Chapter 687

Chapter 687:
Stella frowned. Where was this sudden accusation coming from?
She looked Nina straight in the eye. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
“You want me to spell it out?” Nina scoffed. “Your team was stuck yesterday, and then boom, you magically produce some rare data today. Where’d you get it? You think people can’t put two and two together?”
Stella almost laughed at her obsession. “Miss Carter,” she said calmly, “I don’t owe you an explanation. There’s no rule against using publicly available databases.”
But Nina wasn’t done yet. She stared at Stella with thinly veiled disgust. “You’re always going on about being independent, acting like you’ve got nothing to do with William. But the second you run into a wall, who do you turn to?”
Stella froze for half a second. So that was what this was about.
“You think William gave me the data?” she asked, her brow furrowing.
“I don’t think—I know,” Nina said smugly. “I heard him talking to Paul yesterday. That data’s clearly related to your team’s project. Who else would he have given it to?”
Nina had been restless ever since yesterday, ever since she found out just how far William was willing to go for Stella.
She’d racked her brain trying to find excuses to get closer to him—heck, she had even gone so far as to use her uncle Henry’s name to arrange a dinner meeting. And still, William hadn’t spared her a second glance.
It was maddening. Why was he so willing to bend over backward for Stella, a woman who didn’t even seem the slightest bit interested in him?
What did Stella have that she didn’t? Was it talent? Background? Looks?
As far as Nina was concerned, she had Stella beat in every category. Besides, if she and William partnered up, she could help him break into the international market; there would only be gain, no loss. But Stella? What did she have to offer?
“Stella,” Nina sneered, her voice dripping with contempt, “what I can’t stand most are people like you—hypocrites who act all righteous, but when things get tough, you still go running to your so-called connections.”
Stella turned and shot her a sharp look. Her voice was calm but cold. “Nina, I’ve always treated you with respect. I’ve kept things professional. But that doesn’t give you the right to stand here and insult me. For one, the data wasn’t from William. And even if it was—what gives you the right to question that?”
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Nina’s eyes narrowed. Her hand, which had been clutching her own chest in faux offense, dropped as she jabbed a finger toward Stella. “You—!”
“What about me?” Stella snapped, refusing to back down. “Before you start pointing fingers, maybe get your facts straight.”
“And as for all your moral superiority talk—if anyone here is playing both sides, Nina, it’s you. You know that better than anyone.”
When Stella had first met Nina, she had genuinely thought she was a sharp, dedicated researcher. But after spending some time around her, she realized Nina was just another woman caught up in petty rivalry. There was nothing remarkable about her. Honestly, if this was the level of talent the international labs had to offer, Stella couldn’t help but worry for them.
“Stella Russell,” Nina snapped, her voice rising. “Don’t think I don’t know who you really are. You think changing your name erases the past? A woman who divorced and still went around flirting with another man before it was even finalized?”
Stella’s expression didn’t waver. She didn’t care if Nina exposed her identity—half the institute had probably figured it out already. She’d only changed her name to cut ties with Marc. Whether people knew or not didn’t matter.
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