She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 778

The researcher stumbled backward in pure horror, falling hard onto the floor right at Philips's feet. The other scientists in the lab shrieked as they saw the severed head.

Philips's face drained of all color. His eyes trembled as he stared at Loyce in absolute terror. He finally realized his life was over.

"Who... who exactly are you?" he choked out, already dreading the answer.

Loyce offered a polite smile. "My actual last name is Lonsdale. The name you know me by was given to me by my adoptive parents. And the godfather of the Costa family? He's my brother."

Everyone in the underworld knew the Costa family had recently been taken over by a ruthless, brilliant outsider. And his last name was Lonsdale.

Philips gripped the edge of his desk, staring down at his associate's severed head. "You... you're his sister? Why didn't you say so from the beginning?! If you had just told us who you were, none of this would have happened!"

"I already analyzed your corrupted data back home," Loyce said smoothly. "I knew exactly what you were doing. But why would I alert you before I gathered enough hard evidence to hand over to my brother so he could clean house?"

Playing dumb to catch a rat never failed.

Every single researcher behind Philips was an accomplice. They had all deliberately stalled the project and fabricated data just to keep the grant money flowing.

"That's not fair! I just recorded the numbers he gave me! Professor Philips is the one who altered the final reports!" a junior researcher screamed, breaking down completely. "He told me if I didn't play along, he'd fire me! I needed this job!"

"Shut up, you idiot!" Philips spun around, his pale face flushing with panic as he tried to maintain his authority. But his trembling voice ruined the effect. "We verified the data together! You all happily agreed to pad the numbers so you could publish more papers and get bigger bonuses!"

"You forced us!" An older researcher dropped to his knees, sobbing hysterically as he crawled toward Loyce. "Ms. Lonsdale! Please! I'm just a standard employee, I didn't have a choice! Philips has been funneling the money directly to David and the Motorcycle Gang! He was a traitor from day one!"

"Bullshit! You're just as greedy as he is!" another researcher yelled, pointing at the kneeling man. "You think I don't know you bought your kid's private school tuition with the fake invoices from last year?"

"Enough! Shut up, all of you!" Philips turned back to Loyce, desperate for a lifeline. He spoke rapidly. "I am the only one who truly understands this project! If your brother still wants results, I can deliver them! I have all the core data! If you kill me, you get nothing! Let me make up for what I've done! I swear I'll fix this!"

Philips was terrified, but knowing he held the keys to the research gave him a tiny shred of confidence.

Until...

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