Five Years Wasted Now They Beg Her Back novel Chapter 84

Grace knew it was much more than just “a friend.”

But she didn’t refuse.

She needed a job. She needed to rediscover her own worth.

The interview was surprisingly smooth.

Grace won over all the interviewers with her solid professional knowledge and extensive project experience.

A week later, she officially started at the Arclight Research Institute.

The research environment at Arclight was ten times better than at OrionVale.

State-of-the-art equipment, the freest academic atmosphere.

Grace was assigned to a new drug development project codenamed “Stardust.”

However, the moment she walked into the project team’s office, that idealized picture shattered.

Everyone’s eyes in the office shot toward her.

Curiosity, scrutiny, and… unconcealed hostility.

The project lead, Dr. Adrian Lowell, a man in his forties with gold-rimmed glasses who looked deceptively gentle, pushed up his glasses and spoke with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“You must be Grace.”

“Dr. Lowell, hello,” Grace nodded politely.

“Heh, no need to be so formal.” Dr. Lowell looked her up and down, the disdain in his eyes practically spilling out.

“So you’re the ‘genius’ the institute specially recruited.”

He placed a special emphasis on the word “genius.”

“I really don’t know what the higher-ups were thinking, letting someone whose graduation thesis was exposed for plagiarism into Arclight.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough for the entire office to hear.

Grace’s face instantly paled.

She hadn’t expected the slander she thought was suppressed to follow her here so quickly.

“Dr. Lowell,” she said, swallowing her humiliation and maintaining her composure, “that incident was a false accusation.”

“Whether it was false or not, we wouldn’t know,” Dr. Lowell sneered.

“All we know is that you got in through connections.”

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