"What's going on?" a voice suddenly asked. Hearing it, everyone looked toward the entrance. Three men strode in, their long legs covering the distance quickly. The speaker was Hugo, but Darcy instinctively looked at Jethro. Realizing what she was doing, she immediately averted her gaze. Jethro frowned instinctively. As they drew closer, Hugo asked again, "You were arguing just now. Something happened here?" Mia fell silent, turning back to her workstation and sitting down quietly. Bram glanced at Darcy and scratched his head. "Mr. Sterling, it's nothing. We were just discussing a technical issue. Oh, and today's monthly review—we've got it ready. Since you're here early, we can start early too." He'd just checked—the monthly review deck was still there, untouched. Since no one was in the mood to work, they might as well do the report first. Darcy silently returned to her workstation, her expression neutral. Jethro watched her, his eyes narrowing slightly. No, it's definitely not as simple as Bram says. The large conference room had three transparent glass walls, offering a clear view inside. While Bram and the others prepared, the three men took their seats. Here, Jethro outranked everyone, so the head seat naturally went to him. Lucian represented SummitCore Tech today. He was the lowest in rank among the three. He should've been making polite conversation with the other two, but his mind was elsewhere, his gaze drifting frequently toward the glass door. His intuition matched Jethro's. Something had definitely happened here, and it involved Darcy. Lucian leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. What could it be? Zora's busy with her engagement; she shouldn't have time to cause trouble. "Mr. Blackwood, this is Lucian Yorke, SummitCore's new R&D Director," Hugo introduced when Lucian remained silent. Sterling Group had invested in SummitCore, so its success benefited him. Helping SummitCore meant helping himself. Jethro's gaze shifted over, giving Lucian a slight nod. "We met briefly at the last product launch. Pleasure." Lucian nodded. "Pleasure. Stratagem Tech's product launch did great last time. Congrats, Mr. Blackwood."Hugo smiled, "That was mainly thanks to Darcy's patents. I never expected—" "Never expected?" Lucian interjected smoothly. "She never seemed to hide her abilities." Hugo was taken aback. "You know her?" They shouldn't be familiar. But Lucian's tone was casual, as if speaking about an old friend. A vague discomfort stirred in Hugo's chest. He knew exactly where it came from. It was the panic of seeing someone covet the woman he liked. Lucian didn't hide it. "We've met a few times." "Oh? How many times?" Hugo smiled, determined to get a clear answer. Lucian thought for a moment. "Three or four. Ms. Gale has a remarkable presence. Hard to forget."Hugo's expression darkened slightly. Lucian stopped teasing him, becoming serious. "After I joined SummitCore, I took over Ms. Gale's previous work. The historical documents showed her abilities were far above average. Later, her actions proved it. She's truly exceptional." Jethro glanced at them both indifferently from the side. Hugo, meanwhile, looked down, his thoughts drifting. He didn't doubt Lucian's words. He just suddenly felt that Zane had been truly blind. A stranger could see Darcy's talent just from old documents, while Zane, after seven years with her, seemed to know nothing about her. Pretty ironic. But then again, thanks to Zane's blindness, he'd gotten a chance. At three o'clock sharp, Bram and the other students entered, Darcy following behind. The students didn't want to sit with the investors. In class, they preferred the back rows, far from Alistair. It was the same now. Everyone wanted to stay at least six feet away from the three men. When Darcy entered, all the good seats were taken. She had no choice but to look to the other side. She braced herself and walked over. Before she even got close, both Jethro and Hugo pulled out the chairs beside them slightly. The invitation was obvious. Darcy's steps faltered awkwardly. Lucian watched with amused interest, as if enjoying a good show. He crossed his arms, leaning back comfortably, curious to see which seat she would choose. But Darcy didn't follow the script. She circled around and sat directly in the empty seat next to him.Lucian was a little stunned. His smile vanished instantly. Under the weight of the other two men's intense gazes, he raised a brow at the "instigator." Darcy pretended not to see, focusing on the screen ahead.