these designs is not my mother, but Aunt Hill."

"Would I ever, for the sake of my stepmother, let someone slander my own mother’s reputation? The truth is simply that I can’t lie about this matter."

Anthony’s lips curved into a knowing smile. "I did indeed hear about this from someone—specifically, that the author of the designs was Mrs. Victoria. But since the Morris family insists otherwise..."

"Was it Selina who told you?" Grandma Morris cut in quickly. "Secretary Turner, you mustn’t listen to Selina’s nonsense—she’s just jealous of our Morris family—"

"It was me!"

A cold female voice suddenly interrupted her, and Grandma Morris’s throat caught. She turned, ready to lash out—who dared speak to her like that?

But when she saw who it was, her body trembled, and she stayed silent for a long moment.

The newcomer was the current head of the Turner family, Chairman of Turner Group, accompanied by the chairman’s wife—renowned designer Mrs. Linda Perez.

Linda was a towering figure in the jewelry design world, known by nearly everyone in the industry. She looked down at them with a cold smirk. "Yes, I said it. What’s the matter, Old Mrs. Morris? Do you have a problem with that?"

Grandma Morris immediately shrank back. "Mrs. Turner, what... what do you mean? These... these are clearly Hannah’s designs, you..."

"Hannah?" Linda’s tone was laced with disdain. "Never heard of her. Victoria may be gone, but that doesn’t mean she has no living friends or family in this world. And since when does any stray cat or dog have the gall to pose as a fake in her place?"

Hannah’s face drained of all color, her body shaking violently.

She was Victoria’s fake? She wasn’t, she wasn’t!

Angela gritted her teeth. "Mrs. Turner, you’re going too far..."

"And since when was it your turn to speak while I’m talking?!"

Angela was startled. "I... I’m Victoria’s daughter..."

Linda didn’t even glance at her. Her voice was firm and commanding. "Enough. Old Mrs. Morris, whether we move forward with this partnership or not is another matter—but what’s with your Morris family taking Victoria’s designs and giving them to someone else? Let me be direct: I want all fifty of Victoria’s designs that are still in the Morris family’s possession brought out immediately so we can verify them one by one!"

"Old Mrs. Morris, don’t you dare claim those designs are Hannah’s without proof. The Morris family has no evidence, but I do. I was Victoria’s senior in school—she created those designs right under my nose, and I still have the original video footage."

"Victoria completed them twenty-two years ago; Mrs. Hill’s supposed timeline is twenty years ago."

"So unless you’re about to tell me Victoria traveled two years back in time to plagiarize Mrs. Hill, don’t even try it."