Noreen was truly plumbing new depths, Bianca thought with disgust. First, she was stringing Dn along, then she was getting cozy with Healy, and now she was moving on to Padgett Novak.


    The hypocrisy was astounding. Bianca pulled out her phone and sent a message to her group chat.


    *Guess who I just saw at Rivercrest University?*


    Predictably, the first person to respond was Jude. He was so idle these days that


    he was always online. Since Noreen had be a major shareholder in Seymour Group, his influence had dwindled to almost nothing. He was just another person collecting dividends, with far too much time on his hands.


    *Who?* Jude typed back.


    *It looks like Noreen and Padgett Novak are really a thing,*


    Bianca wrote.


    She remembered Healy showing them a photo of Noreen and Padgett having dinner together once, but she''d dismissed it at the time. She hadn''t believed for a second that a man of Padgett''s caliber would be interested in a woman like Noreen. But now, having seen the way he looked at her, Bianca realized she had severely underestimated Noreen''s talent for wrapping men around her finger.


    She had sent the message deliberately, wanting everyone-especially Dn-to see Noreen''s true colors. Some people put on such a virtuous act in public, but in private, they were utterly shameless. Dn imed he''d been in love with Noreen for years. Well, let him see exactly what kind of person he was pinning his hopes


    on.


    Throughout the lecture, Bianca waspletely distracted, her eyes glued to her phone, waiting. But Dn never responded. Was he refusing to face the truth? A contemptuous smirk crossed her face.


    When the lecture ended, Noreen got a call from Halley, inviting her to his house for dinner. Padgett, who had been about to ask her out himself, was disappointed but gracefully told her they could reschedule. Besides, just ''bumping into'' her today was a win in his book.


    When Noreen arrived at Halley''s, she discovered he had another guest: Sanford Brooke.


    Sanford vaguely remembered Noreen from a previous dinner. She hade with Dn, and he had mistaken her for his girlfriend. She had been quiet and reserved that evening, barely saying a word, so he hadn''t paid her much attention.


    But this time, Halley had invited her alone, which piqued Sanford''s interest.


    "Are you one of Professor Joyner''s students?" he asked, making polite conversation while Halley was in the kitchen preparing his specialty dish.


    "Not yet," Noreen replied after a moment''s thought. "I''m preparing for his graduate entrance exam. If I pass, then I will be."


    After all, she had been cast out of his inner circle once before.


    Halley''s students fell into two categories. There were the official graduate students he supervised for the university-a high bar that only one of two people cleared each year. Then there was the second, far more exclusive group: his direct protégés. To be considered one had to possess an extraordinary, almost prodigious, talent for mathematics. Over the decades, Halley had only taken on five such students.


    His most promising one, a young woman, had been expelled midway through her training. As for Henry, Sanford''s son, he had some talent but felt short of Halley''s exacting standards. It was only after Sanford had pleaded repeatedly that Halley had reluctantly agreed to take him. on.


    Whenever Sanford visited, Halley would inevitably bring up the disciple he had cast out, his voice always tinged with regret. He never revealed her name or any identifying details, only that she was a girl with a brilliant mind who had thrown away a dazzling future for a man. It was a


    betrayal that left him both


    heartbroken and furious.


    Sanford was desperate to find this woman. The Brooke family owed her a debt of


    gratitude they could never fully repay.