"When I read through it, it felt oddly familiar. The content bears an uncanny resemblance to that award-winning short film you worked on, down to the character outlines.”

Ariana's heart clenched as she absorbed Sonia's words, a sense of impending doom creeping over her.

"Here, take a look." Sonia presented the file to Ariana. With one glance, Ariana felt her heart plummet.

Although Sonia hadn't laid eyes on the "The Missing Body" script, she could sense similarities. But to Ariana, who was deeply familiar with the script, the parallels were glaring—it was blatant plagiarism.

The central storyline and character dynamics mirrored "The Missing Body," with the only major modification being the "first love" role Brielle was set to play.

In "The Missing Body," this character had a limited presence, but in Edgar's film, the romantic subplot and melodramatic elements were amplified, rendering the character's screen time even more extensive than the male lead's.

Upon finishing the script, Ariana let out a sardonic laugh.

"They truly stop at nothing to redefine the depths of their shamelessness."

She recalled that during the film festival, Brielle was set to star in a different genre, but evidently, Brielle and Jasper opted to plagiarize their hit short film due to its acclaim.

Seeing Ariana's reaction, Sonia deduced the situation at hand, "In addition, it seems Brielle's team commenced filming earlier and has been rushing the production. I've heard they're basically nearing completion at this point.”

Undoubtedly, Brielle and her team's haste was intended to ensure that their film would be released before Jayson's.

Given the identical genres and themes, the first film to be released would certainly attract a larger audience, making any subsequent similar films seem repetitive despite script adjustments.

Additionally, given Jasper's propensity for manipulations, it wouldn't be surprising if he decided to accuse them of plagiarism.

What was more maddening was that Jasper's strategy seemed perilously close to succeeding.

Ariana held her lips in a tight line, her hands forming rigid fists.

Tyler had only joined the team a week ago. No matter how much overtime he put in, catching up to them was an unrealistic expectation.

After a moment of contemplation, Sonia voiced her suggestion with gritted teeth.

“Why don't we report their blatant plagiarism?"

Their desperation was evident. Both Ariana and Sonia realized that if Jasper was audacious enough to implement such a tactic, he must have prepared fallback plans.

Having started her career as an online writer, Sonia was well-versed in the challenges of maintaining copyrights for written works, not to mention scripts, which provide even more room for alterations.