Want My Womb? I'll Make You Childless novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Olivia’s face went completely white. She barely managed to steady herself.

“Professor Lewis, I truly had no idea where those files came from, or anything about a patent.”

Professor Lewis sighed, waving his hand.“What’s done is done…”

Ethan walked to Olivia’s side, putting an arm around her, offering her shaky body some support.

“Professor Lewis, she didn’t know. Olivia had no idea about any of this.”

“And I’ll handle the fallout. I assure you, this won’t hurt Lewis Al’s reputation.”

Olivia looked up at Ethan, her eyes brimming with gratitude, as if with him by her side, her world couldn’t possibly fall apart.

“Exactly, Professor Lewis.”

Mason chimed in, “If this blows up, it’ll hurt all of us.”

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“The traffic dispatch system Olivia developed has already been purchased by many companies. If we announce a public recall, the breach of contract fees alone would be a huge amount.”

“What’s more, she hasn’t even finished developing the ‘MindLink‘ system yet. If she leaves the institute now, who’s going to take on that loss?”

“If Professor Lewis insists, I’ll just have to buy the ‘MindLink‘ system straight from Lewis AI. Then I’ll have Ms. Bennett and her team come work for me on the development.”

“Or, how about we just let her stay at the institute until ‘MindLink‘ is fully developed? Then we can talk.”

Olivia let out a silent breath.

She knew full well how much Lewis AI needed Walker Venture Partners‘ funding. With Mason speaking up for her, Professor Lewis wouldn’t make her leave.

She just needed to get ‘MindLink‘ finished ASAP. Once it launched, her reputation would bounce back.

Professor Lewis looked at the man in the Traditional Stand–Up Collar Jacket standing next to Benjamin. He saw the man give a nearly imperceptible nod.

Professor Lewis shook his head.“Since Mr. Walker put it that way,” he said, “then Olivia can take her project and leave the institute.”

He then turned to Ethan. “I get you’re protecting Ms. Bennett. I can keep this under wraps. But you better keep your word. Clean up this mess. Don’t let it stain Lewis AI.”

“Of course.”

Ethan’s eyes swept the room, finally locking on Clara. A warning.

“This? Just a misunderstanding. Olivia used research institute data, not plagiarized anything. So don’t go spreading rumors.”

“If I hear a single whisper about this outside, Carter Group’s legal department won’t hesitate to bury you in lawsuits.”

He finished, then shot a glance at Alexander, who looked pissed.“Let’s go,” he murmured.

Olivia knew this whole thing was a disaster, and her leaving Lewis AI was a done deal. She hated it, but all she could do was shoot Clara a furious glare, letting Ethan guide her out, his arm firm around her.

“Mr. Carter really has Ms. Bennett’s back, huh? He can make black sound white…”

“Shh, don’t even go there. What can you do? In Chicago, who can mess with the Carter Group? Anyone he wants to protect, he protects. No questions asked.”

The chatter exploded around her. Clara watched calmly as Ethan cleared a path for Olivia, leaning down to comfort the woman in his arms.

“I’m so sorry, Eth, I caused you so much trouble.”

Olivia’s eyes were red–rimmed.“I honestly didn’t know those data points were Clara’s from before.”

“It’s fine. This isn’t your fault.”

Ethan’s voice was even, giving nothing away. “I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry.”

Realizing Ethan wasn’t blaming her, Olivia felt a small wave of relief.“Hmm. I just find it weird why Professor Lewis was so protective of Clara. Is Clara really so special?”

A flicker of resentment flashed in her eyes.

She’d come back to the States, turned down offers from so many research labs, and without a second thought, gone straight into Henry’s PhD program, joining Lewis Al.

< Chapter 22

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I couldn’t believe it. When it really counted, he actually chose to protect Clara. He even exposed his own plagiarism for her, and then kicked her out of the institute!

“Eth.”

Alexander, trailing a bit, glanced back.“That’s Marcus Evans, Commander Evans, standing next to Benjamin,” he murmured.

“He’s Chris‘ dad. You know, the one who used to hang out with us all the time when we were kids.”

“After Commander Evans got promoted, his family moved away.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. Grandpa Carter had wanted to send him into the military years ago, even planning to use the Evans family’s connections. But then he heard Chris was severely injured in the service and retired, so he dropped the idea.

He’d even met Chris once before his wedding. Chris’s eyes had seemed off, strange. Ethan pressed him, but Chris just said it was nothing.

Ethan figured Chris had been a bit weird ever since he retired from the military, and they weren’t exactly on the same wavelength anymore. So he hadn’t kept in touch much.

“Commander Evans?”

Olivia looked up in surprise. Even she knew Marcus’s name. The guy was a legitimate big shot in the military.

“How is he with Benjamin at this conference?”

They probably met in the military.”

Alexander paused, thinking.“I had someone look into Benjamin. He’s just a regular guy, used to be in the army. After he retired, he used his severance pay to start Nova AI.”

“Now that Clara knows Benjamin knows Marcus, is she going to use Benjamin to get close to the General?”

“Could be.”

Ethan recalled Clara’s recent moves and felt a surge of annoyance.

He needed to speed things up. If Clara really got Marcus’s approval and got too ambitious, getting her to come home and focus on her pregnancy would be a nightmare.

Meanwhile, upstairs in a lounge area on the second floor of the conference hall.

Clara stood nervously in front of Marcus, letting him scrutinize her.

Marcus: Ms. Bennett, don’t be nervous.”

Marcus was surprisingly friendly. “I just came to meet you, and talk about the follow–up for the ‘Blade‘ project.”

“The system you proposed–it can work with drone swarms and robotic dogs, but also do electronic warfare and counter–warning? Is that real?”

“How does that even work?”

Talking about work, Clara instantly relaxed. She pulled out her tablet, loaded up her previous concepts and implementation data, and started explaining.

“It needs our own navigation system, using massive data to create AI–driven signal recognition…”

When she finished, Marcus’s eyes were practically sparkling. He patted her shoulder, repeating, “Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!

“Alright then, let’s proceed exactly as you’ve outlined. Anything you need, just tell Benjamin directly.”

I’ve got other business. I’m out.”

“Sir, I’ll walk you out.”

Benjamin immediately stood up to escort him out.

Once they were gone, Henry tapped Clara’s forehead, clearly frustrated with her for being so timid.

“Look at you! Shaking like a leaf, just because a General was in the room!”

‘Where’d that I’m practically invincible‘ attitude you used to rock?!”

“And today? If I hadn’t shown up, would you have just let Olivia stick the plagiarism label on you?”

“Then, when it all blew up, you didn’t even prove Olivia plagiarized! You just let Ethan completely flip the script!”

“Clara, can you please just get it together?!”

Clara’s throat clenched. She couldn’t speak.

“You married pretty damn well, didn’t you?”

Professor Lewis threw his hands up in exasperation. “Why aren’t you asking him to back you up?!”

< Chapter 22

Clara’s eyes glistened, but she gave a weak smile. Her voice was barely a whisper:“Professor, I married Ethan.”

Professor Lewis’s hand stopped mid–air. He froze.

“But… I’m getting a divorce.”

Clara ran a hand over her face. I promise, this won’t happen again. Ever.”