Eleanor was thrilled to have won the award. After chatting with Joel a bit more about the situation in Marlowe Vige, she hung up the phone.


    ***


    Lab.


    Gwenda had always had a talent for collecting gossip, and it just so happened that she''d caught wind of the uing June award ceremony held by the National Academy of Sciences.


    "Faye, have you heard? The National Academy is announcing their awards soon." Faye barely looked up. "What''s it got to do with us?"


    Gwenda leaned in, lowering her voice conspiratorially. "Aren''t you even worried that Eleanor might be on the winners'' list?"


    Faye''s hand, poised with her pen, paused mid-sentence. She nced up at Gwenda. "Is she?"


    Gwenda grinned. "I''d bet on it. She''s the one who developed that miracle drug, after all the results speak for themselves."


    Faye, a little agitated, swept her long hair back from her face. "For all we know, maybe she just inherited the form from her father."


    "And get this," Gwenda went on, her eyes glinting, "I heard Joel even took her down to visit the autopsy room. He must really have his eye on Eleanor."


    Faye''s jealousy flickered in her eyes, and Gwenda caught it, quickly offering constion. "Hey, don''t worry about it. I''m sure you''ll catch Joel''s attention too."


    Clenching her fist under the table, Faye felt her determination harden-she had to prove herself in the Marlowe Vige case. She couldn''t let Eleanor steal the spotlight again.


    ***


    At four o''clock, Eleanor got a call from Joy. One of her childhood friends had gone


    to the same art school as Vanessa, and she''d set up a dinner to chat.


    Eleanor had a free evening and agreed to join them.


    By six, a tall, striking brte with unmistakable artistic ir strolled in. Joy introduced them: "This is my friend Eleanor, and this is Thalia."


    After a few minutes reminiscing about grade school days, Joy steered the conversation to her real purpose.


    "Thalia, you graduated from the Montir Institute of Arts, right? Do you know Vanessa?"


    Thalia''s face lit up with obvious admiration. "Who doesn''t know Vanessa these days?"


    Joy pressed on. "Are you two close? I have a client who''d like to meet her." She let the bait dangle, adding, "He''s from old money-filthy rich. Winning over someone like Vanessa wouldn''t be a problem for him."


    Thalia let out a littleugh, shaking her head in disbelief. "You haven''t heard? Vanessa''s current suitor isn-the richest man in our city!"


    Joy shot Eleanor a quick nce, then asked, "Where''d you hear that? Is it true?"


    Thalia leaned in. "When Vanessa was eighteen,n was already head over heels for her. Everything she has today-her sess, her status-it''s all thanks ton''s money and connections."<fn4084> Get full chapters from ?ovelFind</fn4084>


    Joy hadn''t expected such an early scoop aboutn and Vanessa''s history. She exchanged a look with Eleanor and pressed further, "Are you serious? I thought Vanessa came from a wealthy family herself."


    Thalia shook her head. "She''s an illegitimate child. When I first met her, she was just an ordinary girl. Then, all of a sudden, she shows up at school in designer clothes, and a Bugatti picks her up after ss. Any time there was a chance for a schrship or a promotion, it went straight to her. Later, we found out one of the top heirs in the country donated a fortune-ten million dors-to our school just for her. That heir wasn."


    Joy let out a low whistle, ncing sideways at Eleanor.


    "She''s really got it made. I heard she''s headlining a concert tour this spring, owns several designpanies, and just bought a mansion in the most exclusive neighborhood. Word is she''s worth millions already. Some people really are born lucky, huh?"