Chapter 101
101 Stolen
101 Stolen
Emma was about to put the prescription away when her phone started buzzing.
Alice passed her a glass of water. “Go ahead. Take it.”
Emina nodded and stepped outside to the balcony.
It was Fawn, her roommate.
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“Are you still on leave, Emma? You really, really need to come back if you already have your affairs in order.”
Emma paused. That didn’t make sense.
She’d already cleared it–two months off to take care of her dad.
She’d even sent the medical report to the counselor.
That same counselor had been so touched by her story. She gave Emma money out of her own pocket.
So why was Fawn insisting on her return? It’d barely been a month.
“I didn’t skip out on my classes,” Emma said. “I filed everything properly.”
Fawn’s voice dropped. She sounded rushed.
“It’s not about the leave. It’s about your spot.“.
“What spot?”
“You remember that paper you wrote? The one on bioengineering?” Fawn needed to make this quick, even if it was a long story.
Emma nodded slowly.
“Yeah… what about it?”
“Professor Clem liked it. He asked for you to be his lab assistant.”
Emma had been thrilled when she found out. That job would’ve helped her earn some money.
“So what’s wrong?”
Fawn groaned.
“Pandora–you know, the class favorite–she told everyone you copied her paper. She showed some kind of proof. Now Professor Clem thinks you cheated. He dropped you.”
Her voice got sharper.
“She waited till you were out. She cut you off, Emma. You need to come back fast.”
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10:41 Sat, 5 Jul
101 Stolen
Emma’s hand trembled around the phone.
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She knew she couldn’t fall apart. She couldn’t let it happen. She bit her lip and held tight to her thoughts. Logic first. Emotions later.
It took a while.
By the time she went back inside, Alice had already wrapped up her talk with Emma’s mom.
Alice saw her right away–red eyes, blotchy face. Something was off.
“What happened?”
Emma looked down fast. She tried to blink it away.
“I’m okay, Ms. Spencer. Just… some sand got in my eyes.”
Alice didn’t push.
She never made people talk if they didn’t want to.
“Alright,” she said, her tone calm. “I’ve got things to take care of at the office. I’ll head out now.”
Fannie got up right away and walked Alice to the door.
Emma followed them out but stayed silent.
She was worried her rough voice would give away how upset she really was.
Alice turned her head slightly, gave her a long look, then walked off without saying anything else.
As soon as the door shut, Fannie frowned. “What’s wrong with you, Em? Ms. Spencer leaves and you don’t even say goodbye?”
The message was clear–Emma had been rude.
The Quintanas treated Alice with real respect now.
Even their own daughter had to step aside when she was around.
Emma didn’t argue. She wiped at the corners of her eyes when no one was looking.
“Take care of Dad, Mom. My advisor needs me back on campus.”
Fannie didn’t question it.
“I know you’re joining a lab team, and it still feels unreal. We really hit it big this time. You might even meet some real top dogs now.”
Emma nodded without thinking. Her head was already somewhere else.
She threw a few clothes into a bag and headed downstairs, not wasting a second.
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10:41 Sat, 5 Jul G.
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101 Stolen
Alice sat in the back of the car, phone tucked to her ear, her voice steady.
“Ms. Spencer, the officers still need your statement.”
“I know. I went and grabbed a coffee, but I’ll head back soon. Want one?”
“Actually, yeah. Mind grabbing a latte for me?”
“Sure. Are Ms. Randall and Ms. Sandy done?”
“Yeah. But Ms. Sandy’s still in Ms. Randall’s office. She hasn’t stopped crying.”
The voice dropped lower.
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“This whole thing’s ugly. It’s all an inside job. If word gets out, the company’s reputation is as good as dead.”
Alice didn’t hesitate. “It can’t die when it’s already rotten from the inside out.”
The person on the line gave a nervous laugh.
“Morbid joke, Ms. Spencer. Morbid joke.”
But Alice hadn’t been joking.
Everything had started when Oscar collapsed out of nowhere. One day he was fine–the next, in a coma.
He’d been stuck like that for years. Eric stepped in and kept the company alive through sheer force.
Then even Eric fell.
And Ruby took over. For three years, she’d held the reins. But most of their long–time partners never really saw her as the head.
On paper, Nolan Group still looked like it was doing fine.
But people inside knew the truth.
They were running losses year after year, faking numbers just to keep up appearances.
To real players in the industry, the company had already fallen.
They couldn’t even match the Griffins anymore.
The fact that Marvin had the gall to take Eric’s supercar out in the open spoke about that.
Of course, everyone knew it—but no one dared to say it.
The person on the line gave a quiet, awkward laugh–then hung up.