Zora didn't buy his empty promises for a second. As they headed into the living room, John pressed again, "Is there... some kind of misunderstanding between you and Darcy?" Zora paused, letting out a sigh. "To be honest, John, there is a bit of a misunderstanding. We were colleagues before. The company promoted me to Vice President instead of her, and she was resentful. She left for a competitor and has been targeting Zane and me ever since. "So, when I visited Ms. Ione Gale, part of it was to convey your regards. But I also hoped to mend fences with Darcy. Unfortunately, she didn't appreciate the gesture and threw me out of the room." John's brow furrowed immediately. "Her mother didn't raise her right. I apologize on her behalf." So Darcy was lying. It wasn't like she said at all. What kind of parenting is that, Ione?Seeing he had zero doubts, Zora curled her lips into a faint smile and suggested, "John, since Darcy and I are technically sisters now, perhaps we should all have a meal together sometime?" "Good idea! I'll arrange it!" John promised eagerly. ... With her mother settled back at the hospital, Darcy returned to work. She'd barely sat down when Rowan called. "Congratulations, Ms. Gale. Due to the highly successful R&D project, you've been recognized by the district government as an Outstanding Tech Talent. The award ceremony is next week." Darcy was pleasantly surprised. She bit her lip. "Am I the only one going? Will Mr. Blackwood attend?" "He should be there as well," Rowan replied. "He just reminded me to notify you." Darcy smiled, lowering her gaze, trying to ignore the little flutter of joy in her chest.During her time at the hospital, even though she hadn't seen Jethro, he had messaged her on WhatsApp regularly to check on her and her mother. He really is a great boss. ... The weekend came. Darcy visited her mother at the hospital first, then headed to the university lab base. Busy with the product launch and her mother's illness, she had mostly collaborated remotely with Bram lately. Seeing her arrive, Bram walked over, first inquiring about Ione's health. "She's doing better. It's nothing serious," Darcy said. Seeing the clear exhaustion between her brows, Bram didn't press further. He shifted to her patent work. "How's the patent application coming along? When do you plan to submit?" Darcy opened her laptop to show him. "Once I verify this last batch of data, if there are no issues, I can submit." Bram scanned the information. "That's fast. Send me the data. I'll help verify some of it." Darcy knew he was trying to save her time, but she smiled and shook her head. "Look at your dark circles. They're worse than mine. Between the project and your doctoral thesis, your time is more precious than gold." "My dark circles are that bad?" Bram said, embarrassed. He borrowed a small mirror from a nearby student. "Wow, they are pretty intense." He gave an awkward laugh, suddenly self-conscious about looking so disheveled in front of Darcy. Not far away, Mia pretended to focus on her work while straining to eavesdrop. Hearing Bram and Darcy chatting and laughing made her grind her teeth in anger. When Darcy wasn't around, Bram was quiet, even somber. Whenever she tried to talk to him, he gave short, distracted replies.But the moment Darcy showed up, he lit up, full of smiles and conversation. Vixen! Mia seethed internally. First, she had that weirdly flirty vibe with Mr. Blackwood—one of the investors. Now she's all smiles and giggles with Bram. Total man-eater! And that so-called patent—she's been chasing her tail nonstop, claiming she's gonna apply for one. Who knows if it's even real? Remembering Zora's instructions, Mia got up and found a private meeting room. She reported everything she'd heard in detail. Zora reacted quickly. "So she thinks she can just file a patent and get it?" Mia's heart skipped a beat as she tried to figure out what Zora meant. Is she hinting I should shut Darcy down? "How could I stop her? You don't expect me to physically attack her, do you? I won't do that." "Silly girl. She needs that data to apply, right? What if she didn't have the data...?"Zora left the sentence hanging, but Mia understood. Without the data, Darcy couldn't apply. But how to make her lose it? As a top student in Quest University's Financial Engineering program, Mia came up with a flawless plan almost instantly. She also saw what it might cost. Mia frowned. Is it really worth the risk? What do I get out of it? Other than teaching Darcy a lesson and venting some anger, nothing much. Soon, Zora guessed the reason for her hesitation. She said with a cheerful laugh, "Mia, dear, I heard you want to stay on as faculty after graduation. Turns out, my family knows the dean at Quest University pretty well."