CHAPTER 23

Chapter 23

+25 BONUS

It was clear to Lucia that Genevieve wasn’t going to let her off the hook. She took a deep breath and said slowly, “I understand. Whatever decision the company makes, I will accept it.”

With that, she turned and left.

As soon as she exited Genevieve’s office, she could no longer contain her anger. She stormed back to the R&D department.

Nyla was engrossed in her work, looking through some documents, when she heard the sound of hurried. footsteps approaching from behind. As soon as she turned around, a slap landed hard across her face. The sharp sound of the slap silenced the entire room, drawing everyone’s attention to the two women. Lucia had used all her strength, causing Nyla’s head to snap to the side. A red handprint quickly appeared on her pale cheek, and it swelled rapidly.

Nyla looked up, her gaze cold as she stared at Lucia.

Despite herself, Lucia felt a flicker of fear under Nyla’s clear, unyielding gaze and instinctively wanted to step back. But once she remembered the report Nyla had filed against her, her confidence returned, and she looked at Nyla defiantly.

“This slap is just a lesson for scheming against me behind my back. If you dare-

Before Lucia could finish her sentence, Nyla grabbed her hair and slapped her back just as hard.

Lucia was stunned–she never expected the usually gentle Nyla to retaliate. By the time she regained her, senses, her face was flushed with rage.

“How dare you hit me?!” she yelled, raising her hand to strike Nyla again, but her wrist was caught mid–air She leered at Nyla, her eyes blazing.

Nyla leaned in, her voice low enough for only the two of them to hear. “Are you sure you want to make a scene and let everyone know you tampered with the data? The R&D department has more than just your team. Your team always gets the best projects and resources. Do you think the others will stay quiet if they find out?”

Lucia’s expression changed. The final decision from the headquarters hadn’t come through yet. If she caused a commotion now, it could make things worse for her.

Gritting her teeth, she spat, “You just wait!”

She wrenched her hand free and stormed off, thinking about how her father had connections with some higher–ups who might be able to help her.

After Lucia left, a female colleague who was on good terms with Nyla approached her. “Nyla, your face is swollen. There are some ice packs in the fridge. Let me get one for you to reduce the swelling.”

Nyla nodded. “Thank you, but I’ll go get it myself. Don’t let me disrupt your work.”

She quickly walked to the break room, found a clean towel, and wrapped an ice pack in it, pressing it gently against her swollen cheek. The pain made her wince slightly.

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Chapter 23

+25 BONUS

She wondered how long it would take for the swelling to go down. She cherished her appearance–what

woman didn’t?

In hindsight, she thought she should have hit Lucia even harder.

Near the railing on the second floor of the department, Spencer, who had watched the whole scene unfold, couldn’t help but remark, “I didn’t expect Ms. Jayston to be so tough despite her gentle appearance.”

Damon remained expressionless, but a hint of interest appeared in his eyes. It seemed his niece-in–law wasn’t the meek and docile person he had thought. Confronting enemies head–on like that might not always be beneficial in the workplace, but it wasn’t his concern.

“Let’s go,” he said.

They had come to check on the progress of an experiment but ended up witnessing an unexpected drama instead.

Spencer hurried to catch up with him. “Mr. Sumner, should we investigate what happened?”