CHAPTER 210: CHAPTER 210: SETTING THE TRAP

"Vice Team Leader Nash, don’t get me wrong, I just genuinely believe your abilities are on par with Tanya Sinclair."

Cindy Lynn took half a step forward, gently placing her hand on Celine Nash’s arm.

And Celine Nash only glanced down, not shaking off her hand this time, undoubtedly signaling some form of agreement.

It seemed she had found the right person!

Celine Nash narrowed her eyes coldly, her gaze sharp and clear.

"You’re saying this because you want to use me to help you deal with Tanya Sinclair?" Celine carefully pried each of Cindy Lynn’s fingers off her arm, "You’ve come to expect to use others to achieve your ends. Do you think you’re very clever, Cindy Lynn?"

Cindy Lynn, however, remained unperturbed, and she smiled slightly, "Using is such a harsh word. We can become allies who enjoy working together."

Saying this, she took out her phone to show Celine Nash several photos.

"These were taken just before I came down, caught them in the break room."

In the photos were Tanya Sinclair and Cameron Wenworth, standing very close and smiling at each other.

Celine Nash’s lips pressed tightly together.

Cindy Lynn didn’t miss the fleeting jealousy on her face, and a smile played on her lips.

During the meeting, she had already noticed the different look Celine Nash gave Cameron Wenworth.

She wasn’t wrong!

"Vice Team Leader Nash, you know Tanya Sinclair is recently divorced and single, and working closely with Cameron Wenworth, who knows what might happen." Cindy Lynn placed a hand on Celine Nash’s shoulder, coaxing her gently, "Surely, you also don’t want to be overshadowed by Tanya Sinclair in every way, even losing the man you like to her?"

Celine Nash: "..."

Cindy Lynn noticed Celine Nash’s wavering and took her time, slipping a delicate sandalwood box along with her business card into Celine Nash’s hand.

"Vice Team Leader, make up your mind and contact me anytime. This is a small token of my appreciation, a collector’s piece you can’t find on the market."

With that, Cindy Lynn turned and left.

Celine Nash watched her back as she left, then opened the sandalwood box in her hand; inside was a crystal-clear Blood Amber Gourd, obviously valuable...

Celine Nash picked up the gourd and looked at it, a subtle, unreadable smile tugging at her lips.

She turned around and walked to a deserted surveillance blind spot nearby, pulling out her phone to send a message.

Ten minutes later, Tanya Sinclair’s figure appeared.

"Senior Sister."

Celine Nash snapped, "Don’t call me that, I haven’t forgiven you."

Tanya Sinclair smiled wryly and corrected, "Alright, Vice Team Leader Nash."

Others believed she and Celine Nash had a strained relationship, so Celine Nash never showed her a good face, nor forgave her, because she disliked her.

But in fact, it was precisely because they were once very close, and she had forsaken her ideals for a man, that Senior Sister Nash harbored a grudge...

In truth, Celine Nash did admire Tanya Sinclair’s mind.

"You were right after all, Cindy Lynn did come to me for cooperation to deal with you. Quite generous, too." Celine Nash remarked sarcastically, handing the Blood Amber Gourd to Tanya Sinclair.

Tanya Sinclair’s expression changed dramatically when she saw the gourd.

She reached out, her fingertips trembling slightly as she carefully cupped the gourd in her palm.

On the bottom of the gourd was a small engraving.

—Tanya.

’Tanya, this is a gift from your mother, do you like it? Your name is engraved on it. Your mother carved it by hand.’

’May mom’s precious daughter enjoy long life and safety.’

Tanya Sinclair clutched the gourd tightly against her heart, tears spilling uncontrollably from her eyes.

Everything of the Sinclair Family had been taken from them, claimed for their own, and wantonly desecrated!

"Tanya, why are you crying?" Celine Nash was startled by Tanya Sinclair’s reaction, "This gourd is..."

"It’s one of the mementos my mother left me before she passed." Tanya Sinclair candidly told her, "Thank you for bringing it back to me."

Celine Nash was slightly taken aback, back in college, Tanya Sinclair never mentioned her past and she respected her, never prying. Now it seemed, to Tanya Sinclair, Cindy Lynn was likely more than just a mere mistress.

"What do I need to do next?" Celine Nash asked softly.

Tanya Sinclair: "For now, it’s enough for Cindy Lynn to believe you two are in cahoots."

