Chapter 1356:

Evelina nodded. “It’s really nice. Everyone is so friendly.”

“That’s wonderful.” After seeing her daughter off to school, Melany headed to the company to review design drafts with Alyssa.

When Alyssa learned that Meagan was already on board, she exhaled deeply in relief. “With Meagan willing to cooperate, managing the other clients will be much easier. For now, the real headaches are the fabric and the embedded jewelry. Every high-end fabric supplier in Crolens has shut us out. They’re playing hardball, waiting for us to hit a dead end and come crawling back at inflated prices.”

She paused, then added, “Sourcing fabric isn’t the core problem—worst case, we import for this couture batch. The real difficulty is securing stable relationships with new suppliers. Until that’s sorted, I can barely sleep.”

“Have you looked into potential fabric sources yet?” Melany asked.

“I have.” Alyssa handed her a file. “Over the years I’ve traveled widely and studied various textile origins. We’ve faced monopolies like this before. Our factory can only produce so much on its own, so we still depend on external suppliers for new materials. Silkford’s fabrics are exceptional. They specialize in silk and have the largest sericulture base in the country. Some of the finest silks in existence originate there. We simply can’t replicate that quality ourselves—it’s genuine haute couture material.”

Y𝗼u𝘳 dа𝗂𝗅𝘆 𝘥𝗼𝘴𝖾 о𝖿 no𝘃𝖾𝗅𝘀 o𝗻 g𝗮𝗹𝗇оv𝖾𝘭𝗌.с𝗈𝗺

Melany considered this for a moment. “For the existing orders from the wealthy clients, we’ll import for now.” Then she added firmly, “As for everything else—send me to Silkford. I’ll inspect it personally. If the silk is everything you’ve described, we’ll begin negotiating a partnership.”

Alyssa raised her eyebrows. “You’ve barely returned, and you’re already planning another trip? This isn’t about Deandre, is it? And what about Evelina?”

“Absolutely nothing to do with Deandre,” Melany said with a small shrug. “It’s only a short site visit—a month at most. Evelina will stay with my mom. She’s used to my travels and quite independent.” She smiled softly. “She actually loves watching me create. She’s genuinely proud of my designs.”

Alyssa let out a relieved laugh. “You’re lucky your daughter is so easygoing. I’ll put you on the Silkford trip. If everything lines up, you could be on your way by next week.”

After they wrapped up the discussion, Melany’s phone rang—it was her mother. Several medical professors were visiting that day to discuss Snow Mint. Over the years, Dottie had cultivated strong academic ties with these researchers, maintaining a steady, almost collaborative rhythm with them. Melany said she would leave work a little early, pick up Evelina, and stop for groceries on the way home.

Across the city, in a VIP hospital ward, the sharp scent of disinfectant clung heavily to everything.

Deandre slouched against the hospital bed. The IV in the back of his hand had been there all night, the drip bags swapped out repeatedly. His complexion remained ghostly, though the fever had eased slightly. At least he was awake.

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