Irene sharply noticed that Dr. Pitt was not being exactly friendly, and she turned toward Dr. Kramer—the other Mead Clinic representative—with a quizzical look."Hotmesh Research just published a research paper with our research data and made it available globally," Dr. Kramer said."What?!" Irene exclaimed while trying to keep herself composed.Dr. Pitt was staring sharply at her regardless. "You didn't know?""I didn't," Irene calmly replied. "Is that so?" Dr. Pitt was clearly suspicious, and kept probing. "Didn't you sneak off with the key portions of our research data and give it to Hotmesh?"She stared closely at Irene's face, because if it were Irene, she would definitely turn nervous or react.However, Irene was an excellent doctor, and naturally had the composure to keep herself together.Looking Dr. Pitt in the eye, she said, "I didn't."Dr. Pitt did not give up just yet. "I remembered asking you to compile our research data, and you would have everything in your pos
Dr. Kramer asked, "What is it, Dr. Tanner?"Irene gathered herself and said, "It's nothing."Dr. Pitt returned just then, and as she sat down, she asked, "Why aren't either of you eating?""We were waiting for you," Dr. Kramer said."Eat already," Dr. Pitt said as she picked up a pair of uniquely shaped cutlery."You know how to use that?" Dr. Kramer asked."It's not that difficult," Dr. Pitt smiled. "And as the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do."A waitress arrived with two coffees and a glass of milk just then, leaving Dr. Kramer perplexed. "We didn't order that.""I did," Dr. Pitt said, and passed Irene the milk. "You shouldn't drink coffee while pregnant, so I ordered this for you.""Thanks, chief," Dr. Kramer said, and picked up his cup of coffee.Irene took her milk and thanked Dr. Pitt too, taking a sip since she was feeling thirsty. As they ate, Irene started to feel a little dizzy.Noticing that, Dr. Kramer asked, "What's wrong, Dr. Tanner?"Irene sh
James's text read: [I know you were the one who put up those slanderous banners at your own wedding venue. I have evidence.]Zachary read it and said, "That's our wedding. Why would Ember try to mess it up?"He was obviously doubtful.James, however, did not explain anything and simply waited.…Over at the Slate's residence, Ember had just finished her bath and was applying some expensive makeup.She was feeling energetic thanks to her buoyant mood, after finally succeeding in winning Zachary's sympathy and eliminating the eyesore named Lulu Adams. Now, she just needed to wait for Zachary to completely forget about Lulu for a complete victory in this battle, with Zachary being her spoils.From then onward, he would belong to her and her only.Nonetheless, when her phone jingled and she picked it up, her face fell when she saw the text.She immediately thought of the man she hired for the job—no one other than him knew. Perhaps he wanted more money? Ember panicked a litt
In fact, James did not even hear it from Irene first hand—Isaac was the one who told him and suggested the ploy."If she was willing to sacrifice her own wedding just to tarnish Lulu's reputation, I wonder if she would sacrifice her own baby so that you would give up on Lulu entirely…"James mused.Though the idea was as delicate as it was realistic, Zachary was still staring at the phone screen as if he never heard James.While he actually caught every word, reality was as shocking as it was overwhelming.The Ember Lindt he knew was naive, kind and understanding… but it turned out that she did not care who she hurt!"How could a person be so vile?"All those lies, deception, and conspiracy… James stared at him and said, "You're no newcomer to business. Haven't you gotten used to all the ploys and stratagems employed? Are you saying that something so trivial really got to you?""I just don't get it… How could a young girl like her be so cunning, so heinous?"There was no dou
On the other end, James was caught dumbstruck.Isaac himself had just told James not to call him if it was not important, and he was calling him already?Also, Irene was sent to the hospital? She was not due yet, was she?Nonetheless, he was too afraid to ask since Isaac sounded very anxious, and he quickly replied instead, "I'll find out what I can."…Once Isaac hung up, Isaac drove straight to the nearest hospital to start looking. For some reason, he was exceedingly flustered, paranoid that something terrible would happen to her.It had been a long awaited reunion, and he did not even have the time to get a good look at her, let alone sit down and have a heart to heart.He had so much to tell her, and he did not manage to tell her that he missed her.He wanted to tell her that he read Yvaine Lynd's letter, that he knew everything—that he was thankful for what she did.Arriving at the nearest hospital, he quickly parked his car and headed inside.However, there were too
[When did Hotmesh publish the data?][Didn't you check your phone?] [We only found out after we were called about it. I mean, we are the leading research center for cardiovascular diseases, but Hotmesh somehow beat us to publish that data. What is that if not a slap on our collective faces? Can we even maintain our reputation from now on?][Yeah.]…[Is that milk… spiked?][You catch on quick. Yes, I spiked it—the caller just now insisted that I bring you in. The investigation concluded that you were the one who stole our data, and if I don't bring you in, my whole career would be over. This is my only option if I don't want to be fired before my retirement.][Give up already. I knew you're sharp, so I kept the dosage at a level where you'd never notice until you lost consciousness completely.]…The lip-reading script was enough for Isaac to get the picture—Irene must have stolen vital research data from Mead Clinic, and was covertly taken back to Minerva.The world certain
Something must have happened, and Stephen was definitely lying!"Then do you know that Irene was abducted for stealing Mead Clinic's research data? Tell me—who did you give it to?" Isaac was doing all he could to restrain his temper. Right now, what he must do was to get the full picture before coming up with an idea to rescue Irene.He would have flipped out in an instant because Stephen was being secretive, but he ultimately managed to stay calm."What?!" Stephen exclaimed in surprise. "That's impossible—the agreement was for Hotmesh Research to keep the data and develop a working prototype for the fully artificial heart in secret before announcing it nationally—""Did you know that they already announced it?" Isaac showed him the publication right then. "They now have the attention of everyone else in the business now, too."Stephen's eyes widened after he scanned through the paper and snapped, "They broke their promise! They're throwing Irene under the bus!""At least you
"The director doesn't actually know…"Before Tobey could finish, Stephen had already cut him short. "You're the deputy director, but you're saying that you don't have the director's approval to publish that paper? Do you take us for idiots?""No, you misunderstand—what I meant was that the director does not know about the data," Tobey admitted. "He's at the age where he should retire soon, whereas I must contribute if I want to be promoted…""So you published the data and tried to pass it off as your own?!" Stephen's hands were clenched into fists—Irene had trusted him so much and handed him something so important.However, it was his own inability to find the right people that her effort went to waste, and now, she was in danger."Did you think you were going to make it just because you did this? I'll talk to the director and tell him the truth!" Stephen was beside himself with rage at Tobey's betrayal and continued, saying, "I trusted you—handed you something so monumental o