The Wife He Forgot to Marry (Winona and Yule) novel Chapter 625

Ever since Tallulah Shipley had tampered with her files, Winona hadn't taken any chances. She had installed a hidden, military-grade tracking software on her workstation. However, whoever had breached it this time was a professional; they had bypassed the standard security alerts and left zero visible trace of their intrusion.

Winona kept her expression neutral, casually sitting down and pretending to work as if nothing was wrong.

Across the room, Eloise subtly glanced over at Winona’s desk. Satisfied that her target was oblivious, she slipped her phone into her pocket, casually strolled into the breakroom, and dialed Karina’s number.

"It's done. I did exactly what you asked," Eloise whispered.

Two days ago, Karina had tracked her down and made a highly lucrative proposition. All Eloise had to do was install a hidden virtual machine program onto Winona’s computer and copy a seemingly harmless file.

In exchange, Karina had wired her a hundred grand.

It was life-changing money for a few minutes of work. Plus, doing a favor for the wealthy Shepherd family—and Stefan Goddard’s cousin, no less—was a networking opportunity Eloise couldn't pass up.

"You're a lifesaver, Eloise," Karina’s delighted voice crackled through the speaker. "I seriously owe you. Next time you're free, dinner is on me."

Eloise beamed, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of being in the inner circle of the elite.

Hanging up, Karina immediately dialed her childhood friend, Irvin. He ran a tech startup and had an entire roster of elite hackers on payroll.

"Irvin, my friend just installed that virtual machine software on the target's laptop," Karina said, her fingers flying across her own keyboard. "Does this mean I can snoop through her files without triggering any alarms?"

"Theoretically, yes," Irvin replied, the sound of typing echoing in the background. "As long as you’re just reading the data and not deleting or altering the source files, her system shouldn't flag the intrusion."

"Perfect. Thanks."

Karina disconnected the call and booted up the portal.

While she didn't possess Winona’s natural genius, Karina had still studied pharmaceutical R&D. She knew enough to understand the sheer brilliance of what she was looking at.

Scrolling through Winona’s intricate formulas, experimental logs, and project proposals, a wave of profound, suffocating jealousy washed over her.

No wonder Mr. Harper handpicked her for his lab. No wonder the legendary Mr. Bell praised her to the heavens. Winona wasn't just good; she was a prodigy.

Giselle’s jaw dropped, her blood boiling instantly.

She was supposed to be the lead on this project! Zack Charlton was completely bypassing her authority and stealing her moment in the spotlight. If he nailed this presentation, he would take all the credit for her team's hard work.

Furious, she let go of the assistant and stormed straight up to Dean Ziegler’s office, throwing the door open without knocking.

Ziegler was adjusting his tie, clearly preparing to greet the officials. When he saw her standing there looking indignant, his expression turned to ice. "If you have something to complain about, put it in an email. I have actual work to do."

"Professor Ziegler, why is Zack doing the project presentation?" Giselle demanded, her voice shrill. "A presentation of this magnitude should be handled by the project lead. It should be—"

"It should be you?" Ziegler interrupted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Giselle, you haven't put in a full day of actual work in months. Do you even know the current data metrics? Do you know any of the technical specifics? Let’s get one thing straight. The only reason you still have a desk in this building is because I’m doing Mr. Scully a favor. Know your place."

He didn't even wait for her to respond. He simply brushed past her and walked out the door.

Giselle stood frozen in the middle of the office, her face burning with utter humiliation.