She had expected Lorie to pull a stunt like this, though she hadn't thought she would be so direct, so desperate. Alexander glanced at Lorie, his voice cold and steady. “Where’s your proof?” “Proof? Of course I have proof!” Lorie brandished the USB drive triumphantly.
“This contains the bank transfer records of Danielle’s bribe to the judge, chat logs of her conspiring to frame Millie, and sworn testimony from a staff member at the competition. All the evidence is right here, and it proves that every word I’ve said is true.” With that, she moved to hand the drive to a staff member to project its contents onto the large screen.
Just then, Danielle slowly rose, her gaze calm as she looked at Lorie. A hint of faint mockery touched her voice. “Miss Gaylord, are you certain the evidence in your hand is authentic?” “Of course it’s real!” Lorie sneered. “This is irrefutable proof. There’s no room for you to argue.”
A technician took the drive and its contents flashed across the screen. The faked transfer records, the selectively edited chat logs, the testimony riddled with holes—it all appeared, igniting an uproar in the hall. The government officials frowned, the industry titans whispered among themselves, and all eyes turned to Danielle, filled with suspicion and inquiry.
But Danielle remained composed, waiting until the last piece of “evidence” had been displayed. Then, she stood, her gaze sweeping across the room, her voice quiet but every word ringing with force. “Miss Gaylord, your so-called irrefutable proof is full of holes.”
Lorie bit her lip, her composure shattering. Tears suddenly welled in her eyes and streamed down her face. “This is what someone told me,” she choked out. “I… I may have been deceived. If I’ve made a mistake, I will apologize, but I want to say one more thing—” She took a shaky breath. “Researchers should be completely without blemish. Danielle, have you forgotten?” Her voice rose, filled with a new, venomous accusation. “Alexander and I lost our child. I had a miscarriage because of you! So how do we settle that score?”
Her words dropped into the stunned silence like another thunderclap. Everyone froze, staring in disbelief from Lorie to Alexander and Danielle, waiting for an explanation that no one saw coming.

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