Alessia dangerously narrowed her eyes.
Sisca seemed to have had enough of the drama and glanced at the time, "Alright, Mr. Marcus, I have other matters to attend to. You can discuss it slowly, and when you're done, feel free to call me."
With that, she looked at Dylan provocatively, "Dylan, it seems like your judgment of people isn't good. A problem that could be solved with just one action, she insists on pushing you onto a dead-end road."
"Shut up." Dylan was infuriated, his veins bulging, ready to strike, but was stopped by Marcus in the end.
Sisca breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Dylan being restrained, covering her chest, and said softly, "Dylan, you're still so impulsive, it seems you haven't suffered enough yet. Mr. Marcus, your job as a manager is truly difficult."
Having taken enough advantage with her words, Sisca turned and left.
She also feared that this mad dog, Dylan, would really bite someone.
Alessia walked up to Dylan and spoke, "Don't worry, this matter will be resolved before dinner."
"Sis." Dylan looked at her with concern.
Alessia nodded to him reassuringly and left.
Marcus stared at Alessia's departing figure as she crossed the road, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
"What can she solve? She only knows a bit of hacking skills. You'd better beg her properly. Either come out to clarify that this has nothing to do with you, or kneel down with Sisca," Marcus said.
Dylan turned around abruptly, his eyes firm as he retorted, "She never lies. If she says she can solve it, then she definitely can."
...
Dylan's agency.
"It's five o'clock, the issue hasn't been resolved, and you've lost two endorsements..."
The clock pointed to five o'clock, and Marcus stared at the computer screen, his face filled with anxiety.
"She said dinner time, it's not even seven yet."
Dylan sat in his chair, playing with the characters in the game, but his mind was clearly elsewhere.
"You're being stubborn." Marcus's face was grim.
As the clock struck five forty, an excited staff member rushed into the meeting room.
"Mr. Marcus, hurry, check the webpage. Dylan has turned the tables."
Dylan's hand, which was operating the game, paused, and Marcus opened a certain social media page.
The top trending searches: 'Sisca Audio,' 'Sisca Plagiarism,' 'Sisca Deserves It.'
Sisca dominated the top three trending searches by herself.
Dylan clicked on the top search and found an audio clip.
He played the audio, and Sisca's voice poured out first.
"You provoked me first."
"You plagiarized my work, came to flaunt it in front of me, and when I gave you a couple of slaps, it's me who provoked you first?"
"Alessia, you forget, just because you're in the right doesn't mean you're right."
The brief conversation directly and succinctly clarified everything.
Marcus was stunned, then heard the staff continue excitedly.
"Mr. Marcus, it's so cool! This audio clip was first sent out from Sisca's own account. Sisca quickly deleted the audio, but it was too late because the audio was also posted on the software's official website. Haha... it's so satisfying, making Sisca act up."
Dylan didn't look up, but the game became smoother as he played.
Marcus let out a sigh of relief and looked at Dylan, finally admitting.
"Your sister does have some skills. But I'm curious, how did Sisca, with such deep cunning, manage to record the audio?"
At this moment, in Sisca's company, in her private office, her assistant also had the same question.
"Miss Fraser, the boss asked you to go home first and stay off the internet for a while, don't make any statements."
Sisca sat on the sofa, continuously twisting the doll in her hand. Her face was hidden in the shadows, her expression indiscernible. Her tone was calm but inexplicably eerie.
"Is the company trying to silence me?"
"No, Miss Fraser, this matter has become too serious. Mr. Xiao is still in a meeting, there's no other choice."
"No other choice, so we do nothing?"
"Miss Fraser, this is a critical moment in public opinion. The company is also looking out for your best interests. You've always been cautious, how did someone manage to record the audio...?"
Sisca lifted her head, her expression sinister, startling her assistant.
With a sudden burst of frustration, Sisca threw the doll in her hand.
Right, how did she fall for it?
It's all Alessia's fault.
