Chapter 498: Setting a Trap for Claire Yeats

Chapter 498: Chapter 498: Setting a Trap for Claire Yeats

Quentin Yeats knew that as a son, it wasn’t appropriate to speak of his father this way. But he truly felt that way.

So he looked into it and found that his father had indeed been quite formidable in his youth. He hadn’t relied on Aunt Eleanor. And the reason Aunt Eleanor had left was because...

Quentin suddenly furrowed his brows, feeling somewhat puzzled. He had happened to overhear Aunt Eleanor talking with someone.

She had said, "There is no one left in this family who cares about me, and the people I care about are no longer here either."

Quentin was still young at the time, only three or four years old, but even he could tell that Eleanor and Zion had an incredibly close bond as siblings. Plus, their grandfather was still around. Why would Eleanor say that there was no one left who cared about her and no one she cared about? He felt it was impossible.

But after Eleanor left, the older brother who had doted on her never once asked to go look for her, as if he had completely forgotten her existence.

Pulling back his thoughts, Quentin’s gaze turned cold. "Claire Yeats, whether for the sake of the Yeats Family’s reputation or your own, you must not participate in this year’s design competition."

Claire’s eyes reddened, and she looked at Zion Yeats with a weak, helpless expression.

Zion frowned. "No."

Quentin laughed out of sheer anger. "Father, do you know what people are saying out there? The Yeats Group’s stock has even fluctuated, all because of Claire’s shameless remarks. To participate in the competition at a crucial time like this—whose face is being thrown away? If you and Claire don’t mind the humiliation, fine. I have no objections."

"You, you..." Zion was speechless for a long moment. He knew absolutely nothing about company affairs, so all he could do now was flush red with impotent anxiety. But Claire couldn’t possibly miss the competition!

"The jewelry companies have... have already... already pre-ordered Claire’s designs..."

Before Zion could even finish, Old Mrs. Yeats’s face lit up with joy. She then began to complain angrily.

"Quentin, you have no idea how many people want to collaborate with our Claire. Once she wins this year’s championship, she’ll be the first-ever double-crown designer! All this investment is pouring in, and you want to stop her from participating? Do you realize how much the Yeats Family would lose?

"That Estelle Lockwood really doesn’t know what’s good for her, getting Claire eliminated like that. Does she not know that Claire’s advancement is the hope of the entire Yeats Family? How can she be such a bitch!"

"Grandma!" Quentin interrupted sharply. He frowned and asked, "The competition hasn’t even started, and you’re already using the championship as a gimmick to attract business? How much funding have you raised? What if Claire doesn’t win in the end?"

Old Mrs. Yeats’s eyes darted around, and she muttered under her breath, "With Claire here, who else could the championship go to? Would anyone else dare to win it in front of her?"

The implication was clear: even if someone else was poised to win, they would have to step aside for the Yeats Family.

Quentin was silent for a couple of seconds before he suddenly laughed. He looked at his family, who now seemed entirely like strangers to him, took a deep breath, and nodded.

"Do as you please.

"However, Father, since you’re the one who agreed to this, you’ll be the one to take responsibility in the end."

In his eyes, even if Claire could return to the competition, she wouldn’t be able to win. Her eyes were full of calculation, lacking any of the purity required for design. He truly wondered if Ember from three years ago was really Claire. Ember was an archaic term for a radiant star... A star?

Quentin’s brow twitched.

Only after Quentin left did Old Mrs. Yeats curse under her breath, "What a buzzkill!"

Claire smiled gently. "Grandma, there’s no need to be angry. I believe my brother didn’t mean any harm. He’s just too worried about the Yeats Family’s reputation."

"Once you win the championship, all the scandals will vanish into thin air. That is the best way to secure the Yeats Family’s reputation!" Old Mrs. Yeats declared sternly.

"Mrs. Yeats, we have guests," the butler said as he hurried into the room.

Old Mrs. Yeats looked displeased. "Who is it?"

"They said they’re from... Midnight Studio, and the Aethel Group. They’re here to discuss a collaboration with Miss Claire."

Claire’s eyes immediately lit up. Hiding the joy in her gaze, she feigned helplessness. "It seems they all want to collaborate with Ember, banking on me winning the championship again this time..."

"Midnight Studio is an incredibly famous jewelry team in the industry, and the Aethel Group..."

Right at that moment, the representatives from the Aethel Group walked in. As soon as the man entered, he apologized to Claire, explaining that prior misunderstandings had prevented them from collaborating earlier. This time, the Aethel Group was willing to raise the stakes and offer Miss Claire even better terms, in the sole hope that the champion would collaborate with them.

Old Mrs. Yeats was beaming with delight. See? The competition hadn’t even started yet, and Claire was already highly sought after by various industries! What about Estelle Lockwood? What could she do besides cause trouble?!

Five days later.

The qualifying rounds officially began.

Two hundred contestants arrived at the venue, waiting for the prompt to be distributed. They would then stay in designated rooms for seven days, after which all of their designs would be graded.

The reason for the strict time and location constraints was twofold: first, to test the contestants’ creative reserves and see if they could produce a perfect piece within the time limit; and second, to simulate a less-than-comfortable environment to see if they could still perform at their best without being influenced by external factors.

The contestants had arrived at the venue early in the morning.

"Have you heard about that incident?"

"What incident?"

"The one with Claire Yeats..."

"Of course I’ve heard!"

"I just can’t believe it. She was already the champion—why would she steal someone else’s work?"

"Because she’s shameless. But she was suspended from the competition... Wait a minute?"

One of the contestants gasped. The crowd then watched in shock as Claire Yeats stepped out of a Yeats Family car! She was clearly here to participate!

The contestants who had just been gossiping exchanged glances, their brows furrowing slightly.

Other contestants immediately rushed forward to curry favor, saying loudly, "Stop talking, you guys. It was definitely a misunderstanding! The fact that Miss Claire is back for the competition proves that the accusations of her stealing someone else’s work were completely unfounded!"

"Exactly! Miss Claire is the eldest daughter of the Yeats Family. She can have anything she wants. Why would she resort to such underhanded tactics?"

Claire offered a gentle, deep bow. "Thank you all for understanding. The previous incident was just a private matter between me and Estelle. After all, we’re family, and I... Sigh."

The crowd exchanged subtle, knowing looks. "Then is Cloud Sea Building really Estelle Lockwood’s work?"

Claire bit her lip lightly. "Yes, it is... However, the piece I submitted wasn’t actually that one. That design wasn’t at my level at all, but someone swapped it out without my knowledge.

"After that, all of those things happened... I’m sorry, I really don’t want to say any more."

She claimed she "didn’t want to say any more," but the key information was already crystal clear. She was insinuating that her submission had been tampered with, and then Estelle’s work had "somehow" become hers. This led to her suspension, a public reprimand on the official website, and widespread mockery across the internet.

It turned out someone had framed her?!

Nearby, Liam Sloan had been listening to the whole exchange and immediately rolled his eyes. "Holy shit, does she have no shame?"