Chapter 53
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“Professor Weaver and the others seemed a bit off earlier,” Tobias said, testing the waters.
Kaia wasn’t surprised by his question. With how sharp he was, she would have found it odd if he hadn’t picked up on it.
‘How so?” she asked.
Tobias fixed her with a steady gaze. “What do you
I didn’t notice anything,” Kaia replied.
think?”
Tobias smiled. “I’m curious. How did you end up having dinner with Dr. Bennett’s research team?”
Oh, I just ran into them by chance,” Kaia said.
Tobias was stunned. “By chance? Wait, they actually know you?”
Kaia replied casually, “Come on, it’s not that weird. I’m this year’s top scorer in the city.”
Tobias didn’t buy it. “There’s a top scorer every year, but I’ve never heard of any of them hanging out with Dr. Bennett’s team.”
‘Maybe it’s because I’m the top scorer with a perfect score. Not many people out there are quite like ne,” Kaia said with a hint of pride.
Her answer didn’t really hold up, but Tobias couldn’t find a way to challenge it.
‘But the way Professor Weaver and those senior professors acted around you was unusual…” Tobias said, his sharp eyes never leaving her face.
Kaia arched her perfectly shaped brow. “Was it?”
They stared each other down for a full minute before Tobias was the first to break eye contact, conceding defeat. But he quickly pulled himself together.
“Did
you see Dr. Bennett back in the private room?” Tobias asked.
The scene flashed through Tobias’s mind that Kaia stepped out of the room with the professors.
The door hadn’t even fully opened, but he’d only caught bits and pieces. It sounded like the senior professors were showering Dr. Bennett with praise.
“No, I didn’t,” Kaia replied.
Yeah, she was totally lying.
Tobias was sure she was lying, but he didn’t call her out on it.
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Chapter 53
He couldn’t help but wonder just how many secrets she was still keeping from him.
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Right then, he felt like a treasure hunter in the lair, itching to uncover every secret hidden in the enigma that was Kaia, one piece at a time.
“They’re all gone,” Louis said, nudging Andrea, who was still standing there like a statue.
“What? Oh.” Andrea snapped out of it, still reeling from everything that had just happened.
Louis narrowed his eyes, a hint of disdain creeping into his gaze.
“I told you not to stick around, scheming about Dr. Bennett. Well, now look at you. Forget about getting into her research institute,” he said.
Andrea’s heart twisted with pain, and she silently blamed Kaia for everything. ‘If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t be stuck in this mess.
“Wait, hold on!” A thought suddenly struck Andrea, and she whipped her head toward the private room door. “Where’s Dr. Bennett?”
Louis snapped out of his daze too, realizing they’d been so focused on Kaia that they’d overlooked
Dr. Bennett.
Yeah, where is Dr. Bennett? How come we never saw her? Wasn’t today supposed to be the anniversary of the institute? She should’ve shown up,‘ he thought.
“Maybe she’s still inside?” Andrea guessed.
Louis stared at the tightly closed door, unsure if anyone was still inside or not.
Andrea was about to push the door open when Louis quickly grabbed her arm.
‘Are you crazy? What if Dr. Bennett’s still in there? You’ll interrupt her,” he said.
“Relax. I can handle it,” Andrea replied, determined,
She thought, “Things are already a mess. How much worse can it get? Fortune favors the bold, right? If I were lucky enough to run into Dr. Bennett, maybe I could pitch myself and prove I have what it takes to join the institute!
Without hesitating, Andrea pushed the door open.
The room was empty.
What a letdown!
“That’s weird. Where’s Dr. Bennett?” Andrea muttered.
“Maybe she slipped out during all the chaos?” Louis guessed.
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Chapter 53
Andrea’s face fell, all her hopes crashing down.
Just then, her phone buzzed. It was Ruth calling.
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“Andrea, how’d it go? Did you see Dr. Bennett?” Ruth asked, her voice full of excitement.
Andrea clenched her fists, trying to keep her voice steady. “No luck. I didn’t see her.”
She couldn’t tell Ruth or Lincoln about Kaia having dinner with Dr. Bennett’s team. If they found out Kaia had that kind of connection, it could seriously threaten her position in the Bennett family.
So, she had to keep it under wraps. And she needed to dig up dirt on Kaia as soon as possible. How did she even know those people from the institute?
Kaia had moved out to focus on her SAT. But now that the exams were over, she was still staying out there by herself…
‘What if she didn’t move out just to live alone? Maybe she’s gotten herself a sugar daddy and is selling herself as his side piece?‘ Andrea thought, her mind spinning with suspicion.
Andrea was stunned, but at the same time, a twisted sense of satisfaction crept in. ‘If that’s really what’s going on, Kaia, you’re just digging your own grave.
Right then, Andrea made up her mind. She had to find out where Kaia was living.
“Mom, Kaia hasn’t been home in ages. Should we ask her to come home for dinner?” Andrea suggested.
“Honestly, if you hadn’t mentioned it, I would’ve forgotten. The exams are over, so why is she still not home?” Ruth wondered aloud.
“When she comes back, we’ll know,” Andrea said.
“Right…” Ruth murmured.
With just five days left until the day she and Tobias were supposed to get married, Kaia got an early morning call from Ruth telling her to come back home,
Tobias watched as the car pulled away from the villa, his eyes following it for a long time before he finally looked away.
Devin walked in, his brow furrowed.
“Boss, I looked into Frank’s background. Nothing suspicious came up,” he reported.
Tobias glanced over. “Not a single thing”
Devin handed him the file. “His record’s clean. Just a regular guy. With the Moreno family’s resources, even if someone tried to fake his identity, there’s no way it would slip past us.”
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Chapter 53
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Tobias flipped through the documents, his hawk–like dark eyes growing even more intense as he
read.
“Don’t you think this file is almost suspiciously spotless?” Tobias asked.
Devin frowned, not quite following. “Isn’t that exactly what we want? It means he’s legit, right?”
But as soon as he said it, Devin started to get it–sort of. He glanced over at Tobias, still a little
confused.
His boss’s instincts were freakishly sharp. If Tobias thought something was fishy, then you could bet there was trouble brewing.
“I’ll try to get him to open up and see what I can dig out,” Devin said.
“Good,” Tobias nodded, looking pleased. “But don’t rush it. Frank doesn’t seem hostile toward us now. Honestly, I suspect he’s here to protect someone.”
“Protect someone? You mean Miss Bennett?” Devin guessed.
AD
