After All the Hurt, She Chose Herself novel Chapter 294

The laughter grew louder as everyone playfully teased Mira. Aria patted her shoulder affectionately.

"It's never too late to be friends. But if you keep crying, my shirt is going to be completely soaked."

Mira quickly pulled back and gasped when she saw the two damp tear stains on Aria's top. She bit her lip in embarrassment.

"Oh, that reminds me. I need to transfer this to you," Aria said, suddenly remembering the research grant bonus that had just cleared. She hadn't distributed the funds to her team yet, and Mira was first on the list.

Aria asked Mira to open her banking app, then seamlessly wired over a cool hundred thousand dollars.

Mira stared at the string of digits on her screen, completely forgetting her tears. "Aria, is this really for me?!"

She counted the zeroes again, her hands shaking so hard she nearly dropped her phone. A hundred thousand! Real, actual money! An instant fortune!

Mira felt like she was going to pass out from sheer excitement.

"It's all yours. Everyone on the team gets a cut," Aria said with a smile, then turned to Dr. Reaves. "And there's a share for you too, Professor."

Since her return to the clinical trials was largely thanks to Dr. Reaves's unwavering support, she had allocated the largest portion to him. But to a man of his stature, that amount of money was practically pocket change.

Dr. Reaves glanced at the notification and immediately hit the refund button.

"Keep your money, kid. Consider it a welcome-back gift from me."

Since he insisted, Aria didn't argue. "Thank you, Professor!"

Dr. Reaves chuckled, shaking his head. "Look at you all, acting like a bunch of money-obsessed gremlins."

Mira looked ready to bounce off the walls.

"Professor! It's a hundred grand! A whole hundred grand!"

Samuel's shoulders shook with quiet laughter.

Mira practically skipped around the private room before finally settling down, out of breath.

"A hundred grand is nothing," Dr. Reaves added casually. "If we actually crack this genetic disease, you'll be looking at a multi-million dollar payout, minimum."

He wasn't exaggerating. Currently, global research on the disease was still purely theoretical. If they successfully transitioned from theory to human trials, it would be a monumental milestone, even if it ultimately failed.

Mira slumped back into her chair.

"I'll stick to dreaming about the hundred grand. I'm just the grunt here anyway. The real pressure is on Dawn."

At the mention of Dawn, Samuel cast a subtle glance at Aria. He wondered when she planned to reveal that she was the legendary researcher. Was she waiting until the trials proved successful? So many brilliant minds had failed before—did Aria really have the answer? Even Dr. Reaves had dedicated thirty years to this specific genetic anomaly without a definitive breakthrough. It wasn't that Samuel doubted her; the science was just unfathomably complex. With the global political climate shifting, the government was heavily invested in this project, hoping to leverage AI for unprecedented gene-editing breakthroughs. If they could master such advanced tech...

Samuel stopped his train of thought right there.

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