The Indifferent Ex-Husband: Heartstrings in the Mall of Fate novel Chapter 399

Aaron was perplexed by Sophia's reaction: "Obviously, someone sent it to me. Why are you asking?"

Sophia didn't answer him. She just gave him the stare-down, "Who told you this was the design for the Frost family's holiday resort?"

Aaron felt a bit queasy hearing that: "What are you implying? That I'm not capable of getting the Frost family's designs?"

Sophia realized that rational communication with Aaron was futile.

She gave him a sharp glance. "Right, and where did you find this counterfeit design?  It can't possibly be the Frost family's design."

"How could it not be? Mr. Gellar sent it to me, and he would never fool me with a fake."

Aaron insisted, now defensively agitated, "I've been involved in this project for ages; do you think I don't know it when I see it? You don't know anything and you're deciding it's a fake? Do you think you’re the only one with any sense?"

Sophia remained unaffected by his rage, simply replying with a calm demeanor, "You might consider someone a buddy, but it doesn’t mean they regard you as a friend. Given the Frost family's background, how could such critical design plans be handed around so casually?"

"Mr. Frost trusted Mr. Gellar to take on the build since they were tight. Naturally, he got an early peek at the blueprints to lend a hand, what's casual about that?" Aaron snorted coldly at Sophia, "For someone who studied design, you sure haven’t seen much of the world. The project's been filed and recorded officially, it's a done deal. The groundwork is just a matter of time, why worry about plans getting snatched?"

Sophia shot him a look: "I see."

She said her goodbyes to Aaron, picked up Theresa, and walked away.

"That's it? You're leaving?" Aaron was dumbfounded.

After going back and forth without getting a clear stance from her, he felt a surge of urgency and quickly followed her out.

"Can’t you at least give me a clear answer?"

"I can’t help you," Sophia refused decisively. "If you're capable, go bid on it yourself. Nobody owes you that favor."

After saying this, Sophia carried Theresa downstairs and hailed a taxi.

Once inside, Sophia still felt heavy-hearted, her mind swarming with the design on Aaron's phone and his adamant claim that they were the Frost family's resort plans.

She couldn't be sure if the Frost family had used her design plans.

Aaron's words were never reliable; it was hard to discern the truth from the fabrication with him.

It was also easy for him to be deceived by those he considered more competent, accepting their words as the ultimate truth. She couldn’t rule out the possibility that Aaron had been misled.

But the question remained—how on earth did her design plans end up with Aaron?

It was highly improbable that her computer had been tampered with.

The design was only on her computer in her small two-bedroom studio; she hadn't used the company's computers for it, nor had she saved it elsewhere.

Sophia looked at her, lifted her up, and spoke softly, "Mommy is not sure."

She then gently probed, "Theresa, is the picture you lost last time—was it on Uncle's phone?"

Theresa thought hard and nodded, but she seemed unsure.

"It seems to be."

She admitted, but her young age was reflected in the vagueness of her memory.

Sophia smiled at her: "It's okay."

She didn't want to make Theresa feel anxious by pressing further.

When they got home, after giving Theresa a bath and tucking her into bed, Sophia went to her studio next door and moved all the big items like the sofa and fridge, searching thoroughly but finding no trace of the lost design.

Feeling uneasy, the following workday Sophia decided to go to the security room and see if she could check the footage, citing the loss of an item.

However, the security guard hesitated; after the last incident with the missing footage, Brandon had laid down the law: without his written permission, no one was permitted access to the surveillance room.

"You’ll need Mr. Crawley's written permission to access the surveillance," the guard explained apologetically to Sophia.