Hearing her response, Theo Shaw didn’t press further. 

“I’ll give you one last reminder,” he said. 

“Time’s running out. If you want to back out now, UME will lose to Fawkes Enterprises, but at least it won’t be a total disaster. However, if the product launch goes south, UME’s reputation might never recover.” 

“If Fawkes Enterprises pulls off a successful launch, the direct comparison will make UME look even worse. Are you sure you want to go through with this?” 

Evangeline Whitmore nodded firmly. 

Theo seemed to have expected her answer; this time, he didn’t look particularly 

upset. 

With a frosty tone, he continued, “I’ll delegate the hospital investigation to someone else. Just finish the detailed proposal and send it to me. Leave the rest–I’ll take care of it,” 

Evangeline was a bit taken aback; she hadn’t expected him to say that. 

Catching her puzzled look, Theo shifted awkwardly. “Don’t get the wrong idea–I’m not helping you. I still don’t have much faith in you. But this impacts UME’s future here, and we can’t afford any mistakes.” 

Evangeline nodded again, but still said, “Thank you.” 

After Theo left, the team he’d arranged arrived at the hospital that same day to start the investigation. 

The last time, the design leak had made it clear there was a mole in the Tech Division, so this time Theo kept the new design tightly under wraps and assigned the investigation to staff from other departments. 

Evangeline didn’t know these people well, but they were professional; by noon the next day, she had the investigation report on her desk. 

She worked against the clock, barely sleeping two hours that night. By the third afternoon, she finally had everything organized, complete with the necessary data. 

With that done, she could finally breathe a little easier. 

Next step: upload the data and proposal into the robot’s system and run a round of 

tests. 

20:00 

Chapter 1 

There were only two days left. 

Evangeline considered whether she should check herself out of the hospital and return to the office. 

She had no doubt Theo was capable, and she knew he could handle things, but with the time crunch, she couldn’t help worrying that something might go wrong. 

Besides, her days in the hospital were filled with nothing but tests, IV drips, and medication. After a few days of this, she didn’t feel all that sick anymore. 

After weighing her options for a moment, she decided to head downstairs to the front desk and arrange her discharge. 

While riding the elevator, she overheard two young men huddled over a phone, watching a video. 

Evangeline caught Poppy Yates‘ voice and glanced over. They were watching the live stream of the product launch. 

Poppy stood on stage in a crisp white suit, her makeup immaculate, speaking confidently before a massive screen. 

Behind her, bold letters read: “Technology Shapes Tomorrow.” By her side stood a sleek, elegantly designed robot. 

“Didn’t expect the lead designer at Fawkes Enterprises to be such a knockout,” one guy said, eyes glued to Poppy. He nodded in clear approval. 

The other chimed in, “Rumor is, from people inside Fawkes Enterprises, she’s the current heir’s first love. No wonder everyone keeps saying the heir isn’t happy with his wife. If I had someone as gorgeous and talented as her waiting for me, I’d probably ignore everyone else too.” 

He looked at Poppy with a wistful sigh, as if it was a real shame a woman like her was out of his league. 

“Forget it, man. Just enjoy the view–someone like her is just for show. I bet whatever she made…” The first guy scoffed, trailing off with a dismissive shake of his head. “Let’s just say, I wouldn’t get my hopes up.”