The Fake Heiress and Her Purrfect Partner novel Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Chapter 147

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Wilfred’s fingers trembled with barely contained frustration as he gritted his teeth and typed Nina’s info into the computer.

Suddenly, the status of Lab S1 changed. Nina’s name lit up, impossible to ignore.

His face twisted in disgust. He let out a low grunt. “Lab S1 doesn’t use keys. It’s password and fingerprint only.

“When the time comes, you’ll just have to go see Mr. Bennett’s team and get your info scanned yourself.”

His voice was thick with reluctance, like he was handing over his own wallet.

The more miserable Wilfred looked, the brighter Nina’s smile became.

Her eyes sparkled as she said, “Thank you, Mr. Sullivan! You’re so generous!”

Her grin was so dazzling it could’ve lit up the whole conference room.

With that, Nina turned to Spencer and Grant, gave them a cheerful wave, and practically skipped out the door.

Claire stared at the screen, her nails digging into her palms as Nina’s name was basically screaming at her.

She forced herself to swallow the surge of annoyance bubbling up.

‘Whatever, it’s just one lab,’ Claire thought inwardly.

The Summer Veterinary Group had more top-tier labs than she could count.

Tomorrow, her FlashVax Vaccine would launch.

Then no one would care about Lab S1.

Nina and she were worlds apart now.

Nina gripped a key that hadn’t seen daylight in years as she walked by herself toward the forgotten lab tucked away on the first floor of the old building.

As soon as she pushed the door open, a cloud of dust burst toward her, thick enough to make her cough.

She paused in the doorway, taking in everything around her. It all looked so familiar, yet somehow different. She couldn’t help but feel a wave of nostalgia.

Back when the Summer Veterinary Group was just getting off the ground, the lab’s setup was pretty rough, nothing like the high-tech spaces they had now.

It was right here in this small and worn-down room that she managed to balance her college studies while slowly shaping her research bit by bit.

During her sopliomore year, she practically lived here and spent almost every single day in this lab.

She remembered how, three years ago, the Summer family had handed her a few pages of her mother’s old manuscripts to use as a reference.

As her thoughts drifted, Nina told herself she had to find the right moment to dig into the truth, where exactly those fragments of her mother’s manuscripts in the Summer family’s hands came from.

Nina pushed open the old lab door, and dust motes danced lazily through shafts of sunlight. The room still held stacks of raw lab data and faded notes from when she first built the PawGuard Vaccine from scratch.

18:37 Tue, Jan 6 J

Chapter 147

She booted up her laptop right away, letting herself sink effortlessly into the familiar rhythm of work.

As noon rolled around, Emily sent over the finalized report for QuickShield Vaccine.

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Nina didn’t hesitate for a second. She jumped right in, meticulously comparing, updating, and merging all the data from both the old and new vaccines. Her fingers were a blur on the keyboard.

By three o’clock sharp, she had fired off the complete files to the Animal Health Bureau’s regulatory team, making sure to co Hector at the Forestry Bureau as well.

Before long, Hector replied eagerly: [The vaccine’s officially dropping at 11 tomorrow morning! We’re speeding up the review, and confirmation will be in your inbox soon!]

After reading the message, Nina rolled her shoulders, feeling her muscles loosen as she massaged away the ache.

The sunshine pouring through the window lit up her screen as she spotted her sent email, a relieved smile sneaking its way onto her lips.

None of her effort had gone to waste.

Just then, her phone buzzed.

She glanced at the caller ID, pausing in surprise.

It was Quentin.

Nina wondered, ‘He’s back home?

‘Why’s he calling me out of the blue? Don’t tell me that needy little snow leopard from the zoo has him cornered again and he’s hoping I’ll bail him out.’

Nina answered the call. Instead of Quentin’s voice, a burst of playful barking came through the receiver. “Ninal Where are you? I miss you so much!

“Guess what? I’m on my way to the zoo right now!”

It was Shadow.

Just hearing his voice, Nina could instantly picture Shadow on the other end. His tail was whipping around like crazy, and his eyes were shining like headlights as he bounced with excitement.

Nina couldn’t help but laugh, her voice soft and doting. “I’m at Jelasburg University, buddy. Just wrapped up some work and I’m about to head back to the zoo to see you.”

She paused, teasing him with a fond tone. “Shadow, did you go overseas for some special training or something? Now you can call me all on your own? You’re such a smart pup!

“Did you even learn how to drive? Are you coming over to give me a ride home now?”

At that moment, Nina heard a familiar cough over the line. Just stiff enough to be unmistakably Quentin attempted to play it cool.

Next came Quentin’s low and gruff voice, clearly trying to cover up how flustered he actually was.

“The moment the plane touched down, he started causing a scene and hasn’t let up since,” Quentin admitted, sounding resigned.

There was an unmistakable note of helplessness in Quentin’s tone.

18:37 Tue, Jan 6 J

Chapter 147

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“He even dragged that carrot chew you gave him over to me and practically shoved it in my face. I couldn’t shake him off if I tried,” he groaned.

He paused, then said flatly, “He wouldn’t shut up. The only way to quiet him was to call you.”

Before Nina could answer, Quentin jumped in, his voice making it clear this wasn’t up for debate. “Wait outside the main gate. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

Twenty minutes later.

The main gate of Jelasburg University.

A sleek black van rolled up next to Nina, quietly coming to a stop right by her side.

She pulled open the door and slipped into the back seat.

Before she could settle in, a huge and furry figure lunged eagerly into her arms, nearly knocking her over with all his excitement.

Shadow, the giant wolfdog, buried his big head against her chest, practically trembling with happiness.

His tail thumped wildly against the leather seat, and he whined and whimpered, trying to snuggle closer and soak up all her attention. “Nina, I can’t sleep at all when you’re not at the zoo!”

Nina couldn’t help but laugh, steadying herself as she gently rubbed his warm ears. “I know you missed me, buddy!

“I tidied up your cozy den, gave you a fresh new canopy, and set out lots of flower pots!”

Before she could finish her sentence, Nina suddenly noticed the man sitting across from her in the back.

Quentin sat in the spacious back seat, legs crossed, face unreadable as he stared out the window, as if the whole dramatic reunion right beside him didn’t matter in the slightest.

Catching Nina’s stare, Quentin looked away a bit awkwardly, grabbed a fancy paper bag from next to him, and stuffed it into her hands without even glancing her way.

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His tone was cool and indifferent. “It’s from the airport lounge. I don’t eat sweet things. No point letting it go to waste.”

Nina peeked inside the bag and found a steaming coffee and an assortment of adorable bite-sized desserts.

She blinked in surprise, and before she could even say a word, Quentin let out a quiet cough from beside her. “If you’re not going to eat it, just throw it away.”

He kept his face turned sharply aside, jaw clenched tight, but despite his cool act, the tips of his ears had gone visibly pink.

Nina’s eyes crinkled with laughter as she shook the bag. “No way! We can’t let good food go to waste!

“I’ll just have to throw it all into my stomach instead!”

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