The Indifferent Ex-Husband Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate

Sophia gave the guard a puzzled look: "When did the company have that rule?"

"Just at the end of last month," the security guard replied, " It was a direct order from Mr. Crawley."

Sophia's confusion deepened. She couldn't fathom why checking the surveillance would necessitate such a serious rule.

She thanked the security guard and headed back to her office.

Don happened to cout of his office and saw Sophia walking in with a serious expression. He called out to her, "What's wrong?"

Sophia shook her head slightly: "It's nothing."

She started to walk past Don but then stopped midway.

Turning to Don, she looked hesitant: "Mr. Dempsey, | need to check the surveillance footage for something, but the guard said |

need written permission from Brandon, and he's out of town on a business trip right now. Could you maybe have a word with the

guard and lethave a look?"

Don found it strange: "Why don't you just give Brandon a call? If he gives the word over the phone, which guard would dare to stop

you?"

A touch of embarrassment colored Sophia's face. "I don't want him to know."

If Brandon found out she was going to check the surveillance, he would watch it too. She didn't want to expose Daniel's disdainful

way of treating Theresa in the footage.

Sophia didn't want to cause any rift between father and son or put him in a difficult position.

Don gave her a curious look but didn't pry further, simply nodding agreeably: "Okay."

He accompanied Sophia back to the surveillance room, and in front of the guard, he called Brandon to say he needed to check the

company surveillance for something and to ask the guard to let them in.

"Let them in," Brandon told the guard over the phone.

The guard immediately complied, allowing them into the surveillance room but didn't venture far, keeping a vigilant eye on them.

Sophia went straight to the footage from noon on the 17th of last month. The video only showed Theresa carrying her bottle bag

and walking into the lobby with Grace. There was no sign of the design drawings.

When Sophia tried to scroll further, she discovered that the footage from noon to afternoon had been deleted.

Sophia was stunned and instinctively looked at Don.

Don also found it odd and took over the mouse to scroll through the video again, confirming that the footage was indeed gone.

"Why is this footage missing?"

The squestion was asked again.

This time, the on-duty guard wasn't the sas last tand didn't know the specifics. But he did know that they had tightened

security on who could enter the surveillance room because of this incident, so he answered honestly: "We're not sure of the details.

But Mr. Crawley had ordered stricter surveillance access because of this matter. "

Did Brandon also know about the deleted surveillance?

Confusion swept through Sophia's mind. She thanked the guard and had no choice but to return to the office with Don.

"What exactly are you looking for?" Don couldn't help but ask.

"It's nothing important. Theresa said she lost a design of mine; | wanted to see if it was left at the office," Sophia didn't hide it from

him and spoke softly.

Don's expression immediately turned serious when he heard about the missing design: "Is it an important one?"

Sophia shook her head: "Not really. It's just a personal creative spur of the moment—not a client's project."

Thinking for a moment, Sophia then asked hesitantly, "Mr. Dempsey, | heard that the resort project Mr. Frost cfor last tis

about to start construction. Have you seen what it looks like?"

"lI haven't paid attention to it," Don confessed, "It wasn’t designed by our team, so | haven't discussed it with Martin. But I've heard

that Louis is very pleased with the chosen design, and they're hurrying to get construction started. The bidding process is starting

in a few days."

Sophia nodded.

Don looked at her, puzzled: "Why are you suddenly asking about this?"

It was tough for Sophia to divulge her suspicion that the Frost family project might have used her stolen design. Accusations of

plagiarism were serious, especially without evidence—false accusations could be seen as slanderous and motivated by jealousy.

She just smiled and shook her head: "Just out of curiosity."

Don understood her.

He had seen the designs she had made for Renata Frost, and it was clear that they were heartfelt. It was just unfortunate that the

Frost family had finalized another design before hers could be presented, making her work essentially a competitor. It was natural

for her to be curious about the design that had won them over.

He was too curious, and a bit regretful that Sophia's design hadn't made it out there.

It would have been stunning if it had been built.

"The Frost family is hosting the bidding meeting at their estate in a couple of days; how about you cwithto take a look?"

Don invited Sophia with a smile, "| am guessing that Martin will showcase the design renderings to the guests then."

Sophia was surprised: "Can | even get in without an invitation?"

Don laughed: "You know my relationship with Martin. Getting you an invitation is a piece of cake."

"Then I'll be troubling you, Mr. Dempsey," Sophia said gratefully.

Don laughed: "There's no need for that."