After inheriting a multi-million dollar fortune, I decided to quit my job at my brother’s company. When the intern Katherine found out, she panicked and blocked my way, begging, “How will you live after you quit?” “I’ve already forgiven you for copying me. Just stay!” In my previous life, I poured my heart into a project proposal for six months, only to be accused of plagiarism at the final presentation by the client. Because Katherine had already secretly contacted the client beforehand and presented a proposal that was identical to my core content. I begged my brother, the company CEO, and my husband Mark to vouch for me. But my brother announced with a heavy tone, “Eve, since you’re my sister, I won’t hold you accountable for the company’s losses this time.” Then, he immediately signed an internal memo confirming my “crime” of stealing a colleague’s idea. And my husband Mark didn’t say a single word in my defense. I became a shameless parasite who used connections and plagiarized. Unable to clear my name, I was blacklisted by the entire industry and couldn’t find another job. I sank into depression and ended my life on a snowy night. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the week before the client presentation.
“Eve, I heated some milk for you. No matter how late you’re preparing the proposal, take care of yourself.” My brother Daniel placed the cup on my desk, his voice gentle. But this scene almost made me fall out of my chair. Just then, my husband Mark pushed the door open. He set a lunch box on the table. “I heard you’ve been pulling all-nighters, so I made soup to nourish you.” I had experienced this scene twice before. In my previous life, I thought I was the luckiest woman in the world. My brother, seven years older and already the company CEO, had always been extremely protective of me. And my beloved husband Mark was my most trusted harbor. But after my rebirth, I felt nothing but coldness. In my previous life, when I presented the proposal to the client, my core content turned out identical to Katherine’s. After the client discovered it, they immediately complained to senior management. As the brightest rising star in the department, I was supposed to be promoted through this project. But once the scandal broke, I was instantly swept into a whirlwind of accusations. I turned to my brother, the CEO, and my husband Mark, who was in the same project team, begging them to help me clear my name. But they refused. Daniel even apologized to the client on my behalf, begging the company to only issue an internal reprimand because I was a first-time offender and his sister. And Mark avoided my gaze from start to finish. This incident sparked intense debate among colleagues and the industry. “I knew she only dared to plagiarize on such an important project because the CEO is her own brother and her husband is on the team. Isn’t this a family fraud?” “Exactly! Someone with no professional ethics like her should be banned from the industry!” Under the public pressure, the company launched a harsh investigation. Soon after, the investigation results “confirmed” that I had plagiarized Katherine. I, who had always been hailed as a genius newcomer, was branded a thief. Meanwhile, Katherine, who had previously been mediocre, became famous overnight and gained the promotion and glory that should have been mine. Just like that, she became the company’s new star. And I became a professional pariah everyone despised. Because of the severity of the situation, I was fired immediately and blacklisted by the industry association. Stripped of my professional credentials, I could only take odd jobs. But whenever employers recognized me, they would find excuses to dock my pay or fire me outright. Penniless, I lost all hope. On a snowy night, I jumped into a lake that was about to freeze. But to my surprise, when I opened my eyes, I was back to the week before the final client presentation. Looking at my brother earnestly “helping me refine my proposal” and my husband going out of his way to “nourish my body,” my emotions were suddenly a tangled mess.
