In mid-March, Noreen Gilmorepleted her MBA at Rivercrest University and officially graduated.


    She then formally epted an invitation from WT Business School, preparing to study abroad at the end of July.


    In the meantime, she needed to finalize Winrich''s strategic ns, promoting and recruiting talented individuals with management skills.


    Amid her busy schedule, she caught wind of news from Northcrest.


    A major upheaval was taking ce, implicating numerous people.


    Wilbur had sent her the internal announcement.


    It stated that the most powerful figure involved was used not only of gross dereliction of duty but also of epting an extraordinarilyrge sum in bribes.


    Wilbur made sure to emphasize the words "extraordinarilyrge."


    "Based on my estimates, ''extraordinarilyrge'' has to mean over a trillion. Just a little while ago, they prosecuted an official for taking five hundred billion in bribes, and that number was made public. This has to be far beyond that."


    Noreen was stunned.


    A trillion...


    Ordinary people scraped by, earning every single dor, while these parasites stole hundreds of millions at a time.


    It was inhuman.


    Wilbur added, "He''s definitely getting the death penalty. Everyone else involved will get heavy sentences too!"


    Noreen''s thoughts immediately went to Seth Harcourt.


    But in the end, all she could do was sigh silently.


    If even Wade Harcourt couldn''t find a solution, there was nothing she could do.


    At the same time, Healy Naylor and Jude Wilder also heard the news.


    The two nned to visit Seth in Northcrest.


    Jude asked Healy, "Should we call Noreen? Maybe Seth would want to see her."


    "They left things on such bad terms. I don''t think it would be appropriate to ask her," Healy said hesitantly.


    Hearing this, Jude sighed. "You''re right. They''repletely over. It wouldn''t be right, and she''s under no obligation to visit him."


    The two fell silent for a moment.


    Jude let out a long sigh. "Still, it feels like such a shame."


    Healy nced at him. "Weren''t you the one who never approved of them? Why the sudden change of heart?"


    "You know how bad my judgment used to be, don''t you?" Jude said with self- deprecation.


    Every time he remembered how he used to admire Bianca Lowell, he wanted to p himself. Experience really was the best teacher.


    This time, it was Healy who fell silent.


    Because his own judgment... hadn''t been much better.


    He lit a cigarette and took a deep drag. Through the swirling smoke, his eyes were dark and profound. "A while back, I looked into something. It cleared up a question that had been bothering me for years."


    He paused.


    Only when Jude looked at him did he continue. "That time... Noreen wasn''t the one who drugged Seth."


    When Healy first learned the truth, his blood had run cold. He suddenly understood why Noreen had always been so distant with him. If he were in her shoes, he probably wouldn''t have even been able to maintain a civil rtionship; he would have cut them offpletely. Noreen had been incredibly magnanimous.


    Upon hearing the news, a sharp pang of guilt shot through Jude.


    Healy''s expression was grim, his lips pressed into a thin line, his jaw tight. "Seth was drugged by a university student he was sponsoring. She was the one trying to use him to cab the social adder Noreen was the one who went there to save him."


    "At the time, that student had called a bunch of reporters to wait outside the hotel, hoping to blow the situation up and force him to acknowledge her. That was right when Ascendancy Group was about to go public. If a scandal broke, it would have been devastating for thepany. Noreen considered the bigger picture, left him at the hotel, and called us to go get him."