Elodie turned to Lily. "Did you bring yourptop?"


    Lily, still a bit dazed, nodded. "Of course. It''s basically attached to me at this point."


    A faint smile tugged at the corner of Elodie''s mouth. "Did you organize all the data


    I asked you to log and email over the past month?"


    Lily snapped back to attention. "Yeah I did. Everything''s sorted."


    Only then did Elodie address Klein. "I have additional copies of the data, kept by Lily. But I''m well aware of the confidentiality involved-she doesn''t know the specifics, and the files were scrambled and coded. With the right algorithm, they can be restored. These are the real test results; they should match exactly with the measurements we took at the basest time."


    It was at this moment that Watts finally paused, his brows knitting as he looked at Elodie. Jarrod tilted his head ever so slightly, studying her.


    He''d always known Elodie was careful-never one to leave herself unprotected at work.


    Strict protocols at the base forbade keeping too many backups, so every step had to be wless. There was no room for mistakes.


    Especially since, from the moment they''d entered the room, everyone could tell that Lily and Elodie''s working rtionship was strictly professional-not particrly close. That meant the backup couldn''t possibly be a sham.


    It confirmed Elodie''s meticulousness, and also showed she had no doubts about Lily''s reliability; otherwise, she would never have entrusted her with such sensitive data.


    Lily''s eyes widened as realization dawned. "So you were covering all the bases? You could''ve told me you had a backup n-I nearly had a heart attack!"


    She immediately dug out herptop, uploading all of Elodie''s encrypted emails for verification.


    But after everything that had happenedst night, a sudden thought struck her. She nced across the table at Watts, remembering that, before submitting the data, she''d only seen him...


    Klein didn''t waste a second-he dispatched a team to cross-check the files.


    The results were irrefutable. The numbers matched not only the recent field tests, but also the data Jarrod had filed at the Verdania Institute. Not a single discrepancy.


    Impable. Thorough.


    Elodie addressed Klein again. “Now, I want a full investigation into the tampering. This is serious-at best, it could disrupt our timeline; at worst, it''s a breach of confidential information."


    She looked over at Lily. "As for Lily, she''s fully willing to cooperate with the investigation. But I can vouch for her—she''s done nothing against protocol, or I wouldn''t have trusted her with the backup."


    The statement hit Lily hard.


    She hadn''t expected Elodie to defend her so openly-to shield her from taking the fall.


    Entrusting her with the files was a lifeline.


    But where had the problem actually started? The thought churned in her gut- equal parts disbelief and dread.


    If not for Elodie''s foresight, how badly could this have gone for her?


    In that moment, Elodie and Jarrod had both made it clear-there was no evidence of misconduct on their end.


    Watts said nothing, but his gaze lingered on Elodie, deep and unreadable.


    Jarrod turned to Klein, his voice steady. "As for today''s incident, I''ll handle it— assuming I have your trust."


    Klein understood the implications. If someone had tampered with the data, the stakes were even higher.


    Elodie had kept quiet about the tampering until now, only requesting an investigation at this point...


    She clearly


    the her reasons. With


    the incidentnding squarely in.p, needed time to see who


    her


    might tip their hand.


    Now, the culprit wasing into focus.


    But the real battleground was obvious the massive, monopolistic market in Asia.


    That''s what all this was about.


    Elodie nced calmly at Watts, then stood and crossed over to Jarrod''s side.


    Jarrod lowered his eyes slightly, waiting for her to speak.


    She addressed Klein. “As for whether you choose The Silverstein Group or Eldrion Global, I know you''ll weigh your options. But I''d like to remind you-years ago, when I was developing the U.N2, the project only seeded because someone provided a criticalponent that solved every external w. That opportunity came from Jarrod. Without it, we wouldn''t have secured our current position in integrated strike and reconnaissance systems."


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    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!