Chapter 570

The weight of their stares was too much. Lauren could no longer remain in the shadows. Her face hardening, she shot to her feet.
“Anastasia, don’t try to change the subject!” she snapped. “If your conscience is clear and you didn’t steal someone else’s research, then just answer the accusation! Dodging the question to slander my teacher and me only proves your guilt!”
As she spoke, she gave Calvin a subtle look.
He caught on immediately. “She’s right!” he shouted. “You’re just trying to cover up your lies! If my research was so worthless, why would you bring it on stage?!”
Their point was sharp and effective. If Anastasia couldn’t provide a clear answer, nothing else she said would matter.
In the Unison Pharma section, Mr. Lynn’s chest heaved with fury. When they bought the drug, it was Calvin who had come to them, desperate for money. And now he had the audacity to claim they had stolen it? He cursed himself for being so blind, for allowing his chairwoman to be attacked like this.
Mr. Lynn shot up from his seat, ready to intervene.
Anastasia saw him and made a calming gesture, signaling for him to sit back down. Then, her gaze swept across the room. “-Who said I was presenting your research?”
Calvin froze for a second before sneering, “Are you denying it—”
“Of course I am,” Anastasia cut him off, her expression a mask of undisguised contempt.
Before Calvin could retort, she opened her presentation on the large screen behind her. Facing the audience, she announced, “To continue where I was interrupted… I, Anastasia Sterling, Chairwoman and lead researcher of Unison Pharma, will be presenting a new drug for the treatment of HIV.”
The statement dropped like a bomb. A wave of shocked disbelief rolled through the hall.
HIV! A disease the world knew to be incurable, a monumental challenge that the medical community had been battling for decades without success.
And Anastasia was claiming her drug could treat it?
Lauren and Otto, the architects of the day’s drama, felt the color drain from their faces. Calvin was dumbfounded. HIV? What happened to his hair growth serum? “Professor Lauren whispered urgently to Otto, her voice laced with panic.
Otto’s face was grim. “Stay calm,” he hissed. “She saw things were going badly and couldn’t use Calvin’s
formula, so she changed her story
on the spot. She’s about to start
making things up! Comtent belongs
to
An HIV treatment? From Anastasia? The idea was so laughable it was absurd.
Lauren clung to Otto’s assessment, her racing heart beginning to steady. She, too, couldn’t believe Anastasia had such capabilities.
The rest of the audience, however, had forgotten them completely. All eyes were on the stage, fixed on the young woman who, despite her age, shone with an incredible brilliance.
They were stunned, whispering amongst themselves.
“A treatment for HIV? Is she serious?!”
“I heard she developed it in a week. That’s impossible! She must have been
cornered and is just bluffing!”
The doubt and skepticism washed
over the stage, but Anastasia remained as unmovable as a mountain, her expression was serene as she clicked to the first slide and began her presentation.
“Due to the tight schedule, we haven’t conducted clinical trials yet,” she began, Read complete versıon only at.net
“but based on ideal projections, a complete cure for HIV is within reach
The moment she admitted to the
lack of clinical trials, Lauren felt a wave of relief. Her professor was right; Anastasia was just making it all up While it wasn’t unheard of for a company to presenta drud without trials at the conference the rules were somewhat lenient in that regard, and even Calvin’s serum hadn’t been tested—it was different for Anastasia. As long as the theory was sound, the panel of expert judges could evaluate its potential and assign a score.
***