Chapter 294: She Won

Catherine didn’t want this to be how the world remembered her.

She was still proud. Still a queen at heart. A queen did not break down in front of strangers, least of all in front of cameras that would carry her tears to millions of people.

But then she looked at Maximilian.

She remembered all the strength he had given her, the quiet encouragements and the not-so-quiet ones. He was one of the reasons she was standing here now, successful and fighting on her own terms.

And he didn’t even remember any of it.

The thought hurt more than she expected.

She drew a slow breath and steadied herself.

No. She wasn’t going to stand here and let the world turn her into a victim.

Maximilian had told her he would trust her. Then she needed to trust herself, too.

She had chosen to come here. She had known what she was risking. She had expected the questions, the cameras, the scrutiny. She had made her choice with her eyes open.

She was not a victim.

Bernice, who had been hiding behind Sebastian, suddenly hurried to her side and offered her a handful of tissues.

"I’m fine," Catherine said, taking them anyway.

She wiped her eyes and looked back at the reporters.

"I’m fine, truly."

Then her gaze found Maximilian again.

He stood tall above the crowd, his expression tense with worry.

She hadn’t expected him to be here. She had shown him how to follow the broadcast on his computer, assuming he would watch from the hotel. Yet somehow, this man who didn’t even remember the language had come here anyway.

For her.

Her heart tightened.

She remembered the paintings hanging on his wall... how he had been there watching her silently in their past life.

This was how he loved.

She had won. She would stand here as the woman who had fought back.

Maximilian watched her from across the room. Every instinct in him urged him to cross the distance between them and stand beside her, but he stopped himself.

There was something in her eyes.

That familiar light.

That stubborn resolve.

He had seen only the bruises around her neck. He had no idea where else she might be hurt, and the thought made something inside him ache.

It wasn’t the first time he had seen her like this from a distance.

In their previous life, he had watched her suffer too. He had seen her cry alone beneath the weight of losses she should never have had to bear, and he had done nothing.

Back then, he couldn’t reach her.

He had believed he didn’t deserve her. So he had convinced himself that the only thing he could do was destroy Dorian and set her free.

He had failed.

But this time, everything was different.

Catherine had chosen to fight. And he would not stand in her way.

He clenched his hands and drew a slow breath. He still had one weapon left. His gaze met Catherine’s. He gave her a small smile and nodded.

Do your thing.

I’m right here.

Catherine understood.

She drew one slow breath, stepped back toward the microphone, and straightened her shoulders.

The room gradually quieted.

She looked at the reporters before her, then at the cameras broadcasting her to millions of people.

"I grew up with privilege," she began. "A great deal of it."

A few reporters shifted in their seats, listening more closely.

"I never lacked anything. My family gave me opportunities most people can only dream of. But my father and my family never told me what I could or couldn’t become."

Her voice softened.

"My family... They know cattle, land, horses, business. Science was not exactly part of the family tradition."

A few smiles appeared among the reporters.

"But when I became interested in science, they didn’t tell me it was impractical. They didn’t tell me I should do something more suitable for a Preston."

"They simply asked me what I needed to learn." Her lips curved faintly. "And then they made sure I had the chance to learn it."

The warmth in her voice faded as she continued.

"But when I entered academia..."

She paused.

"Everything changed."

The room became still.

"I was judged for my accent. For the way I dressed. For not knowing which people I was supposed to impress at a dinner party. I was told that I didn’t understand how things worked."

One reporter lowered his pen.

"Apparently, spending my time in a laboratory instead of cultivating the right relationships was a professional flaw."

A few reporters exchanged uncomfortable looks.

Catherine gave a small, humorless smile. "I thought talent was supposed to matter."

Maximilian’s expression softened.

She continued. "I thought if I worked hard enough, if my research was good enough, if my results could withstand scrutiny, then eventually people would have to acknowledge it."

Her fingers tightened lightly around the edge of the podium.

"I was wrong."

