Chapter 368: A Growing Rift

Although Professor Martin didn’t fully understand, he eventually agreed. The last incident had left a deep impression on him, and he figured it was better to be cautious.

Sierra gave Mateo a call, asking if he had time to come over.

Mateo had been catching up on sleep, but as soon as he got her call, he jumped out of bed and said he’d be right there.

After hanging up, he immediately called Johnathan.

This was the perfect chance for Johnathan to patch things up with Sierra–of course Mateo was going to help his buddy out.

While they waited for Mateo, Autumn asked, “What did you mean earlier? Why do you think it’s a trap?”

“Some things happened,” Sierra replied honestly. “I’m not sure yet. It’s just a hunch.”

Autumn didn’t get it. How could this be a trap?

Quinn and Dora’s blood samples were clearly unusual, and they were Mr. Yaeger’s sister and niece. How could that be suspicious?

Sierra had no way to explain. This ran too deep. She couldn’t get into details.

Luckily, it wasn’t long before Mateo arrived.

When Sierra went downstairs to meet him and saw Johnathan standing at his side, her steps faltered for just a second–but she still walked over.

She didn’t look at Johnathan. Her gaze went straight to Mateo.

“Thanks for coming,” she said.

“Don’t mention it.” Mateo gave a casual shrug, but his eyes darted over to Johnathan’s expression.

Sure enough–he looked terrible.

Mateo sighed inwardly. Come on, man. This has nothing to do with me. I’m just the poor guy caught in the middle here.

Johnathan hadn’t taken his eyes off Sierra the whole time. When she still refused to so much as glance his way, frustration welled up in his chest.

This had never happened before.

They’d had disagreements in the past–sure–but Sierra had never treated him like this.

But Sierra stepped away.

“Mateo, come with me,” she said coolly.

Johnathan’s face instantly darkened.

Even Mateo was stunned by how firmly Sierra was drawing the line. His scalp prickled with secondhand dread.

He wanted to say something, but didn’t dare. He could only clench his jaw and silently follow Sierra inside.

Johnathan stood there, stiff with anger, watching them disappear through the entrance. Then he pulled out his own credentials.

He had unrestricted access to the lab building. It was one of the special privileges the university gave him.

He knew he could get in anytime–but that didn’t stop him from being furious.

Mateo walked alongside Sierra, glancing sideways at her tense profile.

“Sierra… you’re still mad?”

Judging by the way she was acting, she was ready to cut ties with Johnathan altogether. Wasn’t that a bit much?

“You know how he is. He’s got a nasty temper, always has…”

Before he could finish, Sierra cut him off. “Mateo, I really appreciate this. Please focus on the scan.”

Clear as day, she didn’t want to talk about it.

What else could Mateo do? He shut his mouth.

Once they were in the office, he pulled out his laptop. Thankfully, his reputation and credentials made this possible–normally the school wouldn’t let an outsider anywhere near their cloud system.

That’s exactly why Sierra had called him.

Mateo got to work quickly. Meanwhile, Johnathan arrived upstairs as well.

The entire time, Sierra didn’t spare him a single glance. Anyone with eyes could tell something was off.

Professor Martin couldn’t help pulling him aside.

“What did you do to upset her?”

Then, as if a thought suddenly hit him, he added, “Wait–was yesterday’s decision your idea?”

“It was.” Johnathan nodded. “Some of my older research got leaked. It’s… complicated.”

He didn’t elaborate, but Professor Martin could guess enough.

They operated under tight controls. If anything got out, it wouldn’t be long before the higher-ups summoned them for questioning–and psychological evaluation.

In this field, crossing the line was far too easy.

Martin knew most people stayed in line. But Johnathan? He was the exception.

“I told you,” the professor sighed. “I told you to take it easy. And now you’ve gone and blown everything up.”

They’d fallen out once before for this exact reason. Martin had discovered that Johnathan’s research wasn’t exactly within legal boundaries.

Eventually, Johnathan had left, probably because he got sick of the lectures. Martin hadn’t been able to let it go since.

He’d always worried Johnathan would stray too far. And for a while, it seemed like he’d shaped up–made a name for himself in his field.

But here they were again.

Johnathan didn’t seem regretful.

If he had one regret, it was this:

If he’d known he would one day meet Sierra–he never would’ve gone down that path.