Mona''s fingers gently ran through Maxwell''s hair as she said, "So spill it! I''m all ears."


    Maxwell nodded and rested his chin against her neck. "Well, Mona, Richard has given Carter Group to Gordon


    He skipped calling him grandpa because he was done with the whole Carter family scene. Honestly, all he needed was Mona and their future kids, and that was more than enough. Mona understood. Beforeing over, she had heard from Nigel and couldn''t shake the thought that her giarism usation might have yed a role. A little guilt crept in.


    "Hey, don''t sweat it. You still have Clem Group, and that''s all yours! I''m here for you, no matter what," she reassured him.


    my


    "I know, I''ve cut ties with the Carter family and sold my shares in the Carter Group. From now on, they''re out of my life. I should''ve told you earlier, and I''m sorry!" Maxwell said, pulling her in close like she was his lifeline. "Nothing to be sorry for! I''m on your side with whatever you choose," she replied, determined. All she really wanted was for Maxwell to be happy. As long as he was, she would stick by him through anything. "Mona, you''re incredible. I''m so lucky to have you!"


    "And I''m lucky, too! So, how do you feel? Better after saying it out loud?" she asked.


    Maxwell lifted his head and yfully tapped her nose. Way better, of course! The moment you walked in, the ck cloud just disappeared!" Mona was definitely his mood lifter.


    "Oh, and there''s one more thing I haven''t told you, Mona," he said, leaning closer.


    "Yeah? What is it? I''m listening!"


    Maxwell leaned in and whispered, "What''s mine is mine. I''m taking Carter Group back. He was ready to face off against Gordon in the business world, and he wasn''t about to hold back "Do your thing, I''ll always be right here with you!" Mona said, firm and ready.


    "With you by my side, I can tackle anything. And just wait, we''ll have plenty of kids in the future!" he replied, grinning wide.


    Speaking of kids, Mona found herself really hoping she was pregnant with Maxwell''s baby. He seemed so lonely and could definitely use someone to keep himpany.


    Her Maxwell Carter was really too lonely!


    He needed someone to apany him!


    Mona''s giarism scandal had started to fade from the online chatter. A bunch ofizens were calling out Molly on Twitter, demanding she apologize to Mona.


    But after iming that she didn''t giarize, Molly went radio silent. It was like she had vanished from the inte, ignoring all the bacsh.


    The Noretin Design Competition had alsoe to an end, and they weren''t going to redo it just because Mona might''ve been wronged. But on the upside, she picked up a ton of fans online, especially thanks to her rtionship with Maxwell. Everyone was cheering for her to find happines


    You could say Mona really won over the public in the Noretin Design Competition.


    Meanwhile, after the shake-up at Carter Group, it was business as usual, but Maxwell didn''t show up again. Even Nigel, his personal assistant since day one, decided to leave.


    As for Bud-he left without even thinking twice. Macy, the secretary, also quit just three days after the new CEO took and submitted her resume to the secretarial team at Clem Group


    With Maxwell now focused solely on onepany, he found himself with more free time. And he was loving it, spending a lot of that time just chilling with Mona at home.


    But after Noretin wrapped up, Mona


    decided to take a month off work in the best state of mind. She felt kind of down and low on energy, so she


    reset and work on her design skills.


    Just a few days into her break, enjoying some downtime, Maxwell''s team sent him a surveince video. It showed a servant handing over one of Mona''s iplete design ns to a stranger, who then slipped the servant some cash. Maxwell watched the video in front of him, narrowing his eyes So, it was a servant at home who leaked Mona''s design. It was pretty obvious who she leaked it to.


    Then, he sent the video over to Mona, letting her decide what to do next. Once Mona got the video, she called Haley to bring the servant to her.


    "Ma-Ma''am what do you need from me?" the servant stammered, confused. Everything seemed fine, so she couldn''t understand why Mona wanted to see her. She was nning to quietly quit soon and enjoy life without serving anyone. Mona wasn''t in the mood to beat around the bush with a traitor, She cut straight to the point by asking. "How much?"


    "W-What do you mean?" the servant replied, her eyes wide.


    Mona calmly set her coffee cup down. "How much did you get paid to steal my design draft?"Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    "Ma''am, are you kidding? I''m just a servant cleaning the backyard. I''d never touch something as important as your design draft"


    Mona studied the servant in front of her, genuinely surprised that someone with humble appearance like this would betray her trust. She had given her a chance, and now it was gone.


    Without another word, Mona threw the coffee cup at the servant''s feet, and it shattered with a loud crash. The servant jumped back, eyes wide.


    "Ma''am, what''s going on? We all know you''ve been getting dragged online. Even if you''re upset, you can''t take it out on us. We''re just servants, but you don''t have that right!"


    The servant was baffled by Mona''s sudden change in attitude. With some money in her pocket, the servant thought she could shrug this off and maybe just get fired. She never imagined that the usually mild-mannered Mona would actually know about the theft. "You sold my design to someone else. You really think I woulde after you without proof?" Mona said, hitting y on the video Maxwell sent


    The moment Kelsey saw that video, her heart dropped. The deal was supposed to be super hush-hush-how could there even be footage?'' she asked herself.


    "Kelsey, did you see that?" Mona asked, her voice steady.


    As soon as the servant named Kelsey heard it, she dropped to her knees, begging, "Ma''am, I was wrong! Please, have mercy and forgive me this one time!


    "Forgive you? That''s a joke. And what do you mean I should show you some mercy? Did you ever think about how I felt when you sold me out? Don''t you feel guilty seeing all those nedzens tearing me apart online? Mona replied coldly. 07:17 Thu, Nov 7


    "You really think you deserve a pass after selfishly putting yourself up and throwing someone under the bus?" she added with a sarcastic edge.


    Afterying it all out, Mona told Haley to take Kelsey to the police station. With the video evidence, Kelsey would have to face the consequences of her actions.


    Kelsey left, crying. If she had known it would blow up like this, the would''ve hightailed it out of there with the cash instead of sticking around.


    A little whileter, the cops got back to say they tracked down the person Kelsey had talked to. But they insisted it was all Kelsey''s idea and had nothing to do with Molly. Molly just imed she bought the design from Kelsey without knowing how it all went down. And just like that, it was clear now that Molly had copied Mona''s work. Suddenly, the online hate ramped up even more than before. Their feud was officially out in the open.


    The Noretin organizers then contacted Mona to apologize for their earlier blunders, even offering her a spot in the nextpetition. But Mona knew there was a bigger yer behind all this. She wasn''t interested and politely said no. Afterward, she reported the whole situation to the proper authorities and didn''t bother keeping tabs on what happened next.