Chapter 96: Chapter 91: I Copied It

Leigh Miles cried out and hurried after them.

Alvin Morgan’s brow furrowed slightly, and he glanced at Dean Morgan.

He immediately went after them.

The area on and off the stage was in chaos. The venue’s bodyguards surrounded Stella Sinclair to check on her.

Hailey Gordon was in a complete panic, able to do nothing but clutch Stella Sinclair and sob.

“Everyone back away! Clear a path and let the doctor through—”

Because the Morgans had been invited, the venue had not only the Morgan family guards and personnel from the Martial Affairs Bureau, but also a physician from the Warner Family to ensure nothing went wrong.

Aurora Sinclair, who was stuck on the outskirts of the crowd, started to follow the physician forward but was stopped as Dean Morgan and Leigh Miles each grabbed one of her arms.

“The Young Lord wants you to go back…”

“Senior Sister, she’ll be fine. Let’s hurry back…”

With a puzzled look, Aurora Sinclair glanced back at the awards stage before Leigh Miles and Dean Morgan escorted her back to the private room.

Master Sinclair watched Aurora Sinclair return and sighed silently.

’The palm and the back of the hand are both made of flesh.’

Alvin Morgan sat by the window and beckoned to her, his face expressionless. “Aurora, come here…”

Aurora Sinclair walked over slowly, a look of confusion on her face. Once she was near, Alvin Morgan suddenly closed his eyes, feigning discomfort. “Aurora, I have a bit of a headache. Can you massage my temples?”

Everyone: “…”

***

Thirty minutes later, Stella Sinclair slowly regained consciousness.

Hailey Gordon immediately clutched her hand, her eyes red-rimmed, and asked, “Stella, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Stella Sinclair stared at her blankly as tears streamed from her eyes. Biting her lip hard, she remained silent.

Hailey Gordon grew frightened and anxiously asked the physician, who was packing his things nearby. He just scolded her. “It’s nothing, just low blood sugar. Make sure she eats properly when she gets home. These young ladies from the Great Families… they’ll risk their lives for beauty. How can you, as her mother, be so careless?”

Hailey Gordon’s face burned with embarrassment. She and Sue Quinn had indeed been helping Stella diet so she would make a splash on stage.

Just then, an unfamiliar male voice sounded from nearby. “Miss Sinclair, Mr. Guthrie requests your presence—”

The color instantly drained from Hailey Gordon’s face. She hugged Stella Sinclair, her own body trembling slightly.

Stella Sinclair seemed to finally snap back to reality. She patted Hailey Gordon’s arm and sat up.

“Stella, you can’t go…”

Stella Sinclair ignored her, pushing her weak body up to slowly get to her feet.

Her face was ashen, utterly drained of color, and she swayed unsteadily on her feet.

Tanner Sinclair, who was standing nearby, steadied her. Bending down slightly, he said in a low voice, “Up you go. I’ll carry you.”

This time, Hailey Gordon and Stella Sinclair weren’t stopped and were led directly to the second floor.

Hailey Gordon schooled her features, not daring to look around, doing her best to fade into the background. Seeing this, Janet Sinclair scoffed and turned away from her.

’Pathetic people have their hateful side.’

***

Bracing themselves, Stella Sinclair and Hailey Gordon walked into the Guthrie Family’s private room.

A row of influential figures from the calligraphy world sat inside, with Zane Guthrie in the center. Every one of them had a severe expression and a piercing gaze that made the two women’s scalps prickle and their hearts pound with fear.

Zane Guthrie was the first to speak. “Where did you get this painting?”

Stella Sinclair trembled, tears welling in her eyes. She hung her head, not daring to speak.

The judges beside him had lost all face today, and they glared at her as if they wanted to eat her alive. One of them, a man who despised wrongdoing, stated bluntly, “Someone of such poor character should be expelled. Why are we wasting our breath on her?”

Hailey Gordon looked up, her expression one of disbelief, and a defense came tumbling out of her mouth. “You say we plagiarized? Do you have any proof? My Stella has been studying traditional painting since she was in elementary school. When she painted *Child Feeding Chickens Painting* all those years ago, no one ever showed up accusing her of plagiarism. Why today, all of a sudden? Without concrete evidence, we refuse to admit it…”

One of the judges immediately retorted, “A young lady from one of the Great Families of Kingsford, how could she possibly paint country chickens so vividly? How do you explain that?”

“Stella has loved Master Flora Guthrie’s work since she was a child, especially her paintings of chickens. Stella has copied almost every single one. She could paint them with her eyes closed…”

Hope rekindled in Stella Sinclair’s eyes. ’Only I know where the original painting is. As long as there’s no irrefutable evidence, not even Master Flora Guthrie herself can convict me.’

