Chapter 68

Victoria Roscente shot up from her seat, hands trembling as she accepted the gleaming gold trophy.

Sophia Evans clapped gracefully, her eyes sparkling with genuine delight. "Victoria, I knew you'd win."

Samuel Garten abruptly changed the subject. "Miss Roscente, please provide the ingredient list for your perfume. We suspect your entry contains prohibited substances."

Victoria's smile froze.

"Impossible!" she shrieked. "All materials were provided by the committee. If there's an issue, investigate yourselves!"

A cool female voice cut through the tension. "Then explain this."

Victoria whirled around, her pupils contracting in shock.

Vivian Laurent stood behind her, holding a slender dropper between her fingers.

The dropper containing Cloudtree extract—the one Victoria had personally destroyed.

"Who do you think you are?" Victoria hissed through clenched teeth. "Haven't you caused enough trouble?"

Samuel intervened. "This is Judge AN, the one who discovered the discrepancy."

"Judge? AN?" Victoria's voice shook. "This is absurd!"

She stared at Vivian's youthful face. The legendary perfumer AN had been famous for years—how could she be this young?

Vivian met her gaze evenly. "Problem?"

"You're an impostor!" Victoria screamed hysterically. "AN retired years ago!"

"Believe what you want." Vivian shook the dropper. "What matters is your violation."

Samuel added sternly, "If confirmed, the gold medal will be revoked."

Victoria turned deathly pale.

Sophia interjected smoothly, "May I ask what this is?"

"Cloudtree extract," Samuel explained. "A banned substance in Country C."

Sophia laughed lightly. "First, this may not belong to Victoria. Second," she swept a graceful glance around, "we're not in Country C."

Victoria's eyes lit up, her posture straightening.

Sophia turned to Vivian, extending a delicate hand. "Sophia Evans. A pleasure."

Her smile was flawless.