Chapter 3

3

I didn't expect him to actually get physical. I shouted at him in a rage.

"Silas Sterling! Do you have any idea who I am? You are going to regret this!"

He paused for a second, seemingly questioning if I was telling the truth.

But Evie Vance just cackled, as if she'd heard the funniest joke in the world.

"You're just a gold-digger trying to climb the social ladder! Your whole outfit doesn't even cost fifty bucks. Who are you trying to kid?"

"Silas, I looked her up. She's been living abroad. Her family suddenly got some cash out of nowhere―she's probably doing some dirty work for it."

My research was top-secret. Only my parents and the nuclear commission knew the details.

Of course she didn't find anything.

Silas looked at me with even more disgust. He purposefully stepped on the last remaining piece of my prototype, crushing it into dust.

"No―!"

My last bit of hope died. My head spun.

That model contained a custom-made microchip. It was designed to simulate the entire fission process for the board of directors.

It was gone.

"I thought you had a real job. Sounds like you're just a high-end escort. Get her out of here!"

The guards dragged me across the tarmac. They pushed me so hard I nearly dislocated my shoulder.

The passengers from my flight gathered by the terminal windows, watching the drama unfold.

Evie was loving it. She even told her friends to start a live stream to humiliate me.

The guards held me down. I rubbed my aching arm, my eyes burning with hatred.

"Silas, I'm telling you for the last time. I am a scientist! I am not whatever trash you're imagining!"

"The files she destroyed are a matter of national security! You've made a massive mistake!"

Evie spat at me. She swung her heel and kicked me in the stomach. The pain was so sharp I broke into a cold sweat.

"If you're a scientist, then I'm the President! Silas, she hit me earlier. My face is still swollen. What are you going to do about it?"

Silas gave a cold smirk and nodded to the guards.

"Honey, she's nothing to me now. Hit her back."

I tried to back away, but the guards pinned me. The slaps came fast and hard. My vision blurred, and I tasted copper.

My face was swelling, the pain turning into a dull throb.

My phone had been tossed aside. I lunged for it and managed to dial my mentor.

Dr. Frost was the most powerful man in this sector. The Sterlings were nothing compared to him.

"Dr. Frost... the X-45 core tech... it's gone." My voice was thick. My mouth was bleeding.

I heard him slam his desk on the other end. He was screaming.

"I'm at the airport... on the tarmac. They're hurting me. They destroyed the model..."

Before I could finish, Evie snatched the phone away.

"Oh look, she's calling for help! I'm so scared!" she mocked.

She smashed the phone against the concrete. I could still hear Dr. Frost's muffled rage before the device died.

"Madeline, don't blame us," Evie sneered. "You should have known better than to have your mother beg my uncle for a marriage. Look at yourself. You're trash! I'm the one Silas loves. I'm the one who should be his wife!"

But his father was the one who practically begged for the union.

The words were stuck in my throat. Then, I saw a black government sedan speeding toward the tarmac.

Arthur Sterling jumped out before the car even fully stopped. His face was pale.

"Stop! Everyone stop right now!"