Chapter 174

Isabella's fingers trembled slightly as she whispered, "Okay."

On the way home with Victoria, her mind wandered. Only when she stood at the foot of the Sullivan Group building did she take a deep breath, steady herself, and step into the elevator.

"Ethan." She forced a sweet smile, but it froze when she met his icy gaze.

"What do you want?"

"Dad would like to invite you to dinner to thank you for including Jackson Corp in the Eastside Project." She hesitated, then added, "Just our family."

Ethan didn’t look up from his files. "Will Evelyn be there?"

Isabella's smile shattered. Her grip tightened on her purse strap, nails digging into her palms.

"You... want her to come?"

"She's my wife." His sharp gaze finally lifted, cutting through her like a blade. "Shouldn't your father invite her too?"

Tears burned behind her eyes. "I'll ask Dad to let her know."

Outside, the sunlight stung. She wanted to storm back in and scream at him—why give her hope just to crush it?

But she didn’t dare.

At home, Victoria rushed to meet her. "Well? Did he agree?"

"Yes." Isabella bit her lip. "But... Ethan wants Evelyn there."

Victoria's face darkened. "Why would we invite her?"

"Mom..." Her voice wavered. "Maybe we should call her?"

"Absolutely not!" Victoria snapped. "That ungrateful girl doesn’t care about this family!"

William sat silently on the couch.

Isabella picked up her phone and dialed the long-unused number. It rang endlessly before connecting.

"What do you want?" Evelyn's voice was glacial.

Isabella relayed the invitation. A cold laugh echoed through the line.

"Not interested."

"But—"

The call ended abruptly. Tears spilled down Isabella's cheeks.

"She... hung up on me."

Victoria pulled her into a hug. "Forget her! Good riddance!"

Meanwhile, in the MY Fashion Group office...

Evelyn had just set down her phone when Vanessa called.

"Boss, I got the dresses."

"Leave them at reception."

She rubbed her temples. Ten minutes later, Bianca delivered the package.

Evelyn unwrapped it, spreading both garments on her desk. Her fingers traced the fabric, her expression hardening with every inch.

"Sophia, come here."

When Sophia saw the nearly identical designs, she trembled with rage.

"Glorious has no shame! This is blatant plagiarism!"

Evelyn shook her head. "They released theirs two months before us."

"But Yvonne has the original sketches—"

"If Glorious wasn’t confident, they wouldn’t publicly accuse us." Evelyn’s voice was eerily calm. "Until we have proof, we don’t take sides."

Sophia gnawed her lip. "So we just let this go?"

Evelyn stared out the window, her eyes shadowed.

"Of course not."