Ghost Exorciser: The Oust Fake Heiress Strikes-Chapter 394: Exposed

Then suddenly... She laughed.

The sound was abrupt, almost jarring in the tense silence.

"You’re joking, right?" she said, her tone laced with disbelief. "This design... was stolen from me."

The words stunned everyone.

"I didn’t plagiarize anyone," she continued, her voice rising slightly, desperation hidden beneath forced confidence. "If anything, she is the one who copied me."

The moment those words left her lips, it was as if she had crossed a line she could no longer step back from.

’As long as I stick to this... my supporters will believe me,’ she reassured herself desperately. ’They won’t abandon me so easily.’

Sure enough, some people in the audience began murmuring again, uncertainty creeping into their expressions.

Lana watched her quietly before letting out a small chuckle. "Alright," she said calmly. "Then you’re claiming this design is yours?"

Cassandra straightened her back, forcing firmness into her voice. "Yes," she replied. "I never wanted to bring this up, but now that I’m being falsely accused, I have no choice."

Lana nodded slowly, her eyes glinting with something sharp. "Then answer me this," she said. "When was your design stolen?"

Cassandra’s mind raced. ’When...?’ The answer almost slipped out, yesterday, but she caught herself at the last moment.

’She’s too confident... she must have made this long ago,’ she thought quickly.

She lifted her chin slightly. "I don’t remember the exact date," she replied.

Lana tilted her head. "At least the timeframe," she pressed. "Months? A year? Two months?"

Cassandra felt the weight of countless gazes pressing down on her, suffocating and heavy. Her fists tightened again.

"...At least half a year ago," she said finally.

Lana nodded, as if she had expected that answer all along. "So you’re saying your design was stolen half a year ago," she repeated. "Interesting."

She tapped her phone lightly before continuing, "Because the design I posted... was officially registered under my name just five days ago."

A ripple of shock passed through the crowd.

Cassandra let out a short, strained laugh. "Then that just proves it," she shot back quickly. "You stole my design half a year ago and only registered it recently."

She opened her mouth to continue... But Lana interrupted smoothly.

"Before you go further," she said, her tone calm yet sharp, "let me ask you one thing."

Cassandra’s breath hitched slightly. "What are the practical limitations of this design?" Lana asked.

Silence. Cassandra’s expression stiffened.

Lana took a step forward, her gaze unwavering. "Since you claim it’s your design," she continued, "you should know its flaws. Its limitations. Its practical issues."

Cassandra’s mind went blank.

She stared at the design displayed on the screen, her eyes scanning every detail, searching desperately for an answer, but nothing came.

Seconds passed. Then longer. The silence grew suffocating.

The audience began to shift, their expressions changing.

Lana chuckled softly, breaking the tension. "I can explain it," she said. "But first, I want to make sure you won’t suddenly claim that my explanation is the same as yours."

Cassandra’s gaze flickered, her thoughts scrambling. Then suddenly... her eyes reddened. Tears welled up.

Her voice softened, trembling just enough to sound genuine. "This design..." she began slowly, "came to me during a very difficult time."

The audience stilled.

"I was being bullied... by my own family," she continued, her voice cracking slightly. "This design was something I created to protect myself."

A few people in the crowd visibly softened.

"It’s not just an accessory," she added, her tone growing more emotional. "It’s meant to protect the wearer... from physical harm... even from supernatural threats."

By the time she finished, her eyes glistened with tears, her expression fragile and vulnerable. The audience looked at her with sympathy, their earlier doubts wavering.

But then... Lana laughed.

The sound was sharp, almost jarring against the emotional atmosphere Cassandra had just created.

She stepped forward slightly, her gaze fixed on Cassandra.

"So you’re saying," Lana said, her voice laced with irony, "that a design which, in reality, does nothing more than look pretty... has all these powerful features and functions?"

The moment Lana said those words, Cassandra’s eyes widened abruptly, a stiff tension creeping up her neck as if invisible fingers were tightening around it.

Without wasting a second, Lana slid the post’s remaining photos in which the back, front, and other details were present.

"Look closely," Lana said, her voice calm but firm.

She pointed at the design. "These ridges here," she continued, tracing them lightly in the air, "aren’t part of any defensive mechanism."

Cassandra’s heartbeat quickened.

"This," Lana added, her tone turning analytical, "is just a regular accessory design. It’s meant to be versatile... it can be converted into a necklace, a bracelet, or an anklet."

A pause.

"It doesn’t have any protective capabilities," she said flatly. "It can’t defend against anything, not physical harm, not supernatural energy, and certainly not... family abuse."

The silence that followed was suffocating. Then... soft laughter.

Low, mocking murmurs spread through the crowd like a slow-burning fire.

After all, a jewellery design was presented as a weapon design... it was indeed ridiculous.

Everyone could see it now. The designs were identical, yet Cassandra had claimed it possessed extraordinary protective abilities. It didn’t take much thought to understand who was lying. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"Plagiarist..."

The word began to echo, first from one corner, then another.

Cassandra shook her head repeatedly, her breath growing uneven. "No... no, that’s not true," she said quickly, her voice trembling. "At least listen to me..."

But no one was listening anymore. The crowd surged with anger.

Rotten tomatoes flew first, their sour stench bursting into the air as they hit the ground and splattered across her clothes.

Then eggs followed, cracking open with wet, unpleasant sounds, their sticky contents dripping down her hair and shoulders.

Cassandra flinched, stumbling back, raising her arms to shield herself. The smell was overwhelming, sharp and nauseating.

"I didn’t...!" she tried to shout, but her voice was drowned out.

Lana quietly stepped back, distancing herself from the chaos.