“Eve, this is the proposal framework I organized for you. As long as you follow it, you’ll definitely wow the client!” Daniel placed the compiled materials in front of me, full of confidence. My husband Mark chimed in teasingly, “Eve, you have to win this project. If you do, you’ll get promoted. I’m bringing you soup every day — if you fail, how can you face my soup?” It was clearly a joke, but I couldn’t laugh. Daniel is my biological brother; he would never harm me. My husband Mark, though sometimes blunt, had always supported me. Once, when a colleague tried to steal my credit, he almost got into a fight with them. So it couldn’t be them. Then where did the problem lie? I had been a technical prodigy since childhood, and every project I’d handled since joining the company had outstanding results. Even in a top-tier company, I was a priority talent. My department supervisor said I was the strongest competitor for the promotion this time. So when the plagiarism scandal broke, the supervisor and most of my colleagues initially believed me. Besides, my previous project accomplishments were indisputable — there was no need for me to plagiarize. But then, Katherine suddenly released surveillance footage from the preparation period. The footage showed that she had completed the overall proposal earlier than I had. And she had “shared” her thoughts on the project on the internal forum a week before the presentation. The proposal she presented was exactly a deepened version of those thoughts. In an instant, the internal gossip and accusations nearly drowned me. “This clearly proves that Evelyn copied Katherine. The timestamps are crystal clear!” “I heard her previous projects might not be real either — they just weren’t discovered!” “It’s a good thing her brother and husband kept their heads and didn’t commit perjury for her, or the real victim would’ve been wronged to death!” Because of the terrible impact, senior management took it very seriously and immediately verified Katherine’s evidence. After verification, the surveillance timestamps and forum post records were authentic and untampered with. They ruled that I had indeed plagiarized Katherine. I was stunned. That proposal was obviously my original work — how could it be plagiarism? But I had no evidence to prove it. I couldn’t understand how Katherine’s proposal ended up identical to my core content. Could Daniel have shared the “framework” he gave me with Katherine as well? One mystery after another loomed over me. But for now, Daniel and my husband Mark were acting completely normal. I could only start by investigating Katherine’s internal forum account. By my calculations, her “forward-thinking” post should already be up. But Daniel and my husband Mark, using the excuse of discussing the proposal, barely left my side. I had to quickly scribble a few irrelevant draft pages to placate them. Then I pretended to have a headache and needed fresh air in the break room. A flicker of impatience crossed my husband Mark’s eyes. “You’re so high-maintenance. Daniel already gave you the core ideas, and you still want to slack off!” Daniel hurriedly smoothed things over. “It’s not that urgent. Don’t rush her.” “As long as she follows my framework, she’ll definitely win!” But I didn’t have much time left to find the truth. After locking the break room door, I immediately checked Katherine’s internal forum on my phone. She was the daughter of a board member, and with her stunning looks and social skills, she had quite a following. But I had almost no interaction with her. However, Daniel, as the CEO, had more contact with Katherine. Once, I overheard him telling my husband Mark that Katherine clearly had the potential of a future leader, unlike me, who only buried myself in technical details. He also said that in the workplace, you had to build good relationships with people like Katherine who had both background and ability. At the time, I thought it was just a casual remark. Now, I realized it might have been his true feelings. But I truly couldn’t understand why a golden girl like Katherine would target me specifically. Then, I saw her latest post. Under the guise of “throwing out a brick to attract jade,” she shared her “preliminary thoughts” on several key challenges of the project. When I saw those “thoughts,” I froze. Weren’t these the “core logic” that Daniel had helped me organize? What’s more, Katherine even listed several key data projection directions. They were exactly the same as what I had written in my private notes last night. Below the post, colleagues were showering her with praise. “Katherine is so beautiful and talented, even willing to share unpublished project ideas like this. She’s a goddess!” “Exactly. I was completely stuck on these challenges before. Her analysis made everything clear.” Idea collisions could be coincidence. But then why was the complete proposal she was about to present also highly similar to my core content? My private workstation and computer could only be accessed by Daniel and my husband Mark, who knew the passwords. It had to be them! A chill ran down my spine. I couldn’t understand why they would do this. Was blood and marriage really worth less than Katherine’s professional connection to them?
I sat in the break room for an hour, then decided to take a desperate risk. I already knew the core proposal that would be presented. In my previous life, the one I was framed for plagiarizing was actually my most mature and safest design. It was excellent, but not flawless. This time, I decided to use a bolder, more cutting-edge, but also riskier new architecture. Since Katherine’s proposal in my previous life was identical to mine, I would completely replace the core. No matter the final evaluation, at least I could clear myself of plagiarism. Early the next morning, before Daniel arrived at the company, I secretly went to a co-working space on the other side of the city. To be honest, I hesitated. After all, adopting a completely unverified new architecture wasn’t just high risk — it might also render much of my previous work useless. There, I met my grandma, who couldn’t stand retirement and occasionally helped a friend manage the space. Grandma brought me a cup of warm milk. “What’s wrong with my sweet granddaughter? You look so upset.” I smiled bitterly. “Grandma, what if I screw up my most important project? Would you be very disappointed?” Grandma stroked my head and smiled warmly. “Silly girl, how could I?” “Grandma just wants you to be happy doing what you love. Even if this doesn’t work out, you still have me. I’ll take care of you!” Hearing that, I suddenly felt a surge of determination to do certain things. After leaving the co-working space, I got a call from Daniel. “Eve, where did you run off to? Mark brought breakfast and wants to discuss the proposal with you. He’s throwing a fit because he can’t find you!” I replied coldly, “I went out to find some inspiration and get some air. I’m coming back.” I didn’t plan to tell either of them about adopting the new architecture. After all, in my previous life, those two were the prime suspects in the “plagiarism.” I decided to rebuild the proposal in the co-working space. Besides, it was quiet enough there.
