Chapter 572
Lauren stood frozen, her face ashen. She was still reeling from Anastasia’s presentation, and now, under the assault of accusatory stares, she felt a surge of hatred so intense it felt like her heart would explode.
She whipped her head toward the stage, her eyes meeting Anastasia’s. Anastasia gave her a cold, challenging smile, her powerful aura making Lauren’s heart clench.
With a silent, triumphant sneer, Anastasia broke eye contact and descended the stage, returning to the Unison Pharma section.
“Miss Sterling!”
“Chairwoman!”
Mr. Lynn, Cora, and the others were on their feet, their faces flushed with excitement and their eyes shining with adoration as they welcomed her back.
Anastasia’s lips curved into a smile. “Sit down, all of you. What’s all this fuss about?”
“Anastasia, you were incredible!” Cora squealed in a hushed, worshipful tone.
For a moment, Anastasia saw a flash of her cousin Juliet in Cora’s star-struck expression, and she couldn’t help but smile again.
“What’s so incredible? You all knew what the new drug was capable of.”
“We knew, but you were still incredible!” someone else chimed in excitedly. “You were amazing up there! Not only were you completely unfazed, but your presence commanded the entire room!” ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ.net
“And you basically developed the drug on your own! We were just assistants doing simple support tasks. You’re the one who’s brilliant!”
“Anastasia, how does your brain even work? Thinking back on that week in the lab, everything went so smoothly! It was like you already knew every next step, you never once went down the wrong research path
Anastasia gave a cryptic smile. *Of course,* she thought.
The reason everything had gone so smoothly, the reason she was so confident
she could succeed with so little time, was simple.
She had already done most of the work in her past life.
In her previous life, she had delved deep into pharmaceutical research, but none of her achievements had ever remained her own; they had all been stolen by others. Before she died she had been working orthis very drug. She had been on the verge of a breakthrough when tragedy struck, and the research had come to an abrupt halt.
Now, she had simply picked up where she left off.
Konet
There were still half a dozen companies left to present after Unison Pharma, but after Anastasia’s stunning reveal, everything that followed seemed lackluster and insignificant. Even the judges couldn’t concentrate, their minds racing with the implications of what Anastasia had presented. They were itching to ask her
questions.
*Ugh, which company is this? Why are they droning on and on? It’s been fifteen minutes already!*
The audience found it torturous, and
so did the presenters on stage.
Though the conference wasn’t over, everyone knew that no one could steal the spotlight from Unison Pharma. With that thought hanging in the air, the researchers, who followed delivered their
presentations with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm.
Finally, the presentation segment ended. The judges and industry titans who had been watching Anastasia like hawks immediately surged forward, surrounding her. “Chairwoman Sterling, I had a question about something you mentioned “Ms. Sterling, I was hoping to discuss a point with you
In this room, Anastasia was shockingly young. Before, some might have looked down on her as a wet-behind-the-ears girl. Now, no one dared to underestimate her. They addressed her as an equal, their tone unfailingly polite.
***