"How many times has Reese ever gone against Sebastian since they got married?"


    "Exactly. All she does is fuss over him. What would she even understand about this kind of tech event? She''s only ever there as a plus-one. No way she''ll actually


    show up."


    Sofia let out a smallugh. "Good, then. Thest thing we need is her and Sebastian getting into it in front of everyone. That would be embarrassing.”


    Truth was, Sofia kind of wanted Reese toe. No matter what, Reese could never measure up to her. Besides, if Reese just went home like she was told, Sebastian would probably feel bad for her and get distracted, trying to take care of her.


    The three of them took their seats. Before long, Reese stepped onto the stage, dressed in a crisp, professional pantsuit.


    "Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to be here. I''m Reese, and I''ll be your keynote speaker..."


    Standing tall at the podium, Reese called up her slides on the Al traffic management system and dove right in, exining real-life case studies with total confidence.


    She lookedpletely at ease, like she belonged there, her eyes shining with determination.


    Watching her speak so smoothly, Elijah let out a low whistle.


    Sofia snapped out of her thoughts and tightened her hold on Sebastian''s arm. "Don''t be upset, Sebastian."


    He didn''t say anything, so she nced up at him-and caught something unexpected in his eyes. Was that... admiration? Was Sebastian actually impressed by Reese?


    Sofia''s face darkened.


    The presentation went perfectly. Reese handled every tough question from


    reporters without breaking a sweat. Severalpany reps said right then and there that they wanted to work with ckOak, and their stock price jumped almost immediately.


    ***


    In a private room at the Crestview Club...


    After dinner, Neal habitually reached for a cigarette, but Elijah nudged him and nodded at Sofia.


    Neal quickly remembered Sofia hated smoke. Even Sebastian never lit up around her.


    He nced over at Sebastian, lounging on the sofa, and thought back to Reese at the press conference. He couldn''t help saying, "I never would''ve guessed Reese had it in her. I always thought she just stayed home, taking care of Sebastian and the kids."


    Elijah snorted. "What? n probably just wanted to do Sebastian a favor and let her pretend to be important. She went all out to marry Sebastian, just to get close to the Ratcliff family."


    Neal remembered something Millie had said once. "Yeah, out of everyone I know, Reese is the most shameless. And she still acts like she''s the victim."


    “n''s just humoring her, letting her y lead at the conference. Their system doesn''t evene close to yours, Sofia. Do they really think they''repetition?"


    Sofia was sitting next to Sebastian, flipping through the Al system report. She looked up. "Actually, ckOak''s system is pretty good. It really could give ours a run for its money."


    She hesitated, ncing at Sebastian. “But... I noticed some of their data oveps with mine."


    Neal sat up straighter. "You mean Reese copied you? Or is it just a coincidence?"


    Sofia shook her head. "It''s hard to say. But she did spend a few days at the institute not long ago..."


    "There it is." Neal pped the table. "That''s why n put her in the spotlight. She took your research and brought it over to ckOak!"


    Elijah sounded worried. "Sebastian, what are you going to do about this?"


    "ckOak''s system is already on the market. If people find out, the Ratcliff family''s reputation will really take a hit."


    Sebastian''s face was unreadable. "What does this have to do with the Ratcliff family? No one even knows who she really is."


    A slow smile tugged at Sofia''s lips. As long as Sebastian kept out of it, she could make sure everyone believed Reese was guilty of stealing her work.


    That research data had taken her ages to find in the institute''s archives. The moment she saw it, she knew it would be the breakthrough for her own traffic system.


    She''d asked around, but none of the senior researchers knew who had written it.


    If it was the work of some forgotten predecessor, there was no way Sofia would let Reese im it as her own.