Chapter 3 · Her Stolen Breakthrough

I grabbed the signed application and turned to leave.

"Stop right there." Miles's voice rang out from behind me. "Anna, if you walk out that door today, don't even think about coming back. No biotech company or research institute in Metro City will ever take you in."

I stopped in my tracks, but didn't bother to look back. "Don't trouble yourself."

As I dragged my suitcase out of the campus gates, a light rain began to fall.

Miles texted me: [I told you, you never stood a chance against me. If you regret it now, it's not too late, come back, apologize to me and Rachel, and maybe I'll forgive you.]

I glanced at the message, deleted it, and blocked him, all in one swift move.

My phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number.

"Ms. Newton, this is Jake Goodman. What you asked me to do is taken care of," Jake said.

I simply replied, "Thank you."

Jake was the most mysterious lawyer in Metro City. Rumor had it that he never lost a case.

I went to him with only one request: withdraw the paper submitted to Cell Journal as quickly as possible.

Not change the author, withdraw the entire submission.

Miles thought he'd won, but he had no idea I never cared about competing for the authorship.

What I wanted was to pull the rug out from under him.

I met Jake in the airport's VIP lounge.

He looked even younger than in the photos, sharp suit, gold-rimmed glasses, and eyes that were both piercing and cool, like he could see right through you.

"Ms. Newton," Jake said, sliding over a document. "Cell has officially retracted the paper and apologized for the sloppy review. Based on your data, I've sent legal notices to Miles and Rachel for academic misconduct and IP theft."

"Thank you," I replied, my voice steady.

"You're welcome," Jake replied, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. "But I'm curious, with your skills, you could've handled this yourself. Why come to me?"

"Because I wanted it done fast," I said, looking out at the runway as a plane slowly took off. "Some garbage is so filthy that one more glance at it feels dirty."

Jake chuckled. "I like your attitude. Here's my personal number. If you ever run into trouble in Metro City, call me."

I was a little surprised, but I took his card anyway.

"You're really not afraid of making an enemy out of Miles?" I asked. The Foster family has their hands in everything in Metro City, especially the medical scene.

"The Foster family?" Jake gave a soft, almost mocking laugh, a trace of disdain in his tone. "No one in Metro City has ever made me nervous."

On the flight to Northveil, I got a message from my junior.

My junior wrote: [Anna. Major drama. Cell Journal posted an announcement, Miles's paper got pulled for serious academic misconduct. The whole department is blowing up right now.]

Another message popped up right after.

She added: [Rachel's offer from St. Andrews got axed. Word is, St. Andrews is absolutely furious and put her on their academic blacklist. Miles got suspended from the lab and is under investigation. This is so damn satisfying.]

I stared at my phone, feeling nothing at all.

This was the beginning.

Miles, Rachel, everything you owe me, I'll make sure to take it all back, one piece at a time.

Chapter 3

I grabbed the signed application and turned to leave.

I stopped in my tracks, but didn't bother to look back. "Don't trouble yourself."

As I dragged my suitcase out of the campus gates, a light rain began to fall.

Miles texted me: [I told you, you never stood a chance against me. If you regret it now, it's not too late, come back, apologize to me and Rachel, and maybe I'll forgive you.]

I glanced at the message, deleted it, and blocked him, all in one swift move.

My phone buzzed with a call from an unknown number.

"Ms. Newton, this is Jake Goodman. What you asked me to do is taken care of," Jake said.

I simply replied, "Thank you."

Jake was the most mysterious lawyer in Metro City. Rumor had it that he never lost a case.

I went to him with only one request: withdraw the paper submitted to Cell Journal as quickly as possible.

Not change the author, withdraw the entire submission.

Miles thought he'd won, but he had no idea I never cared about competing for the authorship.

What I wanted was to pull the rug out from under him.

I met Jake in the airport's VIP lounge.

He looked even younger than in the photos, sharp suit, gold-rimmed glasses, and eyes that were both piercing and cool, like he could see right through you.

"Thank you," I replied, my voice steady.

"You're welcome," Jake replied, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. "But I'm curious, with your skills, you could've handled this yourself. Why come to me?"

"Because I wanted it done fast," I said, looking out at the runway as a plane slowly took off. "Some garbage is so filthy that one more glance at it feels dirty."

Jake chuckled. "I like your attitude. Here's my personal number. If you ever run into trouble in Metro City, call me."

I was a little surprised, but I took his card anyway.

"You're really not afraid of making an enemy out of Miles?" I asked. The Foster family has their hands in everything in Metro City, especially the medical scene.

"The Foster family?" Jake gave a soft, almost mocking laugh, a trace of disdain in his tone. "No one in Metro City has ever made me nervous."

On the flight to Northveil, I got a message from my junior.

My junior wrote: [Anna. Major drama. Cell Journal posted an announcement, Miles's paper got pulled for serious academic misconduct. The whole department is blowing up right now.]

Another message popped up right after.

I stared at my phone, feeling nothing at all.

This was the beginning.

Miles, Rachel, everything you owe me, I'll make sure to take it all back, one piece at a time.