Chapter 74

No.1

The harsh fluorescent lights of the Aethel Intelligence hallway buzzed overhead.

Allena leaned heavily against the cool glass wall,clutching a crumpled tissue. She wiped the black streaks of mascara from her cheeks. The hysterical,pathetic sobbing she had displayed inside the lab vanished the exact second the heavy doors closed behind them.

Her face, previously pale and trembling, hardened into a mask of dark,ugly calculation.

She looked up at August. His jaw was clenched so tight the muscles twitched. He was staring blankly at the closed data center doors, his chest rising and falling with suppressed rage.

"August," Allena whispered, letting a slight,manufactured tremble enter her voice. "What are we going to do? Mr. Cromwell... the things he called me.How could he use that word?"①

August wrapped a heavy armm around her shoulders,pulling her against his side. His voice was a cold,vibrating hum of billionaire arrogance.

"Don't waste your tears on him, Allena," August ordered sharply. "Cromwell is just an arrogant tech bro who thinks his stock price makes him a god. We don't need his pathetic company. I will buy you a better one."

Allena bit her lower lip, her eyes darting nervously down the hallway.

"But my reputation, August," she whined softly."The people in his company heard him. They heard him call me a... a homewrecker."

No.2

August's eyes darkened. "I will have the PR team bury any rumors before they start. And as for Elisa..."He paused, a vicious, retaliatory light flashing in his eyes. "I will make sure she chokes on her own arrogance."

Allena looked down at the polished concrete floor. A toxic, venomous thought began to bloom in her mind.

"August, I have to tell you something I saw with my own eyes," Allena lied smoothly, her eyes wide with

fake innocence. "That day at Aethel headquarters, I saw Alastair Cromwell coming out of his private office, and Elisa was right there inside... his tie was crooked, August. You know exactly what that means.She isn't using her technical skills to pave her way.She's paying for it on her back."

August's pupils violently contracted.

A sudden, sickening jolt of pure, irrational jealousy punched him directly in the stomach. The image of Elisa-his wife, the woman who had just looked at him with absolute disgust-being touched by Alastair Cromwell made his blood boil. But his massive ego instantly violently rejected the idea.

"Don't be ridiculous," August snapped, his voice harsher than he intended. "Cromwell is a ruthless capitalist. He doesn't trade corporate power for cheap favors. He only cares about profit."

Allena saw the flash of jealousy in his eyes before he buried it. She didn't push the issue with him. She didn't need to. The seed of the lie was planted. Now,she just needed to water it.

Three hours later. Manhattan.

No.3

The glass-walled executive office of Aethel Intelligence headquarters floated high above the city,silent and immaculate.

Alastair Cromwell sat behind his massive, minimalist desk. He was reviewing a complex string of code on his monitor. His face was a mask of relaxed, absolute control.

The intercom on his desk chimed softly.

"Mr. Cromwell," his executive assistant said. "Ms.Allena Mlills is in the lobby. She is requesting an urgent meeting regarding the upcoming joint venture with Johns Hopkins University."

Alastair raised a single, dark eyebrow.

He knew exactly what had happened in the data center that morning. Elisa had already texted him a brief, highly amusing summary of his explosive execution of Allena's character. The fact that Allena was now showing up at his office meant she was desperately looking for a new angle of attack.

"Send her up," Alastair said, his voice smooth. "But tell her I only have exactly ten minutes before my next board meeting."

A few minutes later, the heavy glass doors to the office swung open.

Allena walked in. She was wearing a fresh, perfectly tailored designer suit. Her makeup was flawless.There was absolutely no trace of the weeping,broken woman from the morning. She wore a bright,confident, entirely fake smile.

No.4

"Mr. Cromwell," Allena said, walking toward the desk with an extended hand. "Thank you so much for squeezing me into your busy schedule."

Alastair didn't stand up. He didn't reach for her hand.He simply gestured to the leather chair opposite his desk.

