Back at the company, Marlene summoned the designer.

A woman in her thirties, dressed in a casual beige suit, entered Marlene's office. Despite her relaxed appearance, she looked weary, with dark circles under her eyes. "Miss Phillips, what can I do for you?"

Marlene fixed her gaze on the woman. "Samira, did you create our shopping mall's design?"

Samira Martel, taken aback, assured her, "Of course. Miss Phillips, I wouldn't dare to deceive you."

“Then what is this?" Marlene then presented a photo of the nearly completed Phillips Group's mall.

It was strikingly similar to Samira's design, but even more refined.

Samira's breath caught, her mind racing. How could this be? She knew only she and Ewing had access to the design, and Ewing had long since left the company.

"This has to be plagiarism," Samira declared, her voice laced with conviction.

Marlene felt a wave of relief. If the Phillips Group had indeed copied Samira's work, it could work to their advantage.

"Are you certain?" she probed.

“Absolutely,” Samira affirmed, her expression resolute. “There must be a mole from the Phillips Group in our company, but it's foolish for them to copy so blatantly."

Convinced, Marlene ordered, "Gather everyone. We need to root out this spy as soon as possible."

Despite a thorough search that afternoon, Marlene failed to identify any suspects. In a bid to set an example, she dismissed the most suspicious employee at random.

Lance, upon hearing about the incident, pondered over the situation.

“Why would Lilah risk such a blatant act of plagiarism? Our designs are legally protected. She's only harming herself."

Marlene speculated, "Perhaps she didn't know about the notarization.

Let them finish building, and then we'll expose Lilah's theft."

Lance harbored a nagging doubt, unable to shake the feeling that something didn't quite add up. But it seemed unlikely that Samira would betray the company by plagiarizing.

A week later, the construction of Phillips Group's shopping mall neared completion. Its unique design drew the attention of many passersby, who stopped to take photos.

Online discussions soon followed, with netizens noting the striking similarity between Phillips Group's mall and Dillon Group's.

"Unbelievable! They look exactly the same," one netizen exclaimed.

“Which one is the copy? This is going to be interesting," another commented.

"Could this be a multi-million dollar plagiarism scandal?"

In the comments, both companies were tagged, urging them to clarify.