The words landed quietly.

"Research was taken from me. Credit was taken from me. And when I tried to fight it, I discovered something I had never experienced growing up."

She swallowed.

"Helplessness."

The room was completely silent now.

"I had money. I had resources. I even had a contract drafted by one of the best lawyers I know—my brother."

A few reporters smiled at that.

"And still, when powerful people decided they wanted what I had created, I found myself wondering whether any of that would be enough."

Her eyes lowered for a moment.

"I remember thinking, When I have everything, how can I feel so powerless?"

Maximilian’s hands curled slowly into fists.

He knew that look. He had seen the same woman carry impossible burdens in another lifetime.

Catherine lifted her head again.

"So I made myself a promise."

Her voice strengthened.

"I would take back what is mine."

A murmur moved through the room.

"And I did." Her gaze swept across the reporters. "But I didn’t do it alone."

She turned toward Sebastian and gently patted his arm. "My knight, Bash."

Sebastian’s lips curved into a smile.

"And my friend, Bernice." Bernice immediately looked down, already blinking away tears. "She believed in me when I needed someone to believe in me."

Catherine’s voice caught slightly.

"And my family..." She stopped. For a moment, the confident scientist disappeared, leaving only a daughter overwhelmed by how much she had been loved.

"My family never once asked me to become smaller so that other people could be comfortable."

Her eyes glistened.

"I want to thank all of them."

She took a breath, trying to steady herself.

"And..."

Her gaze moved across the room... Until it found him.

Maximilian.

He stood quietly among the reporters, watching her with an expression that held nothing but pride.

Catherine smiled.

He smiled back.

"And him," she said softly.

A few reporters followed her gaze.

Catherine didn’t explain. She didn’t need to.

"He reminded me, in ways he probably doesn’t even realize, that I am allowed to fight for myself."

Maximilian’s throat tightened. He gave her the smallest nod.

Catherine turned back toward the cameras. "But this isn’t only about me."

Her voice became firmer.

"There are researchers who are brilliant and hardworking, yet never receive recognition because they don’t have the right connections. There are young scientists whose work is taken by people with more power, more money, or better titles."

She looked directly into the nearest camera.

"There are people who have spent years watching someone else put their name on their work."

A beat.

"I know what that feels like."

Her expression hardened.

"And I don’t want anyone else to feel as helpless as I once did."

The reporters began writing again, faster now.

"So I’m going to use this platform."

Catherine stood straighter.

"I am starting an initiative to help researchers whose work has been stolen or whose intellectual property has been exploited."

A reporter raised his head sharply.

"And for researchers who cannot afford to fight powerful institutions, I will help cover the legal costs."

The room erupted in questions.

Catherine raised one hand. "I’m not promising that it will be easy."

The questions quieted.

"I’m not promising that we’ll win every case."

Her gaze moved across the room.

"But I am promising that people who steal research will no longer be able to assume that the person they stole from is too powerless to fight back."

A murmur of approval moved through the hall.

"Academia gave me a great deal," she said. "Knowledge. Opportunity. People I will always be grateful to have met."

Then her expression became resolute.

"I owe science everything. I do not owe every person who works in science my silence."

She paused.

"Academia has a problem. And I think it’s time we started cleaning it."

Silence.

Then applause began.

It started from somewhere near the back.

Another person joined.

Then another.

Within seconds, the entire room was clapping.

Catherine stood at the podium, shoulders straight, eyes shining.

She was not Dorian Blackwood’s dead fiancée or an abused woman or the scientist whose work had been stolen.

She was Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Preston.

A scientist. A daughter. A woman who had fought her way back.

And, across the room, Maximilian smiled.

Catherine found his eyes once more.

For a moment, neither of them looked away.

He was proud of her, and somehow, that mattered more than every camera in the room.

Catherine’s lips curved into a quiet, happy smile.

She had won.

And all she wanted was...

Maximilian...

Wait... is he... using his laptop?