She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 482

Melanie Royce and Regina Lane stood face to face, their eyes locked in a silent battle of wills.

Regina parted her lips, but the words she wanted to hurl at the younger woman died in her throat.

She genuinely looked down on Melanie, utterly unconvinced that the heiress possessed any real talent.

After all, Melanie was Nathaniel Royce's daughter. She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth, destined to take over the Royce Group without having to lift a finger.

Everyone knew Melanie's position as COO was simply the perk of being part of a family business.

And the only reason Melanie was currently standing in front of Stellaris PharmaTech's elite research team was because Preston Whitmore had pulled strings behind the scenes.

Yet, despite her heavy prejudice, Regina didn't believe Melanie would stoop so low as to falsify data.

But if the figures Melanie had provided were real, how on earth had she achieved them?

Taking a deep breath, Regina leveled a challenging glare at her.

"Ms. Royce, can you actually prove the authenticity of this data? Because as far as I know, the Royce Group doesn't possess the equipment, the extraction technology, or the specialized staff for this level of work."

Regina's question cut straight to the bone.

The Royce Group certainly didn't have those resources; otherwise, they wouldn't be confined to their status as traditional medicine tycoons.

But Melanie's own private lab had the foundational extraction capabilities.

She couldn't mass-produce it, but running a sample data comparison was well within her power.

Aside from it being time-consuming and physically exhausting, it wasn't an impossible feat.

Every scientist in the room stared at Melanie with intense skepticism and scrutiny, but Melanie simply offered a radiant smile.

"Would it be possible to borrow your company's laboratory for a moment?"

"What exactly do you need our lab for?" Regina asked bluntly.

"To prove my data is real, of course!"

Melanie's answer was infuriatingly light.

Regina let out a cold scoff and turned her head to look at Preston.

Melanie had noticed Regina throwing deliberate glances at Preston multiple times now.

She couldn't quite fathom why Regina kept seeking his attention.

Regina Lane was the head of Team One in Stellaris PharmaTech's R&D department.

Melanie had heard rumors about this particular team leader's working style.

While Regina wasn't part of the executive C-suite, her performance and technical abilities were top-tier, making her the kind of arrogant genius who barely gave the general manager or the board of directors the time of day.

Someone like that shouldn't logically have a personal connection with Preston.

After all, Stellaris had countless employees.

Preston was doing his best to keep a low profile.

But just by standing there, his commanding, predatory aura dominated the room.

Landon didn't dare offend Mr. Whitmore, even though he secretly agreed with Regina.

He felt Melanie was simply too young and impulsive.

Rolling up her sleeves to personally extract compounds in front of Stellaris's finest researchers was not a smart move.

It felt like a foolish display of arrogance.

She was only going to humiliate herself.

There were countless rumors circulating about Melanie Royce in the industry.

The most verified fact was that she had initially majored in pharmacology, with many assuming she was taking up her late mother's mantle.

However, she had abruptly switched majors before achieving anything notable.

Now, she served as the COO of the Royce Group.

It was a high-level management role, entirely disconnected from the hands-on science of pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Moreover, the Royce family had built their empire on traditional herbal medicine for generations; they were presumed to be completely ignorant of modern molecular extraction technology.

If they weren't, they would never have brought Stellaris on board as a partner for this project in the first place.