Zane looked momentarily dazed, rubbing his face. "Things have been really tense between us lately." "Tense? What happened?" Hugo was baffled. They were about to get engaged—why on earth were they stuck in this standoff? "Because of the engraving on the ring." "...That's nothing. Just apologize and sweet-talk her." Zane gave a bitter laugh. "The engraving is Darcy's initials." Hugo let out a scoff of disbelief, then lashed out with a kick without thinking. He pressed his tongue hard against his back molars, jaw tight. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Zane was drunk. Normally so proud and image-conscious, he'd shed all pretense. "I thought she wouldn't find out." Hugo couldn't be bothered with him anymore. He got up and beelined for the door. But he couldn't just leave it. He patted Zane's face to sober him up a bit, then said, "Buy Zora a new diamond ring. You have to get engaged. That's the only way the Vance family will fully accept you. It's your chance to get into the Vance Group, so you don't let your mom down. Got it?" The bar's private room light fell on Zane's sharply defined face. He seemed to finally remember his goal, mumbling, "Okay." Hugo walked out and called Zora, telling her to come get Zane. Sensing her indifference, Hugo lied, "Someone drugged him. If you still want to be Mrs. Vance, you'd better get here now." With that, he hung up and got into his car. Hugo felt pretty despicable, like those "slimy guys" people talked about online. To get what he wanted, he played both sides.Truth was, this wasn't the only selfish move he'd made. A friend who'd been living abroad had recently returned. He mentioned seeing Zora and Lucian behaving intimately overseas, thinking they were a couple. So how come she was getting engaged to Zane now? Hugo could have told Zane. But then what? Zane and Zora would break up, and Zane would immediately try to get back with Darcy, right? Dark clouds gathered low in the distance. A storm was coming. Hugo let out a heavy sigh and drove away. Love is selfish by nature. I'm not wrong. Meanwhile, Darcy left the research lab and drove straight to the police station. An officer listened to her story and request, then looked puzzled. "Ms. Gale, you're saying you're here to file a report, but you don't want us to investigate on-site?" Darcy nodded. "Yes, Officer Foster." After a slight hesitation, she explained, "Our project is classified. We can't have outsiders knowing about the code and data loss. That could affect the school and the professor's reputation." Rhett Foster found this interesting. He tapped his pen on the desk. "Then why report it at all?" Darcy smiled, "To prevent the patent from being stolen. By filing a report before the other party applies, I create a record. If they apply for the patent later, I can immediately challenge it. So, could you please document the details of my patent thoroughly?" "You seem certain the thief will apply for the patent. Do you know who did it?" "Well, I have my suspicions. But no proof yet." Rhett looked her over, intrigued by her confidence. "You really don't want our help?" Darcy nodded. "I can handle it myself."Someone as scheming as Zora would never do something for nothing. Destroying the code and data was just the first step. Using it to apply for a patent herself was the real goal. The reason was simple. After losing to Darcy repeatedly, she needed to claw her pride back fast. Otherwise, Zane might start doubting her PhD credentials. And using Darcy's work to apply for a patent was fast and effective. Leaving the station, Darcy went straight to her car, not noticing the Rolls-Royce parked across the street. Jethro slowly rolled down his window, narrowing his eyes at the police station across the road. Then he took out his phone. "Hello, Officer Foster. An acquaintance of mine just entered your station. I wonder what happened? Yes, her name is Darcy Gale."Rhett was on good terms with the Blackwood Group, having solved several corporate espionage cases with their help years ago, which led to a personal connection with Jethro. Hearing Jethro correctly name Darcy, he knew they were truly acquainted and told him about Darcy's request. "Your friend is very clever. Doesn't need our help at all," Rhett chuckled. Jethro looked down, lost in thought. After a moment, he thanked him. "Thanks. Please don't tell her about this. She's proud and doesn't like people helping her." Rhett immediately understood—Jethro intended to get involved. After hanging up, Jethro leaned back against the window, closing his eyes, mentally piecing together the whole incident.