In all her years at Meridian Group, this was the first time Bella Jefferson had stepped foot into the laboratory.
Anson showed her around, giving her a brief overview of their current research projects before finally leading her to the R&D room for the new technology.
Mason Sinclair placed great importance on this project.
He had specifically organized an R&D team and put Scarlett Sullivan in charge of it.
Upon entering, Bella noticed a stack of documents on the lab bench.
She picked it up for a glance and found it to be a photocopy of the medical book.
It seemed Mason guarded the book closely, taking precautions even against his own people by restricting their access to the original copy.
From Anson’s introduction, Bella also learned that the research on the new technology was stuck at a bottleneck that had yet to be resolved.
She realized the progress had halted exactly where her own notes ended.
Back then, halfway through her research, she had lent the medical book to Mason and subsequently dedicated her time to running his business, abandoning her studies.
Although Mason had discovered this new technology in the medical book, he couldn’t successfully proceed without her complete notes.
Now fully aware of the situation, Bella knew exactly what she needed to do.
After briefly discussing the upcoming work schedule with Anson, she left the laboratory.
Passing by the breakroom, she happened to overhear a few colleagues discussing something.
Bella had no interest in office gossip, but a few snippets still drifted into her ears as she drew near.
“I heard Ms.
Sullivan got into a car accident yesterday, and Mr.
Sinclair stayed by her side the entire time without leaving for even a second.”
“What do you mean, ‘you heard’?
Ms.
Sullivan posted it on her feed.
Even though she didn’t name names, anyone in the know can tell it’s Mr.
Sinclair.”
“This morning, I even saw Mr.
Sinclair personally dropping her off at work.
They were obviously together last night.”
One female colleague pulled out her phone and brought up Scarlett’s feed post.
From a distance, Bella couldn’t see the screen, but their chatter painted a clear picture: it was a photo of two hands with interlocked fingers, showing half of Scarlett’s face.
The caption read, “It feels so good to be pampered by my boyfriend.”
The colleague held up her phone to show the others.
With the screen angled perfectly toward her, Bella clearly saw a distinct dark mole on the webbing of the man’s hand.
It was indeed Mason.
Yesterday, she had only seen the photos Scarlett posted of the diamond necklace and the car accident.
She hadn’t seen this particular update.
Clearly, she had been blocked from viewing it.
“Mr.
Sinclair doesn’t like people gossiping about this.
Don’t forget, the last time someone gossiped and he overheard, they were fired on the spot.”
“What are you afraid of?
If Ms.
Sullivan dared to post it, she wants us to see it and be jealous.
I even gave the post a like.”
“I really don’t understand what Mr.
Sinclair is so afraid of.
It’s not like he’s cheating on a wife.
Why wouldn’t he let people talk about it?”
“…”
Bella felt no emotional turbulence; she walked past them with a calm expression.
Mason still needed her to solidify his position, so naturally, he feared his lies being exposed.
As for Scarlett, having hooked up with him for so long yet still being kept a secret, her temper meant she was definitely dissatisfied.
That was why she deliberately posted those updates—to assert her dominance within the company.
It seemed their relationship wasn’t as harmonious as Bella had imagined.
Otherwise, Scarlett wouldn’t have deleted the post flaunting the diamond necklace less than half an hour after uploading it.
The elevator arrived, and Bella stepped inside.
After returning to her office to grab her bag, she left the company building.
Her designated task was to report the progress of the new technology to the Xavier Family, so Mason wouldn’t say a word no matter when she chose to leave.
Bella drove straight to her own research institute.
On the way, she called Nancy Monroe to report the specific progress of the new technology.
Nancy’s voice carried an obvious hint of difficulty.
“Miss Jefferson, Mr.
Xavier’s instructions are for you to report your work directly to him.”
“I don’t have his contact information,” Bella blurted out.
“Then please wait a moment.
I’ll give you Mr.
Xavier’s phone number right now.”
“There’s no need.
Mr.
Xavier is busy with countless affairs every day; he probably doesn’t have time to answer my calls.
I’ll have to trouble Assistant Monroe to relay the message on my behalf.”
Without waiting for Nancy to reply, Bella used driving as an excuse and hung up the phone.
She had previously agreed to report in person once a week and communicate via phone at all other times.
Ever since she took over the collaboration with Xavier Group half a year ago, she had always contacted Nancy directly, and the person she met with face-to-face was the head of Xavier Group’s project department. Find the original chapter at novelping . com.
Since she had never interacted with Adrian Xavier before, there was no need to start now.
As soon as her car arrived, Hailey Lynch immediately approached to report her findings.
“Scarlett Sullivan is indeed married.
But just like in your case, I can’t find out who her husband is.”
Truthfully, regardless of what Hailey found, Bella already knew the answer.
Without substantial status, Scarlett—no matter how high-profile she acted—would never dare to crown herself the CEO’s wife, let alone boldly flaunt their affection on her feed.
The irony was that Scarlett was supposed to be the mistress angling for a promotion, yet Mason had given her all the confidence and dignity she desired, validating her identity with a fake marriage certificate.
Meanwhile, Bella Jefferson had unwittingly become the mistress intruding on their marriage!
Had this been a few days ago, she inevitably would have been heartbroken and devastated.
But now, her face was completely indifferent.
Utterly unaffected, she got out of the car and walked into the institute.
Hailey followed closely behind, asking worriedly, “Since you already know everything, what do you plan to do next?”
Bella entered the locker room, took off her jacket, and hung it up.
After changing into her lab coat, she turned to look at Hailey.
“Do you remember that technology I was halfway through researching?”
Hailey nodded.
“The one used to treat congenital heart disease.
You even made notes about it in the medical book.”
“Exactly.
Mason is currently researching it, and I plan to beat him to the punch and finish it first.” As she said this, Bella’s eyes were filled with unwavering determination, though a flash of heartache crossed her gaze when she remembered that small, pitiful figure.
“Besides, Sarah Xavier urgently needs this technology to save her life…”
Hailey knew she still hadn’t stepped out of the shadow of her daughter’s death.
She gently patted Bella’s shoulder to comfort her.
“You’re the genius our teacher always talked about.
I believe you can do it.”
That same day, Hailey helped Bella set up a private laboratory so she could conduct her research without any distractions.
Relying on her memory, Bella rewrote all the notes she had originally made in the medical book.
Once she got busy, she lost track of time, completely unaware of what was happening outside.
It wasn’t until Adrian Xavier barged into the laboratory, his large, warm hand shackling her wrist, that she finally frowned and looked up at him.
Hailey followed right behind him, looking utterly helpless.
“I’m sorry, Bella.
I couldn’t stop him.”
“It’s fine.
Go back to your work.”
Once Hailey left, Bella tried to pull her hand back, but he gripped it even tighter, leaving her no room to struggle.
Bella felt a twinge of pain and frowned in slight annoyance.
“What is the meaning of this, Mr.
Xavier?”
“Why didn’t you accept my friend request?”
“I didn’t see it.” Her airy explanation was laced with complete indifference.
Adrian’s handsome face darkened, his voice seeming to squeeze through his clenched teeth.
“Miss Jefferson, don’t play dumb with me!”
He released her hand and, right in front of her, sent another friend request.