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The person who caught her was none other than her partner and jewelry designer, Annette Jenning.
“It's me,” said Annette, putting down her hands.
Lacey Jones, the designer who had wanted to lay a finger on Natalie's and Lina's stuff, snorted. “What's the matter?
Are you going to report me?”
Smiling, Annette replied, “It looks like you admit to it. Don't worry. I'm not going to report you. We're partners, after
all. If I report you and you end up getting kicked out of the competition, I'll lose my partner and won't be able to
continue competing anyway. It won't do me any good to report you.”
“That what do you want?” Lacey pursed her lips.
She had already known that Annette would not report her, so she had breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it
was Annette who had caught her.
“I don't want anything. I'm just hoping that you'll include me in your plans,” said Annette.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtLacey was shocked. “You've lost it. Have you thought about the consequences? If I do it on my own and get caught,
you'll get off scot-free. At most, you won't be allowed to compete. But if we're both caught, you'll—”
“I know. I haven't lost it. I just want to stop Lina from advancing any further in this competition,” Annette
interrupted with a flash of hatred in her eyes.
Lacey looked at Annette curiously. “Do you have a beef with Natalie's partner?”
Annette balled her hands into fists and hissed through clenched teeth, “That wretched woman stole a large part of
my resources in a previous jewelry competition. The suppliers had approached me first. However, they changed
their mind after seeing her work and chose to work with her instead. It was utterly humiliating. How could I not hate
her after that?”
Lacey could empathize with Annette. “That does warrant a grudge.”
I'd feel the same way if someone snatched away my resources.
“But that's only one of the reasons why I hate her. The main reason is that she's an uncouth woman who doesn't
have the necessary understanding and respect for jewelry design. She should be content with getting into the finals.
How dare she even think of winning? She should know her place and not try to get her grubby hands on what's
ours,” Annette spat out, her face contorting with rage.
Lacey's eyes gleamed. “I can't believe that we're on the same page. That's what I think too! Natalie has no right to
come here to gain fame and glory, let alone stop us from winning.”
“That's why we should work together. Julian is an idiot for trying to do it all on her own. She's just presenting her
head on a silver platter,” Annette remarked in a voice dripping with disdain.
Lacey looked Annette in the eye and held out her hand. “Here's to a happy partnership.”
After exchanging smiles, one of them stood in front of the chair and blocked it from view while the other knelt
behind the chair and got to work.
Meanwhile, Natalie, Lina, and Sally sat on a couch in the room next door. All three of them were looking at a
computer screen with grave expressions.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmLacey and Annette's conversation, as well as their every action, was being recorded.
Unbeknownst to others, they had installed spy cameras in the dressing room the previous day.
After talking to Shane a few days ago, Natalie realized that there would surely still be some ill-intentioned people
who would not give up and try to sabotage her even though they had seen what had happened to unethical Julian.
Hence, she had gotten someone to install the spy cameras, then put on an act in the dressing room with Sally and
Lina before leaving.
The dress and jewelry she had deliberately left on the chair would serve as bait for those who wanted to ruin her
chances in the competition.
And voila, I was right! But I didn't expect that Lacey and Annette would be the ones who'd try to sabotage me.
“That's it. I can't bear to watch this any longer. I'm going to catch them red-handed right now!” An enraged Lina
rose to her feet and headed straight for the door.
Natalie called out, “There's no rush. The show is going to start soon. You'll only be wasting time if you go over there
now. Let's wait until after the show. Besides, we have the whole thing caught on camera. What's there to be afraid
of?”
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