Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 353: Chapter 353

It was absolutely flawless. Ricky, barely containing his excitement, presented the classified documents to his higher-ups.
Confident in their respective fields, the higher-ups showed no hesitation. But as soon as they compared the old and new versions, they couldn't contain their excitement either.
"Brilliant," one of the higher-ups exclaimed. "I always thought there was something off about our strategic deployment, but with these changes, every issue has been perfectly resolved."
"Yeah, just look at the documentation for this electronic warfare simulation. I always thought it wasn't good enough before, but after these revisions, it's nothing short of a masterpiece," another said.
Others exclaimed, "This security upgrade is the most advanced defense system in the world. Once it's in place, not even the legendary hacker queen could crack it, let alone average hackers."
In just a short time, several higher-ups witnessed Zoe's extraordinary capabilities firsthand. Her actions alone had already made her worth far more than any classified data stored in that computer.
If she tried to sell these seemingly useless things, the knowledge in her head alone could fetch a crazy amount of money. Besides, it was the kind of top-secret intel every country would kill to get.
A higher-up smiled warmly and said, "Zoe, how about joining the Admin Department?"
"No way. She'd be a perfect fit for the Operations Department," another higher-up interjected, pride evident in his tone.
"Zoe belongs to the Tech Department," insisted another higher-up. "It'd be a damn shame to waste a mind like hers."
What began as a serious spy hunt had now devolved into a ridiculous farce, with the higher-ups scrambling over each other to snatch up talent.
Sophia stood off to the side, practically fuming. She thought, "All my scheming wasted just like that? How could things turn out like this?"
Shawn watched as Zoe effortlessly defused the crisis, a faint smile on his lips. "This is the woman I chose, the absolute best. She doesn't need me to shine. She's radiant all on her own," he thought.
Rick and the others never expected Zoe to actually clear her name in just one minute, even under such adversity. With skills like that, calling her a genius would be an understatement. She was a true prodigy who stood head and shoulders above the rest.
Yet what was most remarkable was Zoe's unflappable composure. She remained utterly unfazed even as all the higher-ups scrambled to recruit her.
The higher-ups, once skeptical, now fought over Zoe's talent. They believed she was innocent and wanted her to marry Shawn to keep the talent in the organization.
Still, there were a few higher-ups who disapproved of Zoe. It wasn't that she lacked ability. If anything, she was too capable. In their eyes, someone like her, if not kept in line, could easily become a real disaster.
Shawn was a once-in-a-generation prodigy warrior. If they let this reckless vixen get her claws into him, it would be doomed.
Rick scowled, never expecting Zoe to become such a sought-after talent so quickly. This was far from what he'd anticipated. Fuming, he turned his anger on Sophia. "Look at the mess you've made."
Sophia seethed with silent rage, thinking, "This scheme wasn't just my idea, yet Uncle Rick is making me the scapegoat. How utterly unfair.
"It's all Zoe's fault that I ended up so humiliated. Why did everyone fawn over her?" Sophia just couldn't accept it.
Just as Sophia was about to lunge at Zoe, Rick grabbed her wrist. Through gritted teeth, Sophia muttered, "I can't just swallow this insult. I was so close to pulling it off."
"With everyone watching, do you really want to bring more shame to the White family?" Rick gripped Sophia's wrist tightly, preventing her from making any rash moves.
But just because she was holding back didn't mean Zoe would let her off the hook. Seeing Rick trying to sneak away with Sophia, Zoe stepped past the others and called out, "Rick, Ms. White, what's the rush? Got a guilty conscience?"
Sophia, already seething with rage, whirled around and snapped, "Why would I have a guilty conscience? I didn't do anything wrong."
Zoe strode right up to Sophia and said, "You were the loudest one just now. I might not care much about my reputation, but hearing what you said really pissed me off."
"I was just going by the evidence," Sophia snapped back. "With what I had at the time, suspecting you wasn't wrong."
Zoe said coldly, "The fact is, you were wrong, completely wrong. You have to apologize to me right here, right now, in front of everyone."
Sophia was taken aback when Zoe confronted her face-to-face.
She thought, "Hasn't Zoe always acted like I am not even worth talking to?"
Biting her lower lip hard, Sophia thought, "Even if I've lost, I absolutely won't apologize. This is about my pride and dignity. If I apologize, it means I've lost completely."
Zoe fixed her gaze on Sophia, showing no intention of letting her off the hook.
Actually, she'd seen through their scheme from the start. It was Rick and Sophia who had framed her today. She could even produce concrete evidence proving Sophia was the one who set her up.
But she wouldn't do that, not out of mercy, but as a calculated decision. Taking Sophia down so easily would only be a temporary fix, not a real solution.
Since Sophia kept digging her own grave, Zoe decided to let her continue. She wanted to see, in the end, what choice Sophia would make with the chance she was given.
If Sophia backed off now, she would be let off the hook. But if she kept being stubborn, next time she would have to face the consequences of her own actions.
"I won't apologize. I did nothing wrong," Sophia snapped defiantly, refusing to yield under Zoe's pressure.
Rick's face darkened as he spoke up for Sophia, "You've cleared your name, so don't push your luck. Frankly, it was your own questionable behavior that led to Sophia's misunderstanding. Your relentless attitude is downright repulsive."
The hostile higher-ups who disliked Zoe jumped at the chance to gang up on her, moving in to put pressure on her.
One of the higher-ups sneered, "Don't burn your bridges, Zoe. You'll have to deal with us again someday."
The other chimed in, "Being so aggressive isn't exactly a virtue, Zoe."
Another said, "She's clearly from some no-name family, utterly classless."
Someone sneered, "She's so unpresentable."
These malicious verbal attacks made their resentment toward Zoe crystal clear.
With so many people backing her up, Sophia grew bolder. She looked Zoe in the eye and said defiantly, "Fine, Zoe, I admit you were framed. But everything I said was based on facts."
Zoe calmly nodded and pulled out her phone. With a few quick taps, a surveillance video popped up on the screen. It was footage of Sophia meeting with Eunice. Unfortunately, there was no audio.
Sophia grew nervous. "I never actually told Eunice to help me, but if there's audio evidence, there's no way I can talk my way out of this," she thought.
Zoe said, "Let me make this clear. Don't jump to conclusions. Eunice has a deep-seated grudge against me. If she wants to frame me, fine. But Ms. White, you are stupid enough to trust a convict's words? That's just shocking."