"Have a seat, Ms. Mills," Alastair said, his tone polite but completely devoid of warmth. He began tapping his index finger rhythmically against the polished wood of his desk. "You have nine minutes. What can l do for you?"

Allena awkwardly pulled her hand back and sat down. She maintained her bright smile, but a flicker of irritation crossed her eyes.

"I will get straight to the point," Allena said, leaning

forward slightly. "I am here to discuss the personnel structure of the Aethel and JHU joint medical Al project. I have some... serious concerns."

Alastair's tapping finger paused for a fraction of a second, then resumed its steady rhythm. "Concerns?Please,enlighten me."

Allena lowered her voice, adopting a tone of deep,professional concern.

"It is regarding Elisa Wilder," Allena said, watching Alastair's face closely for a reaction. "I understand she has been appointed to a consulting role. But Mr.Cromwell, I feel it is my duty to warn you. Her professional background is severely lacking. And worse...her personal conduct is highly problematic."

No.5

Alastair stopped tapping his finger entirely. He leaned back in his chair. His eyes, usually warm and amused, turned into two chips of sharp flint.

"Problematic?" Alastair repeated softly."How so?"

Allena took his quiet tone as encouragement. She leaned in closer, her voice dripping with toxic sincerity.

"You are a busy man, Mr. Cromwell, you might be blind to the gossip," Allena whispered. "But Elisa's private life is a complete disaster. She is manipulative. She uses her... physical assets to secure favors from powerful men. She is, quite frankly, a cancer in the industry. If you allow her to remain on the core team, she will inevitably drag Aethel's pristine reputation through the mud."

Alastair stared at her.

His facial expression didn't change a single millimeter. But deep inside his chest, a massive,overwhelming wave of pure, aristocratic disgust rolled through him.

He knew exactly who Elisa was. He knew she was Faye, the genius architect who had built his company's most valuable asset. He knew she had spent seven years enduring psychological torture to protect her child.

And now, this woman-a literal parasite who was currently sleeping with a married man and stealing credit for medical miracles-was sitting in his office,trying to accuse Elisa of sleeping her way to the top.It was so profoundly hypocritical it bordered on

comedy.

No.6

Alastair slowly placed his hands flat on his desk. He looked at Allena with eyes that held absolutely zero respect.

"Ms. Mills," Alastair said, his voice a smooth,terrifyingly calm purr. "I appreciate your... creative storytelling.However, Aethel Intelligence utilizes a highly sophisticated, proprietary metric for evaluating our personnel."

He stood up, buttoning his suit jacket in a clear,undeniable gesture of dismissal.

"We evaluate based on raw genius," Alastair stated coldly. "Not tabloid fiction. Now, if you will excuse me, my nine minutes are up."

Allena's fake smile shattered. She stared at him, her face flushing with humiliation. She realized instantly that her poison hadn't worked.

She quickly stood up, grabbing her designer purse."Mr. Cromwell, for the sake of the project's success,I strongly urge you to reconsider my warning."

Alastair didn't even look at her. He picked up a file

from his desk. "Goodbye, Ms. Mills."

Allena turned and practically fled the office, her heels clicking angrily against the hardwood floor.

No.7

The second the glass doors closed behind her,Alastair let out a heavy sigh, running a hand over his face to wipe away the feeling of slime she had left in the room. He picked up his encrypted secure phone and hit a single speed-dial button.

The line connected instantly.

"Faye," Alastair said, a dark chuckle rumbling in his chest. "I just had the most fascinating ten minutes.Your 'sister' just left my office. She came all the way here to warn me that you are a cancer in the tech industry who sleeps her way to the top."

A soft, freezing laugh echoed through the phone speaker.

"Is that right?" Elisa's voice was calm and laced with lethal amusement. "She really overestimates my destructive capabilities. A cancer slowly kills the host. I have no intention of being that slow. I prefer to be the scalpel that cuts the tumor out entirely."