Chapter 142

“It’s nothing, Hank.” Sofia gave him a quick smile. “Let’s go.”
She grabbed his arm and hurried away, but not before tossing a glance over her shoulder at Reese, eyes sparkling with a challenge. As long as Hank was on her side, even if she couldn’t tell Sebastian about Reese’s abortion today, she knew she’d get her chance someday. And when that day came, she’d love to see who’d still stand up for Reese.
Reese met Sofia’s look with a cold, mocking smile. Sofia was clearly worried that Hank might find out about the things she’d done. She must have forgotten that Sebastian wasn’t the only one with the old security footage. If Reese wanted it, she could get it with no trouble at all. Sofia had no clue that her constant scheming had completely drained Reese’s patience.
Sofia and Hank had just stepped out of BlackOak when Sofia, finally able to breathe, nearly bumped into Lyla coming straight toward them. The second Lyla saw Sofia, her resentment flared. Sofia always dropped hints about being Sebastian’s girlfriend, and Lyla fell for her lies. She’d quit Clever Cloud with Sofia, hoping to get close to Sebastian. But after Sofia got Reese into trouble and herself kicked out of Ratcliff Global, Lyla was left on the outside with the R&D team. She’d been stuck cleaning up what was left of Sofia’s Blade project. Thıs text ıs hosted at
Leaving Clever Cloud also made Dominic irritated. He now wanted nothing to do with her. She was basically stranded. But the man with Sofia looked powerful and out of her league, so Lyla forced a stiff smile. “Hi Sofia.”
Sofia caught the edge in her voice and knew Lyla blamed her for getting her dragged into the mess. She stepped forward and quietly pulled Lyla aside.
“Lyla, please don’t blame me. That whole situation before was my fault. I never meant for you to get caught up in it.”
Then her tone shifted, sounding sincere. “I just joined DeepQuanta Al. I’ll try to get you a job there, I promise.”
Lyla hesitated. DeepQuanta Al was backed by Iron Financial and the powerful Wiles family. If she could get in, it’d be way better than staying stuck at Ratcliff Global.
Sofia went on, “But it’s not something I can do right away. DeepQuanta and BlackOak are fierce competitors right now, and the Ratcliffs have it out for me after everything. I need to settle in at DeepQuanta first.”
Truthfully, Sofia just wanted to keep Lyla calm and make sure she didn’t say anything reckless in front of Hank. But to Lyla, the message landed differently.
She thought about the mysterious person who’d been contacting her lately, promising that if she leaked some Blade R&D data, BlackOak would take a major hit. She’d already gathered a lot, but had been on the fence Now after hearing Sofia’s words and thinking about her own dead end, Lyla’s eyes hardened with resolve.
She looked at Sofia and managed a small smile. “Don’t worry, Sofia. Something big’s about to happen at Blacka I I bet you’ll find your place
at DeepQuanta sooner than you think.”
“When you do, don’t forget about me.”
Sofia didn’t catch the meaning behind Lyla’s words. She just smiled back. “Of course not. I won’t forget you.”
When Lyla walked into BlackOak, Sofia hurried back to Hank. He was waiting for her, watching with a kind of curious, searching look that made her heart skip. She quickly explained,
“She’s my mentor from back at the research institute. We both joined Ratcliff Global, but because of me, she got sent to BlackOak.”
Seeing how anxious she seemed, Hank figured she was just worried about Lyla His brow furrowed and he thought it was probably best to talk things over with Sebastian soon He pulled out his phone, quickly texting his assistant to set up a meeting with Sebastian that afternoon.
When he looked up, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure passing by. Hank
turned for a better look.
“What are you looking at, Hank?”
Sofia followed his gaze but only saw Matthew’s back.
“Nothing,” Hank said, shaking his head.
That guy was supposed to be overseas right now. What was he doing in Bridger
Lake? Maybe Hank was just seeing things.