Having been at the Astoria Daily for so long, Claire Sinclair could tell with a single glance that the editor was just running a script on her, her words dripping with corporate-speak.

’Oh well, the editor is just trying to make a living.’

Claire Sinclair didn’t want to make things difficult for a fellow professional, so she said, "Alright, I’ll sign the contract."

Editor Redbird: Then I’ll send you the digital contract right away. After you’ve looked it over, if everything seems fine, please print it out, sign it, and mail it to our company.

A few seconds later, Editor Redbird changed her tune: It’d be better if I went to get it. Mailing it will be too slow. Do you work at the Astoria Daily? Our company isn’t far from the Astoria Daily.

Claire: Yep. In that case, you can come get it tomorrow when I’m at work.

Editor Redbird: Okay, sounds good. See you tomorrow.

Claire Sinclair would probably never guess that she was the first person in the female fiction department to receive the service of an editor personally coming to pick up a contract.

With the contract business settled, Claire Sinclair felt a wave of relief wash over her. She started writing the second Chapter, saving it to be published the next day.

Writing required concentration, and Claire Sinclair was so focused that she didn’t even notice someone had entered and left her room.

Adrian Quincy saw that she was typing and couldn’t bear to disturb her, so he went back out.

In the blink of an eye, the sky began to darken. Seeing it was about time for dinner, Claire Sinclair finally closed the document and prepared to go hunt for some food.

Just then, her phone rang.

The caller ID read: Unknown Number.

Claire Sinclair hesitated for a few seconds before answering the call. "Hello?"

"Hello, Miss Sinclair. This is the CloudScript Group. I’m the president, Marcus Miles."

"Marcus Miles?"

’The married scumbag who cheated with Lily Yariel?’

Claire Sinclair had a very low opinion of the man, and her tone was less than friendly. "Is there something you need?"

"Here’s the thing. Redbird told me you’re interested in signing with our site, and I want to say I’d be thrilled to have you write for us. There’s also another matter—I wanted to apologize to you personally."

"..." Claire Sinclair was a bit baffled.

Marcus Miles gave an embarrassed laugh and continued, "It’s about Lily Yariel plagiarizing you. Before, our site hadn’t properly verified the situation, so we couldn’t confirm the fact of her plagiarism. Now, we’ve discussed it and reached a new conclusion: we’ve confirmed that she did indeed plagiarize. I’m truly sorry about this matter and the serious impact it’s had on you."

Claire Sinclair raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"After a unanimous company decision, we are dropping the lawsuit against you and will be issuing a public apology on our official social media. How does that sound? Is that sincere enough? If not, we are willing to compensate you with a full promotional package reserved for our Platinum-level authors. This will get your new work seen by many more people. Promotional resources of this level are typically only available to top-tier authors like Lily Yariel."

Claire Sinclair’s face darkened as she warned him, "Don’t you dare compare me to that plagiarizing hack."

"My apologies, my apologies. She just got famous through plagiarism. This was an oversight on our part, I’m truly sorry."

Claire Sinclair couldn’t help but find it amusing. ’For him to be this cowardly, he must have been terrified by the Viper Law Group, right?’

The Viper Law Group really was something else. Just the threat of them getting involved was enough to scare the company president into calling her personally to apologize.

’This was for the best. This way, she wouldn’t have to trouble the Viper Law Group with this mess, and by extension, she wouldn’t have to trouble the Great Demon King Quincy.’

Claire Sinclair breathed a sigh of relief and said, "As long as you sincerely admit your mistake and stop condoning plagiarists, I can let this matter go."

Marcus Miles immediately agreed. "Rest assured, after this incident, we will re-evaluate all the works on our entire platform. If we discover any plagiarized works, they will be immediately taken down and dealt with. We will show absolutely no leniency!"