Celine Nash nodded, handing a document to Tanya Sinclair.

"This is the proposal Cindy Lynn gave me. It’s well-done, but some of the hypotheses need basic experimental data support, and she doesn’t have access to those data. I suspect she knows someone else who has access to the project’s confidential data."

Tanya Sinclair flipped through it; indeed, as Celine Nash said, the proposal seemed beyond Cindy Lynn’s capabilities.

"Tracking this won’t be difficult; I’ll alert Professor Carter to look into it."

"Alright."

The two planned to return to the company. Tanya walked ahead, and as soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she ran into Vincent Hawthorne.

She was a bit annoyed and ignored him with a cold expression.

Vincent’s tall figure blocked her path. Before she could get angry, he spoke first, "Joy is looking for you."

At the mention of her daughter’s name, Tanya’s expression softened slightly.

Vincent took out his phone and showed Tanya a few photos sent by Aunt Tawny in the morning.

In the photos, Joy was pulling at her skirt, doing an elegant little princess curtsy. She was wearing the dress Tanya bought for her last night.

Tanya’s expression softened, and she couldn’t help but reach out to touch her daughter’s cute little face through the screen.

Vincent said slowly, "You have a good eye, Joy really likes it."

Tanya’s gaze dimmed.

No matter how much she likes it, she didn’t send the photos to her directly...

This shows that between her biological mother and Cindy Lynn, Joy still leans towards the latter.

"I received that leaf," Vincent suddenly said quietly.

Tanya was momentarily confused, "What?"

Vincent’s eyes reflected her face as he stared directly at her.

In the past, being stared at by Vincent like this would have made her blush and her heart race.

But now, Tanya was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly burst out laughing, "Did you think that fallen leaf Caden brought back was from me to you?"

Seeing Vincent’s assumption, Tanya laughed even louder, her laughter dripping with sarcasm, making Vincent’s face turn green.

He frowned, "Tanya, what do you mean?"

Tanya was laughing so hard she almost had tears in her eyes.

She wiped the corners of her eyes, stopped laughing, and looked at Vincent as if he were an alien.

"Vincent, can you not be so narcissistic? In your mind, do I even breathe because I still have feelings for you?" Tanya said disgustedly, "Vincent, if you’re sick, go get treated. Stop disgusting me."

After saying that, she didn’t even glance at him and pushed past him to leave.

Vincent watched Tanya’s cold and proud back, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

His stomach seemed to start hurting again.

Next was a site inspection at the factory. Vincent didn’t show up, and Tanya felt the air was fresher.

The inspection went smoothly, they settled the price, and the cooperation between the two sides started to move forward.

Tanya managed to cut ten points off the original price, justifiably, something she couldn’t do with other companies, but she knew Zenith Group too well.

She maximized the price reduction.

This wave wasn’t a loss.

Tanya reported the secret data leak issue to Professor Carter.

She thought it would take several days to investigate, given the large number of people involved in The Veridia Project, but in just two days, she received a call from Professor Carter.

"Tanya, I’ve found the person who might have leaked the data," Professor Carter said, sounding a bit complex, "But his current position is special, and he’s not a member of The Veridia Project, so further action might not be possible. We can only revoke all his access to the project."

Hearing Professor Carter say this, Tanya had already guessed the person’s identity.

She paused and said, "Is it Julian Poole?"

"How did you even know that?!"

Tanya remained silent.

Ever since she confirmed Cindy Lynn’s identity, she conducted a thorough investigation on her, and she found that Julian Poole was a high school acquaintance of Cindy Lynn’s.

Moreover, Julian Poole had been in contact with Cindy Lynn over the years...

Tanya suddenly remembered that night when Julian said a friend needed his help and he had to leave early.

She thought that friend was probably Cindy Lynn...

It wasn’t exactly sadness, but considering she treated Julian as a friend, there was some disappointment.

During the afternoon, when it was time to leave work, Tanya packed up her things and was about to leave when she received a call from the police station.

"Is this Ms. Sinclair? We’re from the police station. You previously reported being attacked by masked assailants on motorcycles. There’s been progress in the investigation. Could you come to the station?"

Tanya asked in a low voice, "Have you caught them?"

The officer on the other side paused for half a second, "They turned themselves in voluntarily."

Tanya: "?"

"In any case, it’s a bit complicated. Please come by."