The Double or more Life of the Fake Heiress (Mirabella)

Mirabella gave a little smile and set her untouched glass of water back on the coffee table. She had a knack for picking up on things-her ears were just too sharp.

Robert, about to say something, paused as they noticed Joen's assistant rushing back in. "Sorry to interrupt, but Dr. Joen has an urgent situation to handle, so I'll have to see you out," the assistant hurriedly explained.

Robert caught the urgency in his voice and stood up, replying politely, "If Dr. Joen is busy, we'll head out now. No need to escort us; we can manage."

The assistant seemed relieved, not even bothering with a polite smile. "Alright then," he said.

After guiding them downstairs, the assistant quickly turned back towards the research building.

"Seems like something serious is going on," Robert mused, glancing back as they walked away.

Mirabella nodded, fishing her phone out of her pocket. A message from Grady had just come in.

Joen left the administrative office and headed straight for the research building. Upon entering his lab and seeing the wrecked equipment, it felt like his head might explode from the stress.

He staggered back, nearly fainting from the shock. Those two pieces of equipment were his pride and joy, housing nearly twenty years of experimental data, the culmination of his life's work. If they were gone, it was as if everything he had worked for was wiped out.noveldrama

With bloodshot eyes, Joen stumbled over to the microcomputer, trying desperately to power it on, but the machine wouldn't respond. That's when he noticed the main unit, stripped down to its metal casing, with its hardware chip utterly destroyed.

The damage was so extensive that even sending it back for repairs seemed hopeless. With the chip ruined, it meant the bulk of his life's work had vanished.

Joen's hands shook, trying to understand how such devastation occurred in the short time he was away. When the assistant returned and saw the scene, he gasped, fully aware of the lab's importance to Joen. He swallowed hard, not daring to step any closer.

Clutching the destroyed chip, Joen's eyes blazed with anger. "Who could have done this?!"

The assistant shivered, quickly

saying, "The surveillance in the

building was taken out. Whoever did

this was prepared and knew how to

dodge the on-duty professor, which

means they were familiar with the building."

Joen suppressed the metallic taste of fury rising in his throat. "So, it was someone on the inside?"

"That's the most likely scenario," the assistant said, keeping his head down. "Plus, your lab has multiple security locks. Besides you, hardly anyone could get in."

If it had been an outsider, they would have set off the alarm just by touching the door, let alone destroying everything inside.

Joen's face darkened even more.

The assistant glanced at him and then said, "I'll check the other floors, see if there's anything else."

Joen remained silent, his face grim, as the assistant quickly left the room.