Oliver pulled me aside and said, "The thing you asked me to look into that day... I did a rough check. It looks like Lucas really wasn''t following you that day. He was actually following... Scarlett."


    "He was following Scarlett?" I looked at Oliver in confusion. "Why would he follow her?"


    "I don''t know, but after he saw you arrive, he gave up on following Scarlett and instead followed you when you left."


    I was baffled. "What exactly is Lucas trying to do?"


    "No matter what he''s up to, as Mr. Hastings said, Ms. Ashford, you should keep your guard up. Not everyone in this world is a good person."


    I nodded. "As for today''s incident... Why were Lucas and Mr. Hastings there?"


    "After you left that day, Mr. Hastings was actually very concerned about this matter. As soon as you were gone, he told me to investigate. There was a problem with the Schneider family''s mines, so Lucas went abroad for a few days. That gave Xena an opportunity.


    "Originally, Mr. Hastings didn''t want to get involved, but he was worried you''d be upset, so he had me inform Lucas."


    "He''s worried I''d be upset?" I was even more puzzled, and I felt conflicted.


    "Exactly." Oliver lowered his voice and continued, "That day when you left, didn''t you and Mr. Hastings have a conflict over this? So, he figured you cared a lot about it."


    I wasn''t sure if I should be happy about this. Either way, when I found myself standing outside Alex''s office again, I realized I didn''t have the courage to knock.


    Just as I was hesitating, the door suddenly opened from the inside.


    Alex frowned at me. "Why are you standing at the door?"


    "I-I..." I stammered. "I, uh, just wanted to apologize. I was too emotional that day and misunderstood you."


    "You were just doing it for thepany." Alex remained as indifferent as ever. "Alright, go back to your office."


    I didn''t know if it was just my imagination, but I felt like Alex was colder toward me than before.


    Leaving the office, I shook my head and pushed away the messy thoughts in my mind. I headed toward the R&D department.


    "Serena, Serena! Thank you so much!"


    As soon as I returned, I ran into Scarlett. She approached me with teary eyes, grasping my hands and thanking me repeatedly.


    I was caught off guard. "Scarlett, what are you talking about?"


    elmet


    Scarlett wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, her voice choked with emotion. "My... My mother just copsed at home. neighbor sent her to the hospital. But the doctors said they''d need to calfin a renowned specialist. With my resources, there was no way I could afford to bring one in.


    "In the end, it was Mr. Schneider who stepped in and helped me. He said he knew


    I was your colleague, so he was willing to lend a hand."


    The moment I heard Scarlett''s words, rm bells went off in my head.


    "Lucas? How did he know about this?"


    "The hospital my mother was taken to happens to be owned by the Schneider family," Scarlett said, her voice trembling.


    But something felt off to me. I


    suddenly recalled the investigation I had asked Oliver to conduct. The conclusion was that Lucas had been following Scarlett.


    Although Scarlett was rtively unknown in Hastings Group, she did


    have ess to a lot of importan


    "Scarlett, I''ll go with you to the hospital after work to visit your mother."


    I thought Scarlett might refuse, but to my surprise, she nodded without hesitation.


    "Sure! Mr. Schneider is at the hospital too. After work, we can go together. I want to thank him in person anyway."