The Return of the Cannon Fodder Trillion Heiress
Chapter 860 Incriminating Evidence

Chapter 860: Chapter 860 Incriminating Evidence

With everyone’s eyes fixed on her, Hera calmly shifted the 3D design on the screen and enlarged it. Her voice remained steady and confident.

"As I mentioned earlier, a friend of mine taught me the foundations of jewelry design—including how to use this application to create 3D models or convert my original sketches into digital renders. This helps bring the design to life so viewers can better visualize how it would look when crafted in reality. But that wasn’t all she taught me."

She paused, rotating the 3D model slowly. "She also taught me how to leave behind my signature—small, hidden marks that only I would recognize."

With that, she zoomed in on a discreet corner of the design. A small, elegant signature in cursive appeared: ’Hera.A’. She rotated and zoomed in on several other parts of the jewelry set—each one bearing the same subtle marking, tucked away in the intricate details.

Then, without breaking her rhythm, Hera tapped a few keys on her laptop. A new video began to play on the large screen behind her.

The footage showed a quiet hospital hallway. Nurses and doctors occasionally passed by, checking on patients, but the focus remained on a figure sitting alone in the corridor—Hera herself. Though the patient inside the ICU room was never shown, the video captured Hera, hunched over a digital sketchpad, fully immersed in her work. The footage was grainy at first, but as Hera typed swiftly, the clarity improved, revealing her hand confidently sketching the familiar obsidian horn tiara—the Dragon set—her fingers moving with purpose and intense focus.

Even in the sterile silence of the hospital, her passion burned through every line she drew.

Before anyone could react, Hera played a few more video clips. Each showed her in different outfits, indicating that the footage was taken over several days. In each clip, she was seen sketching and refining her design, with the screen clearly showing the evolution of her work as it took shape day by day.

But Hera wasn’t finished.

She then presented a copy of the patent application she had filed to protect her design. Normally, securing a patent requires thorough documentation—detailed records of the creative process, a timeline, proof of originality, reports outlining the inspiration and concept, and more. The entire process is time-consuming, and once complete, it must be submitted to the appropriate departments through a legal representative for processing.

But was any of that a problem for Hera?

Of course not. She had Larry Wickman on her side—someone with the right connections and influence to expedite the entire process.

This patent served as solid evidence, with the official documents clearly showing her name. Fortunately, Larry had the foresight to conceal her full identity. On the letter, only "Hera A." appeared—her full name, Hera Avery, was subtly hidden in the official records, offering her both protection and credit.

What was written in the official document perfectly matched the signature displayed on other parts of the 3D model, ’Hera.A’. Anyone with eyes could see it clearly—Hera had come fully prepared. Even some of the industry veterans hadn’t anticipated this level of foresight from her. After all, Hera looked so young—stunningly beautiful, yes, but far too young to be well-versed in the legal intricacies of creative rights.

But they underestimated her.

Hera had long been aware of the importance of protecting one’s work through legal means. It’s why she always encouraged those around her to secure their creative rights. Didn’t she advise UE’s Music Director to make sure Logan’s songs were patented too? It was all because of this—because she feared that someone might try to steal what she worked hard to create.

And she had every reason to be cautious. After all, in the original script of this world, she was meant to be nothing more than a cannon fodder—an insignificant character whose sole purpose was to serve as someone else’s foil.

Not anymore, though.

And this alone was enough to prove her innocence. Anyone could easily verify the authenticity of the patent if they wished. Hera had always been meticulous and cautious—her first instinct was to secure a patent for any artistic creation to protect her intellectual property rights.

The challenge with patents, however, was that they were notoriously expensive and didn’t guarantee approval. Fortunately, Hera had the foresight to thoroughly document every step of her design process while she was working on it. Because of that, she didn’t need to scramble to compile everything later when she finally decided to file for the patent—it was all already in place.

But if anyone thought Hera was finished, they were sorely mistaken. She uploaded another video onto the large screen behind her—this time, the footage showed Alice following someone to a corner before glancing back at Hera with unmistakable malice in her eyes. What followed was even more damning: a staff member carrying Hera’s folder, which contained her original designs, was initially seen organizing the materials and labeling them correctly. However, she later returned, retrieved Hera’s folder, and when she came back, she carried a fresh copy—which she then placed under Alice’s name.

But Hera didn’t stop there.

She zoomed in and highlighted the person Alice had spoken to earlier. To everyone’s shock, it was the same woman who had previously stolen Hera and her friends’ assigned room—someone who also happened to be the daughter of one of the event’s directors. With her influential background, she clearly held sway over the staff.

Even more telling? That same woman had participated in the earlier design presentation, but unlike Alice and Hera, she failed to stand out.

So why did this woman help Alice steal Hera’s design instead of claiming it for herself? After all, she entered the competition to make a name for herself. The answer was simple—because her father was one of the directors, she was well aware of the risks involved with violating Intellectual Property and Creative Rights. She didn’t want to gamble with a direct act of plagiarism under her name.

Instead, she saw an opportunity.

By helping Alice commit the theft and setting the stage for a public fallout, she could potentially eliminate two of her top rivals in one move. If both Hera and Alice were disqualified, it would clear the path for her to climb even higher in the rankings. And given her connections, she had already secured a spot in the top eight—removing two strong competitors would only push her closer to the top.

But of course, she wasn’t foolish. She knew her ranking had been bought—after all, she didn’t make much of an impression during the earlier stages. This was the highest she could realistically achieve. However, if both Hera and Alice were eliminated, she would be bumped up to sixth place. That would be just enough to gain recognition without drawing too much attention, keeping her involvement in the scheme under the radar.

As for Alice possibly getting caught or not, that wasn’t her concern. To protect herself, she ensured that the staff who helped her remained silent, either through pressure or favors. She even sent someone to erase the surveillance footage from the security department. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

But what she hadn’t counted on... was Sasha.

Recovering deleted files isn’t something just anyone can do—but for Sasha, if there’s a will, there’s always a way.