Victor frowned, silent for a moment before he asked,

"You''re sure this Ms. Thorne isn''t from the medical field?"

"Positive. Folks in Jindale City said she only did a year at college, and it wasn''t even anything close to medicine. Her family''s in business-not a single doctor among them. But she does seem to have a knack for child psychology."

The assistant paused, then suggested,

"Should I call Miss Stevenson now and get more details?"

"No need. I''ll just ask Sabrina myself."

At that moment, Sabrina was still over in Jindale City. When Victor''s call came through, she sounded thrilled.

"Grandpa! Missed me already?"

Victor''s face was still stern, but seeing his granddaughter, he couldn''t help but

smile a little, feigning annoyance.

"Miss you? Not a chance!"

Sabrina giggled, "But I miss you, Grandpa!"

"Oh, you do? Well, just don''t go causing me any more trouble, you hear? Did you

get into it with Tarquin''s wife again?"

Sabrina frowned. "You mean Elysia?"

"I don''t care what her name is. All I know is she''s Tarquin''s wife."

Sabrina was clearly annoyed now.

"She''s something else, isn''t she? Comining about me all the way to you! I didn''t pick a fight with her, I just can''t stand her attitude."

"She throws her weight around just because her husband''s a big shot. Acts like she''s royalty and I''m supposed to bow and scrape!"

"Sure, the Bradfords are a powerful family, but that doesn''t mean the Stevensons are pushovers! If I just rolled over and took it, it''d be an embarrassment to all of us. No way I''m letting that happen."

Sabrina wasn''t exactly known for her medical skills or her people skills-but she knew how to y her grandpa.

Victor was highly respected in the medical field. He was honest, humble, and genuinely valued talent.

But as the head of the Medical & Pharmaceutical Association, he was surrounded by people eager to tter him. Over the years, all that praise had gotten to his head a bit, and he couldn''t stand to hear anyone say a bad word about the Stevenson family.

Plus, with Sabrina being his only granddaughter, he was always a little soft on her.

"She gave you attitude?"

"Yeah, she''s always looking down her nose at me."

"But why? You two barely even know each other."

Sabrina didn''t miss a beat.

"She''s just jealous, Grandpa. Sure, her husband''s loaded, but at the end of the day, money''s all he''s got."

"But look at me-I''ve got you, the head of the Medical &

Phanical Association!

Your

work does way more for people than her husband''s money ever could."

"Plus, she''s not even as good a doctor as I am. She''s jealous, that''s all!"

"Even if I didn''t have the Stevenson name or you backing me up, I could make it on my own."

"But her? If she lost her husband, she''d just be another trophy wife with nothing going for her!"

Victor''s tone turned serious. "What about that antidote form fromst time? What''s the story there?"

Sabrina lied without even blinking. "She stole my research, Grandpa!"

Victor hesitated. "But during thest online meeting, nobody mentioned anything about stealing research."

Sabrina huffed, “I was afraid her husband would go after the Stevensons if I said anything. That''s why I kept quiet."

"Then why grumble about it behind her back?"

"Because it''s so unfair! Grandpa, imagine working your tail off on some breakthrough, only to have someone else im it as their own and you can''t even call them out. I had to vent somewhere."

Victor paused.

"There''s one thing I still don''t get. She''s not even in the medical field-why would she steal your research?"

Sabrina replied, "She''s trying to pave her way into medicine, obviously! She wants a foot in the door."

Victor went quiet for a moment. "Sabrina, you''re not lying to Grandpa, are you?"

Sabrina sounded indignant. "Of course not! Why would I lie to you?"

Victor let out a long sigh.

"I''ve told you

Steven before, even though the

lead the medical

Borld, I

can''t just hand everything to

уби

on

a silver tter."

"I''ll always support you, but if you want to stand at the top, you''ll have to earn it yourself."