Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Isabella continued, pointing at the drafts, “You stole them. Just admit it. Since we’re family, I’ll let it slide p>

Ruby stepped closer, snatching the folder and scanning its contents.

The moment she saw the sketches, her face twisted with fury. “How could I have raised someone like you?” she said to Brenna. “You are such a disgrace p>

Brenna remained silent. Her blueprints had clear, unmistakable markings. The title, written in a foreign language, identified them as designs for nuclear-powered cargo ship components.

Didn’t any of them notice that?

Right there in the lower right corner, her personal anti-counterfeit signature gleamed—proof that no one could claim her work as their own.

Brenna faced Alec and Ruby. “You both know what I’m capable of,” she stated, her voice steady. “A decade ago, you were running a small auto parts factory, barely making about five hundred thousand a year, living in a modest duplex. At that time, you saw my potential. That’s why you kept me from school and forced me to stay home and design advanced components for you p>

Brenna looked at the Barrett family with clear contempt, her expression calm as she revealed the truth to the surrounding guests. “For over a decade, this family has capitalized on my designs—transforming a modest auto parts business into a full-fledged car-manufacturing empire, even securing a public listing. But now that they’ve outgrown their need for me, they’re framing me for theft, all to protect their real daughter. How touching,” she said with a snort.

Alec’s face darkened with fury, his voice rising. “What kind of nonsense is this? You barely made it through grade school. How could you possibly understand mechanical design p>

Brenna held her designs up for the gathering guests to see. “Take a good look. This isn’t a blueprint for new energy auto parts. It’s an advanced cargo ship design. I have no reason to steal from anyone, least of all Isabella p>

𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘁: ⳑ𝗮𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝗍𝖊𝗅𝘀．𝖼𝗈𝗺

Now, the regret hit her hard. In the past, she had been too young to see through Alec’s schemes. She had been too trusting to realize why he had insisted on putting his name on her designs.

It was painfully clear now—Alec had been setting this up from the very beginning.

Brenna tapped a line of component names on the blueprint. “Read this carefully. It’s in Amland’s language, and it translates to ‘nuclear-powered cargo ship propulsion system p>

Tilting the paper slightly, she pointed to the faint watermark in the lower right corner, which shimmered under the shifting light. “This is my personal mark. You can compare it to Isabella’s so-called ‘designs.’ Her designs are garbage,” she said.

Just as she finished speaking, Sarah Moss, one of the servants, hesitantly stepped forward, holding an identical folder. “Miss Barrett… I thought these were trash, so I threw them in the trash can. These are your design drafts p>

Brenna let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “Did you hear that? Even Sarah recognized them as trash p>

Isabella’s face burned with humiliation. She shot Sarah a murderous glare before yanking the folder from her hands and flipping through it in a panic. Then, with a furious growl, she slammed it down. “These designs aren’t mine!” she exclaimed.

Sarah paled, stammering, “I-I didn’t mean to say they were trash! I just… mistakenly thought they were and threw them away…” She trailed off, glancing