Chapter 443

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“ What our hospital truly desires is collaboration in such areas ,” the director continued . “ That said , we would also be open to exploring a partnership on medical chips . ”
That referred to traditional medicine – a field unique to Huthailia and absent in other countries .
Liam cut straight to the point . “ Are you referring to traditional medicine ? ”
The director of Ivy Hospital smiled and said , “ Our hospital has great interest in traditional medicine . A collaboration in this field would , of course , be most ideal . ”
Liam frowned in confusion . “ There’s not much of a direct correlation between medical chips and traditional medicine . At most , they can assist with data collection , treatment assistance , and drug research and development .
“ At this stage , further research in this area would offer limited benefits to Ivy Hospital .”
Orlando shot Liam a glance – he had seen through Ivy Hospital’s true agenda .
The Todd School had always stood by its principles , strictly prohibiting any misappropriation or leakage of its core technologies and cultural heritage . Collaboration with Masmubia Ivy Hospital was simply out of the question .
They sought to use the Cole Group as a go – between , enabling Culver and Ivy Hospital to collaborate indirectly .
They were trying to drag Heffner Hospital in as a front to cover their ulterior motives .
What a clever scheme !
The director added a few more explanations . Liam smelled a rat and was just about to press for more details when …
With a sharp noise , the conference room door suddenly flew open , drawing everyone’s attention .
The door swung open , revealing Aria’s ice – cold face .
She fixed her gaze on Orlando , her voice razor – sharp , “ Orlando , Rachel took Lily . ”
Hearing this , Orlando’s face darkened . “ What are you talking about ? ”
Seeing Aria , Culver’s first reaction was fear . The Gibson family had forcibly taken the seal from him and returned it to Aria , leaving him no choice but to make a counterfeit .
Although Dexter had promised to keep it confidential , Aria was undoubtedly a wild card . What if she brought up the matter of the seal ?
Liam watched the obvious tension between the two , his mind flooded with questions .
Liam wondered , ‘ How did Aria and Orlando get to know each other ? And who exactly is Rachel ? ‘
Diego rose to greet Aria , but , sensing the tension in the air , held his tongue .
Ignoring everyone else , Aria marched straight toward Orlando . “ Why is Rachel targeting Lily ? What’s your game ? ”
Thinking back on Rachel’s recent strange behavior , Orlando felt his mind spin .
Aria could tell from Orlando’s reaction that he was unaware of the situation , and she felt a slight sense of relief .
‘ If they were involved , there’s no way they’d let Lily go so easily , Aria thought .
‘ Those timid eyes … Why do they feel so familiar ? ‘ Aria wondered , that strange sense of familiarity creeping over her once again .
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Without another thought , Aria grabbed Orlando by the collar and dragged him toward the door . “ Lead the way . We’re finding her now !
Aria didn’t hold back . She grabbed Orlando and dragged him out . Too preoccupied to protest , Orlando followed with a dark expression .
Liam followed them out . After a moment’s hesitation , Diego also went after them and asked , “ Hey , what’s going on with those two ? ”
Liam shrugged . “ Beats me . ”
In the end , only two ignored figures remained in the conference room – Culver and the director of Ivy Hospital .
The secretary wiped the sweat from his brow , forced himself to step forward , and offered an awkward apology to the two .
Aria yanked open the car door , shot Orlando a sharp look , and barked , “ Get in ! ”
They would lose contact if they split up – sticking together was the only way .
Orlando slid into the passenger seat and immediately tried calling Rachel , but her phone was already off .
Aria glanced at the rearview mirror , spotted Liam’s car behind them , but deliberately ignored it . Turning sharply to Orlando , she demanded , “ Where else could she have gone ? ”
Other than school , she’d never been to any unfamiliar places .
Aria shot him a disdainful sideways glance , as if he were an idiot . “ If you’re that clueless , ” she snapped , “ call Olivia ! ”
Orlando was often away on business , so he knew far less about Olivia than Russell did .
Orlando asked , “ Are you suggesting Olivia ordered Rachel to get close to Lily ? ”
Aria shot back , “ Don’t tell me you were the one who gave the order ? ”
Orlando knew the next day was Huthailia’s SATs . For something to go wrong at such a critical moment , it was hard not to suspect foul play .
Orlando thought , ‘ Yeah , that’s exactly the kind of thing Olivia would pull /
“ Aria , you really have no idea who Rachel is ? ” Orlando asked , his tone full of disbelief .
AD