Chapter 22 Stealing Someone Else's Design
Lyla pounded on the table furiously. Just then, two more people came in from outside. They were
designers at her fashion studio and they were all in the same situation.
âMiss Lyla, our sketches are gone too.â âYeah, so is mine.â That was when Lyla realized the severity of
the situation. âGet a technician to come have a look right now.â
From outside, a man replied, âThe technician was just with me earlier. He said either someone
erased it or we were hacked.â She was stunned. "Hacked?"
What hacker would want to attack my small studio? âIs there no way to recover it?â she asked
desperately.
"Unfortunately, there isn't. The technician said it was a skilled hacker. He can't seem to find a trace.â
Lyla flopped in her chair with a ghastly look on her face.
Sarah consoled, âDon't panic, Miss Lyla. Do you guys have any hand-drawn sketches? If you polish it
up a bit, you can probably still make it in time for the registration.â
Lyla glared at Sarah. "Are you a fool? The contest wants us to submit a digital copy of our designs!â
Sarah fell silent. She only wanted to comfort Lyla. Lyla brushed them off, âOkay, just get out. All of
you."
They started to shuffle out of the room.
Lyla sat in her chair completely dumbfounded. Who would hack her tiny studio? She got up and
closed the door to her office then made a phone call. âBen, can you come over right now?â A man
gushed from the other end of the phone, âWhat's wrong, sweetheart?â âSomeone hacked my
computer and all my designs are gone,â she said anxiously. âDon't fret, sweetheart. I'm out of town
right now. Can I go tomorrow? I'll take a look at it for you tomorrow.â She frowned. âCanât you come
back now?â âSweetheart, I'm in Mastar. I can make it back tomorrow at the earliest. Don't worry.
When have I ever pushed off your things?â
She murmured, âWhen is your flight? I'll go and pick you up.â
The voice on the phone suddenly turned dubious. âDo you miss me already?â âUgh, did you have to
ask?â she grumbled and started to blush. He laughed. âI'll let you know after I book the plane
tickets. I miss you to death.â They flirted back and forth for a while before hanging up. She sat in her
chair and spent some time thinking. I can't just sit here in defeat. What if Ben canât recover the data
either? Won't I just be wasting my time?
All of a sudden, she sprung up and left the studio, then drove home to the Brooklyn Residence.
When she got home, Leila was the only one there.
âMom!â she yelled as soon as she entered the house.
Leila was quite taken aback to see Lyla come home. âWhy are you back already?â âDid you throw
away all of Camilaâs things?â Lyla asked. Leila could not understand what was happening. âAll of her
things are in storage.â
Lyla did not have time to explain and went straight into the storage. She searched through it for
about half an hour before coming out with a book of design sketches. Leila asked, âWhat is that?"
âDesign sketches. The sketch I prepared for the competition got erased. There are only a few more
days left before the registration closes. I'm going to see if I can find anything useful in here,â she
said as she flipped through the book. Those sketches came from the sudden bursts of inspiration
Camila got while she studied design. They were all compiled into one thick book. When Camila left
the house last time, she did not manage to take all these things with her. Lyla stopped flipping
abruptly and her gaze fell on the page in front of her. There were four formal wear sketches
altogether; each of them was in a different shade-plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum.
There was a fusion of traditional Chinese art in the designs and each one was mesmerizing and
refreshing to look at. Originally, Lyla wanted to come home to distract herself. She figured those
designs from years ago must be out of fashion by now. She did not expect, however, that Camila
would have such contemporary ideas in designs from seven years ago. âThis one. I should be able to
use this to enter the contest,â she mused. Leila was slightly concerned. âI heard that Camila is back.
If she catches you, aren't you afraid she'll sue you for copyright infringement?â