"The school is checking the surveince footage, but they haven''t found anyone yet," Mirabe said as she grabbed a water bottle from the table, twisted it open, and took a few sips.


    Patrick frowned. "I doubt they''ll figure out who''s stirring up trouble."


    Whoever had the nerve to mess with the seminar probably covered their tracks well.


    "Good thing the video started ying again. Otherwise, we would have really embarrassed ourselves today," ze sighed with relief.


    Mirabe raised an eyebrow and said, "Life throws curveballs sometimes. Didn''t you guys handle it pretty well?"


    "Ugh, my hands were all sweaty," ze admitted, still feeling jittery from the whole ordeal. He''d never been in such a cringe-worthy situation before.


    "You''ll get used to it," Mirabe said,zily shrugging it off.


    ze, feeling like he was developing a serious case of social anxiety, shook his head. "No way, I''m not going to any more conferences like this. My heart can''t handle it."


    "Pathetic," Patrick muttered, giving ze a look of disdain.


    Soon, it was the math department''s turn to present. Mirabe nced at Yara and the others on stage, then turned back to her phone. It had buzzed a few times, but she hadn''t had the chance to check it.


    It was a message from the young officer she''d met at the police station yesterday, letting her know that Summer had gone missing from the hospital. The police were searching, but no luck yet.


    Mirabe thoughtfully rubbed her phone screen and replied to the officer, telling him not to worry about it.


    Just as she was about to put her phone away, a message popped up on Messenger. It was from Grady.


    [Mira, what time do you wrap up this morning? I''m at the school too.]


    After getting some info from Summer yesterday, Grady felt uneasy about Riverside University Even though he mentioned the Davis family name to Summer''s professor, he knew those research fanatics might go to any lengths. So, he made up an excuse about an investment to visit the school.


    Mirabe was a bit surprised, but after thinking it over, she replied: [Around eleven-thirty.]


    Grady was lounging on the couch, not really listening to whatever Mr. Hammond was saying across from him. After messaging Mirabe back, he finally looked up.


    "The construction of your research building is good, and the funding won''t be a problem."


    Mr. Hammond''s smile widened at this. Even though Grady seemed a bit intimidating, money talks.


    Grady nodded slightly, deep in thought, and then set his cigar back in the ashtray.


    "I heard there''s a troubled student at your school?"


    Mr. Hammond was caught off guard


    by the question, wondering how


    Grady knew about it. The rumors about the troubled student had started spreading yesterday


    vely


    afternoon, and they were stilb investigating.


    "There might be some misunderstanding," Mr. Hammond replied cautiously, trying to figure out Grady''s angle.


    Grady slowly rotated his phone, taking his time. Just as Mr. Hammond''s nerves were about to crack, Grady finally said, "Anything that threatens student safety needs to be taken seriously."


    As he spoke, Grady''s eyes sharpened, filled with intensity.


    A chill ran down Mr. Hammond''s spine, and under the weight of Grady''s gaze, he quickly nodded "Yes, Mr. Davis, you''re absolutely right. The school definitely needs to beef up its security."


    Only then did Mr. Hammond realize why Grady was really there. The funding was


    secondary; the real reason was to issue a warning.