Betrayed and Dumped: She Rose Stronger Than Ever novel Chapter 281

Meanwhile, Rebecca left the project site and drove straight to the police station. When she finished explaining what happened and what she wanted, the officer looked at her like he was trying to solve a riddle.

“Ms. Harper, just to be clear, you’re here to report the incident, but you don’t want us to investigate?” he asked.

Rebecca nodded. “Yes, Mr. Keith.”

She hesitated, then added, “Our project is pretty confidential. We really can’t have outsiders knowing about the missing code and data. If word gets out, it could hurt the university’s reputation, and Dr. Palmer’s, too.”

Mr. Keith seemed intrigued. He tapped his pen on the desk, thinking it over. “Then why are you filing a report at all?”

Rebecca smiled. “It’s about protecting the patent. If I file a report before anyone else tries to claim it, there’ll be a record. If someone applies for a patent using my work, I can fight back right away. So, if you could write up the details about my patent thoroughly, I’d appreciate it.”

He peered at her. “You sound pretty sure that whoever took your code is going to try for the patent. Do you know who did it?”

Rebecca shrugged. “I have a suspect, but no proof yet.”

Mr. Keith looked her over, sizing up her calm confidence. “Are you sure you don’t want our help?”

Rebecca shook her head. “I can handle this on my own.”

Sonja always played the long game, so she wouldn’t take a risk unless she thought the reward was worth it. Wiping out Rebecca’s code and data was only step one. The real move was using that stolen work to file for a patent. The reason was obvious. After losing to Rebecca so many times, Sonja needed to protect her dignity, or Bruce might start doubting her whole PhD story. Filing for a patent with Rebecca’s work was fast and effective.

Rebecca left the station and got into her car, not even noticing the Rolls-Royce parked across the street.

Stephen slowly rolled down his window, watching the police station from his car. He pulled out his phone.

“Hello, Mr. Keith. I saw someone I know go into your station just now. Do you know what happened? Her name’s Rebecca.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify