The Contracted Ever After (Cordelia and Ronan) novel Chapter 514

When Cordelia got home, she found that Harold was already gone. She plopped down on the couch, ready to dive back into her research project. But something was off—the file was nowhere to be found. She searched her entire computer, but it was like it had vanished into thin air.

Sweat began to bead on her forehead as panic set in. She had poured over six months of hard work into this research, and now it seemed to have disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Then it hit her—Harold had been over earlier. She dialed his number, her voice laced with urgency.

“Harold, did you see my project file on my computer?”

“What project?”

“The one I'm working on for the national grant.”

“I haven’t touched your computer,” Harold replied, his voice steady.

“Never mind.” Cordelia hung up, feeling even more bewildered.

She began calling her colleagues, Sean and Sally, asking if they had any backups. They both responded that they only worked on portions of it and didn't have the full file.

Cordelia massaged her temples in frustration. She called Harold again, this time inquiring if anyone else had stopped by that afternoon.

“Oh, Professor Petra dropped by, but she left when she saw you weren’t home,” Harold disclosed, his tone casual.

She had already made it clear to Cordelia that she had no use for the research, hinting that only someone in finance would benefit from such theft—someone like Harold, who was not only a finance student but also Dustin's pupil. By planting the seeds of doubt, she hoped to direct suspicion toward Harold, making it look like he stole Cordelia's work to curry favor with his professor.

Petra then began to spread the word, starting with a message in the student and faculty groups. [Has anyone seen Professor Haselwood's research report? It's missing.]

The news spread like wildfire, and before long, the whole of Birchwood College was abuzz with rumors that Harold had pilfered Cordelia's project.

The plot took an unexpected turn when Dustin came across the email in his inbox. Recognizing Cordelia's work on trust research, he knew he could use it, but Dustin had a strong moral compass and would never stoop to plagiarism. Without hesitation, he sent the project back to Cordelia through Messenger. "Ms. Haselwood, is this your research by any chance?"

Overwhelmed with relief at the return of her work, Cordelia wept tears of joy.