Chapter 1721


    After thepetition, Joshua offered to give Thssa a ride home, but she politely declined.


    As she watched Joshua''s car pull away, Thssa lowered hershes, about to hail a cab, when a


    smooth voice stopped her. "Thssa."


    Turning around, Thssa caught sight of Callum approaching her with a gentle smile.


    She blinked in mild surprise. "Mr. Gordon, you haven’t left yet?"


    "I was waiting for you," Callum replied, his eyes twinkling with a neighborly warmth.


    "Waiting for me?" Thssa echoed, puzzled.


    "Yeah, I thought I might give you a lift. Saw you almost got into Mr. Whitman''s car and figured I’d be


    driving home solo," Callum shared with a tenderugh.


    Thssa teased, "Mr. Gordon, so formal, waiting around to y my chauffeur?"


    "The honor would be all mine," Callum replied, the picture of a gentleman. "Skipping out on my


    private invite topete, huh? Strutting your stuff in thepetition isn’t a bad way to make a


    name for yourself."


    Callum then smoothly shifted the conversation to work.


    Feeling a bit sheepish, Thssa said, "Right now, I’m just an unknown designer. Even if I create the


    perfect piece, it’s tough to make sales. I wouldn’t want to cause you any losses."


    "If every designer thought as much about the business side as you, we’d all starve," Callum joked


    as he opened the car door, inviting Thssa inside.


    Thssa hesitated, not keen on being driven around, but before she could refuse, Callum added,


    "Hop in. We can talk about Susan on the way."


    Hearing Susan''s name piqued Thssa''s interest enough to get her into the car, especially since


    she was eager to know more about the recent events.


    Once they were on their way, Thssa finally spoke up. "Thanks for earlier. Without you, I wouldn’t


    have been able to clear my name."


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    "We’re well beyond formalities at this point, aren’t we?" Callum said with a gentle smile.


    Without waiting for her to ask, he exined, "I was there at the start, sitting amidst the audience.


    You might not have noticed me. When I saw Susan take that tumble on the runway, I knew she was


    up to no good, so I snuck backstage to dig around for the truth."


    Catching Thssa''s reflection in the rearview mirror, he continued, "Luckily, there wasn’t enough


    time for Susan to move your piece out of the venue. I found the jewelry box in her locker. Got the


    staff to pull up the surveince footage."


    "So that’s how it was. Thank you for digging up the evidence. Your timing couldn’t have been more


    perfect. Otherwise, my reputation would be mud by now," Thssa expressed her heartfelt


    gratitude.


    "There’s just one thing I don’t get," Thssa frowned slightly, voicing her confusion.


    "What’s that?" Callum asked.


    "How did Susan know what my design looked like in advance to create a stic knock-off?"


    Thssa pondered. It was a mystery she couldn’t solve on her own. Susan''s scheme would have


    required at least a day''s prior knowledge of Thssa’s design to fabricate a convincing fake. "And


    how could she be so sure she’d be modeling my piece?"


    Hearing this, Callum also fell into thought. "That’s a good question. We’ll have to ask Susan directly.


    Let’s head to the police station."


    With that, Callum steered the car towards the police station, ready to confront the mystery head-on.