Chapter 379

Sophia knew herself well. Since she hadn't done anything wrong, she refused to take the blame. The only solution was to go to the construction site and find out who was truly at fault!

The entire design department boarded the company bus and headed straight to the site.

Throughout the ride, her colleagues shot her venomous glares.

"You're just a junior designer. Can't you stop causing trouble for the rest of us?"

"Shameless! This is all your fault. You better take full responsibility!"

"Do you think construction projects are child's play? If something goes wrong, people could die—and you'll end up in prison!"

"Can you even handle that kind of responsibility?"

"If you can't, then suffer the consequences! Don't even think about running away!"

"Honestly, why did you have to seduce men here of all places? Do you think our architectural firm is blind?"

The verbal assault continued nonstop, fingers nearly jabbing into Sophia’s face. She noticed that while the design department had more men than women—typical for this field—only the female colleagues were attacking her.

The men remained mostly silent, though a few cast sympathetic glances her way.

Sophia understood. These women were jealous.

Jealous that she had caught Alexander Knight’s attention the moment she joined the company. Jealous of how she stood her ground against Victoria Sullivan. And most of all, jealous that she had arrived at work in Mr. Knight’s car that morning.

They were probably hoping that if the construction mishap was pinned on her, Alexander would make sure she never worked in this industry again.

Sophia didn’t retaliate.

She had more pressing matters—like figuring out which part of Elizabeth Dawson’s design draft had gone wrong. Every flaw in Elizabeth’s work could be fixed.

If it couldn’t, Sophia would have pointed it out earlier.

Before she knew it, the bus arrived at the construction site—a newly built but unfinished property.

The moment Sophia stepped inside, she realized the issue.

"Elizabeth!" she called out firmly.

"What? Finally admitting your mistake? Too late! You’re taking full responsibility for this!" Elizabeth snapped.

Sophia smirked. "The second I walked in, I recognized this as your design. I even asked if you wanted me to review your draft. You refused. Because even then, I could see the problem."

Elizabeth’s face twisted in fury. "How dare you lie now! You’re despicable!"

Sophia remained calm. "Check your computer. Or mine. Compare the archived designs with the current construction plan. You’ll see the truth."

She paused, then added, "And before you accuse me of tampering with my files—mine are read-only copies from yours. The timestamps prove I didn’t touch them."

Elizabeth paled.

The entire room fell silent.

Seeing Elizabeth’s expression, Sophia spoke again, quieter this time. "I can fix this."

Gasps filled the air.

A woman who had been suspended within days of joining—now claiming she could salvage this disaster?

"Sophia, don’t make empty promises just to spite Elizabeth. Architecture isn’t something to joke about!" Even the usually impartial design director frowned.

Sophia met his gaze steadily. "I can solve this—but I have conditions."

The director hesitated.

Sophia turned back to Elizabeth. "Your files and mine prove I didn’t alter anything. So if I fix this mess for you, who’s paying me? You or the company?"

Elizabeth sputtered. "Y-you want payment? How much?"

"One hundred thousand," Sophia stated coolly.

The room erupted.

"That’s outrageous!" Elizabeth shrieked.

"Do you know how much this mistake will cost if it isn’t fixed?" Sophia countered.

Elizabeth fell silent.

She knew.

If this wasn’t resolved, she wouldn’t just lose her job—she’d be blacklisted from the entire industry.

Elizabeth usually proofread her own work, but lately, she’d been handing off unfinished drafts to Sophia out of spite. In her haste, she’d forgotten to correct several critical design elements.

With years of experience, she’d assumed it would be fine. But the problem surfaced within a week.

Elizabeth could foresee issues but lacked the on-site expertise to fix them.

Sophia, however, had worked as a construction engineer for years. She knew how to handle unexpected disasters.

And this? This was minor.

"Fine," Elizabeth gritted out. "If you can fix it, I’ll—" She glanced at the director.

Paying a hundred thousand herself would hurt. But if the company held her accountable, she’d lose far more.

The design director’s voice was stern. "Elizabeth, this is your mistake. Sophia’s fee comes from you. And when we return, you’ll face disciplinary action. Consider this leniency."