The Captain I Married by Chance novel Chapter 543

Nathan was quickly left behind.

Watching Nora's retreating figure, he let out a soft chuckle, a flicker of guilt crossing his eyes.

Knowing his sudden move had been too forward, he didn't dare make any excuses for himself.

With the meeting about to start, he had no choice but to head toward the conference room. He would just have to figure out how to coax her back into a good mood later.

As Nora stepped into the main conference room, every eye turned to her.

Her heart skipped a beat, her first terrified thought being that her swollen lips had given away what just happened in the hallway.

After all, she was in a room full of seasoned detectives who were trained to pick up on the smallest details.

She pressed her lips tightly together, racking her brain for a plausible excuse, when an officer called out, "Dr. Hayes, you're here! We saved you a seat."

Since the department brass were in attendance, the seating arrangement was strictly assigned today.

Seeing that no one had noticed anything suspicious about her appearance, Nora quietly exhaled.

"Thank you."

She walked briskly to her seat, thanking the colleague who had pointed it out.

The officer smiled warmly. "No need to thank me. We owe this entire breakthrough to you, Dr. Hayes."

It was the same detective who had accompanied Nathan to the Costello Ranch.

He firmly believed that if Nora hadn't been smart enough to secure leverage before they headed to the property, the ensuing investigation wouldn't have gone nearly as smoothly.

Nora had no intention of stealing the spotlight. She kept her tone modest. "Not at all."

"If you guys hadn't played along so perfectly, we never would have uncovered all that evidence."

According to Nathan's debrief, they had found quite a haul hidden in that cellar.

The stash included a cache of old items dating back to Frank's father's generation.

The suspects likely never anticipated the situation escalating so rapidly, which meant they hadn't had time to destroy the evidence.

As they spoke, Nora caught sight of Nathan entering the room behind a group of senior executives.

Because the case had drawn so much public attention, this meeting was designed as a formal debriefing and a chance for leadership to commend the officers who had excelled during the investigation.

Noticing her gaze, Nathan looked up, his eyes locking onto hers.

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