Chapter 328

Author's POV Maya's office phone shrieked like a banshee just as she was reviewing the latest gemstone shipment samples. The moment she heard her assistant's panicked words about Elegant Realm terminating their contract, her blood pressure went through the stratosphere. "What? Because of a plagiarism accusation from three fucking years ago?" Maya gripped the edge of her desk, knuckles going bone white. "Not just pulling the plug on the contract, but threatening to drag us to court for fraud?" Rage and disbelief duked it out in her chest. The plagiarism scandal had been Serena's nightmare three years ago—before her disappearance. LUXE had managed to bury most of the fallout publicly, but within the industry, the rumors had spread like a cancer. Time was supposed to heal all wounds, yet this particular accusation seemed burned into their reputation like a brand. Now even international jewelry studios were digging it up like fresh gossip. "How can they just bail without even talking to us