The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Aaron was perplexed by Sophia's reaction: "Obviously, someone sent it to me. Why are you asking?"

Sophia didn't answer him. She just gave him the stare-down, "Who told you this was the design for the Frost family's holiday

resort?"

Aaron felt a bit queasy hearing that: "What are you implying? That I'm not capable of getting the Frost family's designs?"

Sophia realized that rational communication with Aaron was futile.

She gave him a sharp glance. "Right, and where did you find this counterfeit design? It can't possibly be the Frost family's design."

"How could it not be? Mr. Gellar sent it to me, and he would never foolwith a fake."

Aaron insisted, now defensively agitated, "I've been involved in this project for ages; do you think | don't know it when | see it? You

don't know anything and you're deciding it's a fake? Do you think you're the only one with any sense?"

Sophia remained unaffected by his rage, simply replying with a calm demeanor, "You might consider someone a buddy, but it

doesn’t mean they regard you as a friend. Given the Frost family's background, how could such critical design plans be handed

around so casually?"

"Mr. Frost trusted Mr. Gellar to take on the build since they were tight. Naturally, he got an early peek at the blueprints to lend a

hand, what's casual about that?" Aaron snorted coldly at Sophia, "For someone who studied design, you sure haven't seen much of

the world. The project's been filed and recorded officially, it's a done deal. The groundwork is just a matter of time, why worry

about plans getting snatched?"

Sophia shot him a look: "I see."

She said her goodbyes to Aaron, picked up Theresa, and walked away.

"That's it? You're leaving?" Aaron was dumbfounded.

After going back and forth without getting a clear stance from her, he felt a surge of urgency and quickly followed her out.

"Can't you at least givea clear answer?"

"I can’t help you," Sophia refused decisively. "If you're capable, go bid on it yourself. Nobody owes you that favor."

After saying this, Sophia carried Theresa downstairs and hailed a taxi.

Once inside, Sophia still felt heavy-hearted, her mind swarming with the design on Aaron's phone and his adamant claim that they

were the Frost family's resort plans.

She couldn't be sure if the Frost family had used her design plans.

Aaron's words were never reliable; it was hard to discern the truth from the fabrication with him.

It was also easy for him to be deceived by those he considered more competent, accepting their words as the ultimate truth. She

couldn’t rule out the possibility that Aaron had been misled.

But the question remained—how on earth did her design plans end up with Aaron?

It was highly improbable that her computer had been tampered with.

The design was only on her computer in her small two-bedroom studio; she hadn't used the company's computers for it, nor had

she saved it elsewhere.

Only Brandon had used her personal computer, but he wouldn't take her designs to dress up someone else's project, even if it was

Yolanda.

Brandon had his professional integrity.

She had sent the design to Don, but that was based on trust in his character. Don wouldn't have shared them without consent.

The only other possibility was the design Theresa had accidentally misplaced that one time.

Sophia wasn't entirely sure that the design Theresa lost was the one for the holiday resort.

It had been a few busy days without tto tidy her desk, and besides the resort plans, there were other sketches she hadn't paid

much attention to. She didn't remember them all that well, but the resort project was dear to her and stood out in her memory,

since it was designed with such passion and was the only one she had printed. It made an impression on her when she couldn't

find it.

Whether the design was misplaced by Theresa, or it was carried away by a gust a wind to scorner, Sophia couldn't say.

She hadn't searched the entire room thoroughly; she had not looked under the sofa or behind the fridge where things could hide,

or it might have been windblown into the trash and mistakenly thrown away by Grace.

With her mind set on taking Theresa away, she didn't bother looking. And by the tthe departure fell through, and Louis had

confirmed the design, she saw no need to find it.

What Sophia hadn't anticipated was for this issue to resurface after so long, and now her design was possibly claimed by someone

else.

The thought weighed heavy on Sophia's heart.

Theresa, sensing something from Sophia's grim expression, asked uneasily, "Mommy, Uncle's picture, is it your drawing?"

Sophia looked at her, lifted her up, and spoke softly, "Mommy is not sure."

She then gently probed, "Theresa, is the picture you lost last time—was it on Uncle's phone?"

Theresa thought hard and nodded, but she seemed unsure.

"It seems to be."

She admitted, but her young age was reflected in the vagueness of her memory.

Sophia smiled at her: "It's okay."

She didn't want to make Theresa feel anxious by pressing further.

When they got home, after giving Theresa a bath and tucking her into bed, Sophia went to her stunext door and moved all the

big items like the sofa and fridge, searching thoroughly but finding no trace of the lost design.

Feeling uneasy, the following workday Sophia decided to go to the security room and see if she could check the footage, citing the

loss of an item.

However, the security guard hesitated; after the last incident with the missing footage, Brandon had laid down the law: without his

written permission, no one was permitted access to the surveillance room.

"You'll need Mr. Crawley's written permission to access the surveillance," the guard explained apologetically to Sophia.

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