ANMELDENDr. Smith’s side of the treatment had already been successfully wrapped up, so it was no surprise that Felix had finally made his move.He had dug a trap for Xena and laid out the whole game in advance. The thirteen percent of York Corporation shares she had gotten from him was the reward for cooperating with the experiment.Dr. Smith’s side of the treatment had already been successfully wrapped up, so it was no surprise that Felix had finally made his move.He had laid a trap for Xena from the very beginning. The thirteen percent of York Corporation shares she had taken from him was the reward for cooperating with the experiment.Xena’s greed had always been enormous. Shares in York Corporation worth six hundred million were more than enough to feed her ambition. Back when Felix helped push York Corporation onto the market, he had already been planning for this day.Now that the experiment was over, the result of the ten years Xena had spent holding Felix in check was this. York
Miranda took off her lab coat. Adrian was staying behind to log the data, so he told her to head out first. Miranda reminded him not to stay too late.She grabbed her bag and stepped out of the office. In the hallway, a familiar figure was walking toward her with a smile.“Ms. Stone, done for the night?”“Gavin? What are you doing here?” Miranda asked in surprise.“I’m here to drive you home. Mr. Gibson figured you’d be exhausted after working late, so he sent me to be your driver,” Gavin said.Miranda really was tired. For the sake of safety, she didn’t turn him down.On the drive home, Gavin drove steadily, and Miranda felt a quiet wave of gratitude.When they reached the parking garage, she thanked him. “Gavin, thank you. You should head home and get some rest too.”“If you’re thanking anyone, thank Mr. Gibson,” Gavin said at once. There was no way he was taking credit for this. He was just following orders.The thoughtfulness had come from Felix.Miranda nodded, then head
The board’s approval of the additional funding was a relief to Miranda too. After talking it over with James, she learned that the consumer side of the project was progressing very smoothly, and Gibson’s stock continued to trend steadily upward.Not long after Miranda got back to the lab, her phone rang. Dr. Zeller’s name appeared on the screen.“Dr. Zeller,” Miranda said as she answered.“Miranda, I’ll be at the lab at three this afternoon. There are some research details I want to go over with you in person.”Something in Miranda’s chest tightened. The fact that Dr. Zeller was personally making a trip to Atlantis City to speak with her only made her suspicions stronger.She hesitated, then asked, “Dr. Zeller, can you tell me whether someone needs the brain-computer project to be activated for treatment?”There was a brief silence on the other end.“We’ll talk when I get there.”At three that afternoon, Dr. Zeller arrived right on time. He looked more serious than usual, and t
Miranda stepped inside and glanced at Felix in the seat at the head of the table. He was wearing his glasses again today, which made him look even more sharp and unreadable. But when his eyes landed on her, there was a hint of softness there too.The meeting had barely begun when one of the board members spoke up first.“One billion? Mr. Gibson, the brain-computer project has already burned through an enormous amount of money, and we still haven’t seen any real commercial return. Now you want to put in another billion? This is just throwing money into a fire.”The room immediately erupted, and more than half the board voiced their agreement.“I propose we keep the consumer side of the brain-computer project and drop the medical research side altogether,” another board member said. “At least that way we can protect what we’ve already invested.”Seated at the head of the table, Felix listened to all the objections without changing expression. Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, his gaze
After more than an hour of handing things over, Miranda was still distracted by everything on her mind. When she pushed open the door, her steps stopped.The first thing she saw was Felix asleep on the couch, still fully dressed.Miranda frowned slightly, but she still softened her footsteps and went back to her desk. She still had a few documents to finish, so for the moment, she had no choice but to stay in the same room with him.Sunlight from the window happened to fall across him, wrapping his whole body in a soft glow. Stripped of the sharp edge he wore in the business world, he looked unexpectedly quiet, almost childlike.Miranda was typing away when the man on the couch suddenly let out the faintest murmur.“Miranda... don’t go.”Her fingers froze over the keyboard for a few seconds. She looked up toward the couch.Felix hadn’t woken up. His brows were drawn tight, as if he were trapped in some bad dream.The moment threw off her thoughts. Miranda frowned at the sleepin
Felix was very good at hiding every emotion behind a calm exterior, so good that no one could ever truly read him.“Okay. I’ll go back to the brain-computer team tomorrow,” Miranda said at last with a nod.Felix was quiet for a moment, then pressed the issue anyway. “Wrap up the handoff today and go back this afternoon.”Confusion flickered in Miranda’s eyes. Was he really in that much of a hurry? No matter how she looked at it, something about his behavior today felt off.Not only had he suddenly launched a new project, he had also been unusually specific about the direction of the research.That, combined with Mike’s disappearance, made a thought flash through her mind.Could it be...No. That couldn’t be right.Miranda shook her head and forced the thought away. Mike was out on a mission. How could this research project possibly have anything to do with him?Just then, her phone rang. She glanced at the name on the screen, and her breathing caught.It was Justin.Felix’s
“I’m working. If it’s not urgent, don’t bother me,” Miranda said coldly before ending the call.She was genuinely overwhelmed at the moment. The live sample she had spent two hours cultivating required her full attention to monitor all the data precisely.Tossing her phone aside, Miranda returned
Out in the hallway, Xena turned to Fiona with curiosity. “Why is Miranda part of your research team?”“You know her?” Fiona asked coolly.“I do,” Xena replied, but she didn’t elaborate.Fiona answered mildly, “Her father, Professor Eugene Stone, was a respected figure in the medical field and a c
“I bet it’s because she doesn’t have the credentials. I mean, she didn’t even graduate from college. Who’s going to believe someone like that developed a breakthrough drug? What if people see her interview and get scared to take the medicine?”“True. Fiona definitely presents a better image for our
Miranda took a sip from her glass as the two of them drank and talked.“To be honest,” Sophie said, “I’ve met all kinds of men, but the first time I saw Felix in person at the hotel, he was easily one of the most magnetic I’ve ever encountered.” Then she clicked her tongue and muttered, “Too bad he