Halfway through, I stretched and planned to take a short break. I was curious about what Katherine was up to. Just as my mind wandered, Daniel and my husband Mark showed up. I wondered how they knew I was here. The next second, Daniel placed a steaming food container on my desk. “We were afraid you’d get so wrapped up in work you’d forget to eat, so we brought you something.” My husband Mark also handed me a thermos. “Freshly squeezed orange juice. I know your stomach is sensitive, so I already warmed it up.” The two of them looked so sincere. There was no way they seemed like people who would harm me. Had I been overthinking? But if it wasn’t them, who was it? My mind was a mess. I forced a smile. “You guys came just in time. I was getting hungry.” “Let me wash my hands, and I’ll eat right away.” I grabbed my phone and headed to the washroom area. But instead of going into a stall, I opened Katherine’s internal forum by the sink. Sure enough, she had posted another update. “What bad luck. I kindly shared my preliminary thoughts on the project, and someone actually stole the core ideas directly. Even though the ideas might not be fully mature, doing this is really disgusting. So, I’ve decided to restructure my entire proposal.” The attached photo was a silhouette of a woman working in a co-working space. Anyone familiar with me would recognize that silhouette as mine. But who took this photo? In the comments, someone asked Katherine what new architecture she planned to use. Katherine said she wanted to use a very cutting-edge, almost risky technical route this time. I was instantly alarmed. I hadn’t told anyone about adopting a new architecture. Even if it were a coincidence, Katherine wouldn’t choose a direction she wasn’t good at with such high risk, right? There had to be a spy for her near me! Was it Daniel or my husband Mark? Or were both of them involved? But what on earth did they stand to gain? Just then, someone suddenly tapped my shoulder. “Eve, what are you spacing out about?” I was startled. It was Daniel and my husband Mark, who had come to the break area looking for me. They’d been worried because I hadn’t returned, so they came to check. Still shaken, I replied vaguely, “Daniel, why don’t you guys go back first? I’ll eat later.” The moment I finished, my husband Mark exploded. “Evelyn Sinclair, we came all the way here to bring you food, and this is your attitude?” “Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been guarding against us for days. You don’t appreciate anything!” Daniel quickly explained, “Mark just speaks bluntly. Don’t take it personally.” “I know you’re under a lot of pressure with the project. Mark and I are just worried about you.” I hurriedly said, “Daniel, I know you’re both doing this for my own good.” “How about I go back to my own apartment for the next few days? That way you won’t have to run back and forth.” My husband Mark rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’m done waiting on you!” With that, he dragged Daniel out of the co-working space. I finally breathed a sigh of relief. At 10:30 that night, I returned to the company dormitory. The moment I walked in, I heard my roommate discussing Katherine. I leaned over to look. It was a photo. The photo showed three hands clinking drinks together. Caption: “Love from my big brothers~” I recognized them instantly — those were Daniel’s and my husband Mark’s hands. When did they get so close? I had no idea. I pulled out my phone to check Katherine’s social media. And I saw comments from Daniel and my husband Mark. “Katherine will always be the goddess in my heart.” “Don’t worry, Katherine, your big brother has a way to make sure you win the project.” I blinked, wondering if I was seeing things. But when I refreshed, the comments were deleted. It seemed the plagiarism was definitely connected to them. Reaching that conclusion, I didn’t feel much emotion. Once I knew who was behind it, it was easier to handle. I had no intention of going back to my brother’s house before the presentation anyway. They probably wouldn’t be able to help Katherine copy anymore. I could prepare my new proposal in peace.
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