First, she used the old phone as evidence to deceive her, then when she let her guard down, she provoked her, leading her to say those foolish things.
She underestimated Alessia.
Sisca's face twisted in a grimace. She wouldn't let this go so easily.
Sisca decided to open her phone, log in with a secondary account, and guide public opinion to shift the narrative.
"Alessia La Rosa claims she's the original creator of 'The Dark Walker,' but if she truly had talent, she wouldn't have remained unknown for so many years. Perhaps she's also a plagiarist."
Once this statement was made, her loyal fans online were immediately guided to echo the sentiment that Alessia was also a plagiarist.
Sisca smugly observed the change in public opinion, but soon faced a backlash.
Dylan went live, publicly mentioning for the first time that the several songs he became famous for were all composed and written by Alessia. She just preferred to remain low-key and not take credit.
He chose to clarify now to prevent further exploitation by malicious individuals.
As for who these individuals were, it was evident.
At the tea house, Alessia scrolled through online comments and came across news of Dylan's livestream.
Despite facing public persecution and bankruptcy, he never thought to ask for her help.
Alessia's eyes flickered, and she called Dylan.
After two rings, she saw Dylan pick up the phone.
"Sis." Then, Dylan's voice came through the phone.
"Um, do you want to release a new album?" Alessia asked, watching Dylan in the livestream.
A flash of surprise crossed Dylan's face. "Hehe, of course."
"Okay, I have a few songs written, I'll send them to your email later," Alessia said before hanging up.
However, as soon as she hung up, she saw Dylan on the screen, momentarily stunned, then jumping up in excitement like a child, unable to contain himself as he announced to the camera.
"Fans, I'm finally going to release a new album. All the lyrics and compositions on this album are by my sister. Those who accused her of plagiarism, please be cautious with your words. We are all independent individuals and must take responsibility for our actions. How could someone as talented as her be a plagiarist..."
At this moment, Alessia looked at the screen, seeing Dylan happily defending her, and relaxedly shut down her computer.
Alessia got up, preparing to go home.
After parting ways with Dylan, she wanted to deal with this matter first, so she entered the tea house diagonally across from the coffee shop, which was relatively quieter.
After leaving the tea house, Alessia was about to get into her car when she bumped into someone.
The man was six feet tall, wearing a black tailored handmade suit, looking quite imposing, but his expression was unfriendly as he stared at her. Even from a distance, she could feel the chill emanating from him.
Alessia pursed her lips. "Mr. Carter, are you here to settle scores with me?"
This is right downstairs from Sisca's company. Sisca must be feeling uncomfortable now. This man came quite quickly.
It's her own bad luck, encountering trouble when she least needs it.
"Alessia, you're quite something, knowing I'd come to settle scores yet still daring to defy me!" Dominic's tone was icy.
Alessia really didn't want to make things too ugly with Dominic, after all, it's troublesome. But she couldn't bring herself to bow down.
She could only reason with him.
"Mr. Carter, you must have heard a saying, 'the one who strikes first is the scoundrel.' I can't just let people hit me without fighting back or curse at me without retaliating. Mr. Carter, if you want to settle scores with me, you might as well first manage Mrs. Carter better. Next time, it might not be so easy!"
Dominic's eyes darkened, and suddenly his tall figure kept pressing forward.
Alessia could only step back, seeing her car behind her, with no way out.
She reached out her hand between them, trying to stop the distance.
The two were exactly two fists apart, and the man, whether he had a sudden conscience or finally got something right, stopped forcing himself forward.
His deep eyes looked down at her, his thin lips curling mockingly. "Are you jealous?"
Alessia was taken aback, her lips curling in mockery as well. "Jealous? Mr. Carter, have you forgotten? I'm your ex-wife."
"Of course I haven't forgotten. It seems like it's Miss La Rosa who has forgotten. Miss La Rosa actually stood in for me to marry, and I didn't even know!"
***