Restoring a Life After Seven Years of Wrong Love novel Chapter 77

That day, Solstice Auctions posted the official list of candidates who had passed the semi-finals.

Waiting at a red light, Matthew casually glanced at his phone, but his expression quickly darkened into a serious frown.

He had placed first. Scanning down the list, he saw that Yvette's name was nowhere in the top three.

He painstakingly re-read the entire list three times over. Matthew finally confirmed it—Yvette's name was completely missing.

Even Willow Huxley had snagged third place.

Matthew immediately pulled a U-turn at the intersection and sped straight to the Azure Atelier.

He marched into the restoration lab, his brow deeply furrowed as he found Yvette standing with Charlotte Clark.

"Why isn't your name on the list?"

Yvette set down her dusting brush, her face as calm as if they were discussing the weather. "Because someone reported me for bribing Professor Winston."

"I ran into him at the hotel and we chatted for a moment. Someone took a picture. There was another photo from when we walked him out of The Vervain, but they cropped it so I was the only one in the frame."

Hearing this.

Charlotte gasped, her voice shrill with outrage. "It had to be that bitch, Willow!"

Matthew's frown deepened.

He and Yvette had walked out together. The fact that the photographer had deliberately cropped him out to isolate Yvette proved this was a targeted, malicious attack.

"Did you piss anyone else off lately?"

Yvette shook her head. "The last people I had friction with were Quade and Mr. Raymond."

Quade Lomax and Gareth Raymond, who happened to be standing nearby, froze. "???"

"I swear, I absolutely did not do this!" Quade raised three fingers in a solemn vow.

Mr. Raymond nodded grimly in agreement.

Yvette: "It couldn't be them."

Matthew hadn't actually suspected them, but after racking his brain, he couldn't think of any other suspects.

"Are you just going to swallow this injustice?"

"Think carefully, Yvette," Charlotte urged, rubbing her chin. "Were there security cameras in the hotel hallway? I can pull some strings and get the footage."

For safety's sake, Yvette had specifically avoided floor-sweeping ballgowns and sky-high heels.

"Alright, just be careful. Stick close to me tonight," Matthew insisted.

"I will."

With her arm looped through Matthew's, their arrival instantly drew the attention of the ballroom.

Matthew had just aced the Solstice Auctions semi-finals and was on the brink of securing a major partnership, not to mention the Azure Atelier was already an industry powerhouse.

Naturally, the crowd was eager to rub elbows with him.

Standing by his side, Yvette's face practically ached from smiling so much.

"Mr. Sutton! The Azure Atelier is really thriving these days," Flint Quinn, the General Manager of Starbright Paper Group, greeted them warmly.

"Thanks to your continued support, Mr. Quinn," Matthew replied politely.

Flint's gaze drifted to the elegant, breathtakingly poised woman beside him.

She was dressed in a pristine white strapless gown that showed off her slender calves, accented by a simple pearl necklace. Her hair was swept into a flawless updo, making her look like a graceful swan.