Chapter 21 Unspoken Debt and Hungry Truths

“And this proposal… it’s Ms. Scarlett’s work. Only she truly understands the core framework. If we want to expand on it, we’ll need her help.”

Back when they first created it, over a hundred people in the nning department worked around the clock for a month–and still couldn’t match what Scarlett had produced in just an hour.

Of course, the key issue was-

Even if the entire department gave it their all, they couldn’t reach her level of precision and sophistication.

Still, given Connor’s rtionship with Scarlett, this should have been solvable with a single phone call.

But then…

Haynes suddenly realized something.

“It’s just… after the breakup, would she really help now?”

Connor flipped through the proposal again.

Every concept and execution n was clearlyid out–adaptable, innovative, and targeted at multiple demographics.

It was undeniably high–quality work.

Scarlett really did have talent.

Unfortunately…

The image of Reba’s tearful face shed through his mind, and frustration crept into his chest.

“I said, tell the nning department to figure it out! I’m not paying them to sit around and collect dust!”

He refused to believe he couldn’tnd the Lane project without Scarlett.

Scarlett returned to Jasper’sb, only to find that he’d arrived earlier than her. He was seated by the window, reviewing experiment data.

The robotic cat stretched and yawned. When it saw her, a current seemed to flicker through its amber–lit eyes.

It immediately leapt into her arms.

Its tiny paw pointed toward the cage of white mice nearby.

Today, the cat had protected its crew of little garbage babies!

Its face carried a touch of smug pride.

Scarlett gently rubbed its fuzzy head, eyeing it with curiosity–was this cat developing sentienceb? /b

Even ba /bbreal /bbcat /bwouldn’t be able bto /bbexpress /bbits /bemotions this smoothly.

And she couldn’t help but be impressed once again by bJasper’s /btechnological genius.

She took a slow breath and spoke softly.

“Thank you.b” /b

It looked like she was addressing the cat–but her words were for Jasper.

There was no way what happened at the hospital had just been a coincidence.

Jasper didn’t even lift his head. His voice was calm and detached.

“Same reason you protect your mice.”

The implication was clear.

iYou /iiprotect /iiyour /iitest /iisubjects/ii. /iiWould /iiyou /iiexpect /iithem /iito /iithank /iiyou/ii? /i

She took a few steps closer.

That was when she noticed–he was analyzing human brainwave data.

It made her think again about the missing corpses in the morgue…

“Mr. Fletcher, do you only have this oneb?”

Jasper set down his pen and slowly looked over at her.

Sunlight poured through the window-

But somehow, it stopped just short of reaching him.

As if he were the sole operator of some grand cosmic mechanism.

Like the depths of a frozen sea in winter–impossible to read.

“How many do you want?”

Following his gaze, Scarlett looked down at her own left forearm.

The wound had split open again, bleeding steadily.

She quickly covered it.

Jasper’s look had said enough.

iNot /iistrong /iienough/ii? /i

Then don’t ask questions you can’t handle the answers to.

Chapter 21 Unspoken Debt and Hungry Truths

But the more she wasn’t supposed to know, the more curican the became

Still, curiosity couldn’t trump survival.

She returned to her own workstation and resumed recording, her experiment Eas

The results were promising

The cancer cells were disappearing at an elerating rate.

That meant her approach was working

She needed to start preparing the clinicalb–/bgrade drug ahead of schedule–ready for trial application

If the clinical trials seeded, then cancer would no longer be a death sentence.

Time passed quickly.

Before she realized it, it was alreadyte afternoon.

And her stomach growled loudly at the worst possible time.

In the quietb, the sound echoed like a deration.

Scarlett quickly covered her stomach, but then rxed.

It was human nature, after all. Her awkward expression cased, and she let her hand fall

Then she rested her chin in her hand and looked over at the man who’d paid her no attention all day.

With the fading light, he had turned on the deskmp.

But the data in his hand had changed–from scientific charts to a bfully /bEnglish scib–/bbfi /bromance novel

So even the cold, logical tech genius read love stories in his downtime.

Her voice was low andzy, worn out after the long day.

“Mr. Fletcher, does working in yourbe with a meal n?”

Jasper paused, then set the book aside and looked over at her.

Her face was pale and delicate, propped on one hand, a faint smile ying in her eyes.

She looked rxed–clearly the experiment had gone well.

“You should know,” he said, “you haven’t exactly been working for imy /i

Scarlett stood up and stretchedzily.

“If this experiment seeds, yourb will be world–famous. Think of my time here as an investment on your part–a form of early PR.”

Finished

She knew better than to ask what shouldn’t be asked.

But if he truly had secrets to hide, he wouldn’t want theb to be famous.

Jasper stood as well.

“That logic is… passable.”

He headed toward theb entrance and sent a message to Sean to join them for dinner.

Sean burst in a momentter, breathless and confused.

“Oh my god, Jasper, are you possessed or something? You’re actually being nice and invited me to dinner?”