The Princess and the Pauper (Arabella) novel Chapter 1669

The stepsister Katherine sat on the couch, her eyes brimming with tears, looking every bit the picture of pitiable distress.

Carol remained unmoved, her voice chilly as she spoke, "It's her own fault for plagiarizing QY's designs. She made her bed; now she has to lie in it."

"It was just a coincidence!" Maureen insisted, trying to downplay the situation, "There's no need to call it plagiarism. That sounds so ugly."

"If you don't like it, then don't copy in the first place."

Katherine, standing off to the side, seemed to shrink under the weight of the accusation, as if the similarity to QY's designs was a mere accident, not a deliberate act.

"Seventeen designs with a similarity of up to 90 percent, and you call that a coincidence? If it was merely a coincidence, would they sue you?"

Carol didn't want to waste her time arguing. She had plans to deliver the hand-knitted scarves she was going to make to her aunt before the holidays. But as she tried to make her way upstairs, her stepmother Maureen blocked her path.

"Honey, aren't you going to say anything? Even if Katherine lost her inspiration for a moment and went a little too far in 'referencing' QY's designs, resulting in them calling it plagiarism, their demand for a 3 million-dollar settlement is outrageous, and they won't budge on the amount. They also want us to publicly apologize on social media. Isn't that just stomping on the Brooks family's pride?"

With that, Maureen turned her angry gaze to Carol, her voice tinged with frustration, "If only she would say the word, her influential friends would let this slide. No money spent, no public embarrassment, but she just won't help! What kind of daughter wants to see her parents humiliated?"

Carol looked back at her coldly, "Your true colors are showing, and it's not a pretty sight. You may have no shame, but I do."

"Listen to her, honey! Listen to how she talks to me! I'm the elder, and she has no respect! I bet she's in cahoots with them, trying to swindle your money and then funnel it into her own pocket. Why else would she refuse to help us with this simple favor?"

As Maureen glared at Carol, her loathing was palpable. She desired to lash out, shred and toss the insolent girl to the trash.