From Ashes of Scandals to His Embrace novel Chapter 444

“If nothing unexpected happened, she probably found that sketch after moving into my room.”

Laurinda shrugged, a little helpless. Honestly, this whole thing felt like trouble that landed on her out of nowhere.

If Adolphus hadn’t ended up in a coma, Laurinda would have wanted to meet Magnolia. She was genuinely curious how Magnolia figured out she was the designer for Queen. The team at Queen was huge. What made Magnolia so sure she was the one?

“Did Henry ever ask her how she found out about me?” Laurinda shifted on the bench, turning her head toward York. There was a tiny smile in her eyes, but anyone who knew her could tell she wasn’t happy.

York sat down next to her, raising an eyebrow and grinning. “Actually, Henry did ask. Magnolia paid off the front desk to check who stayed in that room. None of the guests’ jobs matched up.”

Laurinda let out a cold laugh, picking up on what York meant. “She checked everyone’s background because she was worried about accidentally copying someone important in the industry. She never even considered me a threat.”

“Exactly.” York snapped his fingers, shooting her a look of approval. “You weren’t on her radar at all. She only started to panic after Queen dropped the new collection, then suddenly put two and two together and realized you might be the lead designer.”

“When people are desperate, they get creative for all the wrong reasons. She did her homework on you, knew your grades were terrible, knew you were the fake heiress the Austin family kicked out… thought she’d collected all your dirty secrets.”

“She wanted to strike first. The plan was, if you ever admitted the design was yours, she’d go public with your school records. People wouldn’t believe you, your reputation would be trashed, and with no powerful family behind you, she guessed Queen wouldn’t protect you.”

Laurinda couldn’t help but laugh. She honestly didn’t know if Magnolia was too smart or just too dumb. People always work the hardest when they’re up to no good, and in the end, she only managed to trap herself.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m okay. This acupuncture technique is draining, but it’s working. When I spoke to him, his finger moved. That’s a good sign. He’ll probably wake up soon.”

“You’ve done so much. Please rest. I’ll get you some water.” Laurinda quickly went into the room, poured him a glass of warm water, and handed it to him. Balaam took a few sips and let out a long sigh.

“Getting old, I guess. If I was ten years younger, this would be a walk in the park.”

After half an hour, Balaam’s breathing was steady and he looked much better. He wrote down a prescription and handed it to Sam, who had just come back.

“Go pick up the medicine, then take me home. Once I get it brewed, you can bring it back here.”