Seeing that they were still stubbornly unrepentant, Zane Guthrie turned to Jensen Guthrie. “Tell Young Lord Morgan that I agree to a direct confrontation.”

The moment Hailey Gordon heard this, her legs went soft, and she nearly collapsed to the floor.

She immediately looked to Stella Sinclair, searching for some strength, but Stella’s face was frighteningly pale and her eyes were filled with terror.

Although Alvin Morgan was usually low-key, his formidable reputation was known to all in Kingsford, as his intellect was just as exceptional as his looks.

According to rumor, his IQ was as high as 200. He often helped the Martial Affairs Bureau solve its most difficult cases, and once he intervened, no criminal ever got away.

“N-no… you don’t have to… I copied it…”

Zane Guthrie suppressed the towering rage in his chest and demanded harshly, “Was the *Child Feeding Chickens Painting* plagiarized?”

He, Zane Guthrie, had never been so humiliated in his life. He’d lost all face, inside and out.

Stella Sinclair bit her lip, a sound as faint as a mosquito’s buzz escaping her throat. “Yes…”

“How did you get the original painting?”

“…I found it…”

Zane Guthrie resisted the urge to grab the cup off the table and throw it at her.

’Found it? How come *he* never found anything like that?’

“Are you still not going to tell the truth? Do you want to be blacklisted from this field?”

Terrified, Stella Sinclair shook her head repeatedly. With tears in her eyes, she said, “I really… did find it… at my grandfather’s house…”

Haltingly, Stella Sinclair explained in detail how she had found the painting years ago and submitted a copy to the competition, leaving everyone in the room completely speechless.

Stella Sinclair had indeed found the painting at the Sinclair Estate. She had originally wanted to take it home to study, but when no one in the Sinclair Family knew its origins, she claimed it as her own as if possessed.

On a daily basis, she would copy the painting to improve her own skills in traditional art.

She never expected that before the exhibition, Sue Quinn would mistakenly submit the wrong piece of art—her copy of the *Child Feeding Chickens Painting*.

By a strange twist of fate, her copy won first prize in the exhibition. She received high praise from the instructors at the Calligraphy Association and was hailed as one of Kingsford’s famous “talented young ladies.”

At first, Stella Sinclair was also afraid the original artist would come forward to assert their rights. For this reason, she had kept a very low profile over the years, not daring to bring out the painting or copy any other works in that style.

It wasn’t until she joined the Calligraphy Association and Zane Guthrie repeatedly—both directly and indirectly—encouraged her to create more works like her winning piece that she felt immense pressure and made an impulsive mistake.

“Master, I really didn’t mean to enter the competition with a copy back then. It was our housekeeper who grabbed the wrong painting…” Stella Sinclair explained with a look of regret, appearing deeply wronged.

Zane Guthrie gave her a long, complicated look before saying gravely, “Stella, the first time might have been an unintentional mistake. But what about this time?”

Stella Sinclair was at a loss for words. She lowered her head and whispered, “I didn’t want to disappoint you…”

Seeing Zane Guthrie begin to soften, a nearby judge’s gaze sharpened, and he spoke harshly. “Whatever the reason, the fact remains that you plagiarized someone else’s work. This demands severe punishment! Mr. Guthrie, all of Stella Sinclair’s awards must be revoked, and she herself must be expelled!”

“I agree. This incident is extremely serious! Our guests are all prominent people. If we don’t give them an explanation, our association’s reputation will be destroyed!”

Zane Guthrie was in a difficult position.

Stella Sinclair’s painting skills were top-notch among members of her cohort. It seemed a pity to expel her.

Seeing his continued silence, their expressions darkened. Someone reminded him, “Mr. Guthrie, think about the painting’s origin…”

Zane Guthrie’s eyes narrowed. He looked at Stella Sinclair and asked, “Do you know who painted the original?”

Stella Sinclair’s eyes flickered, but she said nothing.

Looks of scorn slowly appeared in the eyes of the other judges. “Mr. Guthrie…”

Zane Guthrie continued, “This painting was done by your sister, Aurora Sinclair, five years ago. It was a birthday gift for your grandfather.”

“Impossible!” Hailey Gordon was the first to object, her face a mask of disbelief. “That… Aurora Sinclair grew up in the mountains. How could she possibly know how to do traditional painting?”

A judge immediately shot back, “Why can’t someone from the mountains know how to paint? Master Flora Guthrie has lived in the wilderness for years, and her paintings of chickens are legendary for their lifelike quality. As her apprentice, how could Aurora Sinclair not know how to paint?”

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