Eleanor forced herself to stay calm. "Joel, can you find out the exact date?"


    "Last Friday, three p.m."


    That time-Eleanor had been in theb.


    "Joel, I''ll call Callie first."


    After hanging up, Eleanor dialed Callie, hoping he might know who''d essed herputer.


    When they finished talking, Callie mentioned that Horace hade by to see him that Friday afternoon. But as for whether Horace had touched Eleanor''sputer, Callie couldn''t recall.


    "Eleanor, do you really suspect Horace? That doesn''t sound like him. Why would he try to frame you?" Callie sounded baffled.


    Eleanor felt the same. She and Horace barely spoke outside work, but there was no animosity between them. Horace was on Joel''s team now, with a promising future-why would he risk ruining it all for this?


    Just then, Byron called. Eleanor answered, "Hello, Mr. Chase."


    "Miss Sutton, we''ve spoken with Mr. Vaughn''s team. They''ll be making the investigation results public today, along with an official apology to ourb." Eleanor asked, "Mr. Chase, have they identified who leaked the data?"


    Eleanor already had a suspicion.


    "We''re still looking into it. But we should know within the next couple of days. Please be patient, Miss Sutton," Byron reassured her.


    "Thank you for your hard work."


    After she hung up, Eleanor sat in thought. If it really was Horace, why would he take such a risk?


    She knew this whole thing had been orchestrated to target her-someone wanted to frame her for colluding with Juliette Labs.


    If it was Horace, she couldn''t help but think of the person he was closest to: Faye.


    If Faye had been the one behind Horace, then this made a lot more sense. She''d gone to college with Faye for two years. There was never any real feud- maybe just mutual dislike at most. But after Eleanor''s breakthrough with the sphericalpound, Faye had seen her as a rival. Fayepeted with her at every turn, always trying to outdo her. It didn''t help that Faye had a thing for Joel, and Joel, being Eleanor''s supervisor, had always looked out for her. That drove Faye even crazier.


    Eleanor was lost in thought when her phone rang. Joel was calling.


    "Hey, Joel."


    "We have the results."


    "Who was it?"


    "It was Horace. He just confessed. Admitted everything."


    "Are you sure he acted alone?" Eleanor pressed.


    "Horace confessed to all of it."


    "How is Mr. Chase handling it?"


    "They were going to press charges, but considering Horace''s contributions, they''ve decided not to pursue legal action. The school and theb are expelling him, though."


    They chatted a little longer, and before she knew it, it was nine thirty.


    Just as she was about to go to bed, a message fromn popped up: Sorry I was too harsh with you today.


    Eleanor stared at it, unmoved.


    She didn''t n to reply.


    Has Evelyn gone to bed?


    She ignored him again.


    Alright, I''ll leave you be. Goodnight.


    After that,n didn''t message again.


    The next morning, Eleanor saw the official announcement from Juliette Labs on how they were handling the data breach.


    Xavier had shut down the entire project and fired every engineer and researcher involved.


    He''d moved even faster and more decisively than anyone had expected.


    There was also a video statement from Xavier himself.


    Gone was his usual calm,posed demeanor. In the video, he was stern as he exined the oue. To make amends, Juliette Labs would open three years'' worth of Al cellr research data to Meridian Dynamics for cross-verification.


    Eleanor stared at the screen, stunned for several seconds.


    Xavier''s response was so drastic, it was almost self-destructive—he was sacrificing theb''s reputation just to prove their innocence.


    For the first time, Eleanor felt a pang of sympathy. All this, for a false usation aimed at her, and Xavier was paying such a heavy price?


    Canceling the whole project, firing so many people...


    She was still in a daze when her phone rang. It was Xavier.


    She answered, "Hello, Mr. Vaughn."


    "Did you see how we handled things?"


    Eleanor sighed. "Mr. Vaughn, you really didn''t have to—”


    "Research must stay above reproach. Besides..." Xavier paused, his voice rough.


    "I couldn''t let you shoulder this alone."


    Eleanor''s breath caught. "Thank you, Mr. Vaughn."


    ...


    Meanwhile, in the president''s office at Goodwin & Co.,n watched Xavier''s


    announcement and fell intoplicated thoughts.


    He''d never expected Xavier to go this far for Eleanor.


    To sacrifice so much, just for her-


    Horace left with his belongings, heading for the car. Faye walked him out. Horace looked exhausted, drained after a single night. Faye''s eyes filled with tears. "Horace "


    Horace''s expression softened, and he managed a smile. "Don''t cry. There are plenty of careers out there—who says I can''t start over? Go on, get back inside." Faye blinked away her tears and rushed over to hug him. "Horace!"


    "Silly girl. Finish your research, make a name for yourself. Prove them wrong."


    Faye nodded, eyes still wet. After Horace got into the car, she watched it drive away, unwilling to turn back.


    But when the car disappeared, she wiped her face and let out a heavy sigh of relief.


    She clenched her fists. She never imagined Eleanor woulde out of this unscathed.


    Xavier-the most sought-after man around-had shut down an entire research group for her.


    Eleanor, a divorcée, protected by a man like Xavier? What made her so special?


    At leastn had made his stance clear; he hadn''t defended Eleanor just because she was his ex-wife.


    He''d even barred her from theb during the investigation-if anything, it showed he''d suspected her.


    And that, more than anything, proved to Faye thatn''s heart was no longer with Eleanor.