Chapter 362

Chapter 362:

Inside the opulent Rolls-Royce, Madisyn smiled and said, “Kevin agreed.”

“Of course he would,” Andrew replied, his voice soft and his eyes lingering on her with an intensity that suggested his growing admiration. “You chose something perfect for him.”

He admired Madisyn even more. Her solution was brilliant. This simple approach not only discouraged Kevin from pursuing her but also boosted his visibility by getting him on the reality show, killing two birds with one stone.

“So clever, honey,” Andrew said, leaning in closer with a playful yet genuine tone.

Madisyn couldn’t help but smirk at his words. “Not worthy of her? Your jokes are getting smoother every day.”

“I’m not joking,” Andrew whispered, his lips brushing against her, sending a shiver of electricity through her.

“Stop it,” Madisyn murmured, her voice betraying a hint of enjoyment.

Andrew wrapped her in his arms, his tone growing more seductive. “Baby…”

Madisyn noticed how flirtatious Andrew had become lately. It was both endearing and mildly exasperating. “Restrain yourself; we’re still outside,” she said, gently pushing him away.

Andrew looked at her with a mix of affection and playful hurt, as if he wanted to protest but ultimately held his tongue.

During the remaining journey, Andrew dialed down the flirtation, though Madisyn could tell he was still nursing a tiny, playful grievance. Just as they neared Madisyn’s house, Andrew’s phone rang, and his expression changed immediately. “I’ll be there right away.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, catching a snippet about the lab.

“Work stuff,” he replied hurriedly. “Sweetheart, you head home first.”

The urgency in his demeanor told Madisyn it was serious. She was curious about what could have happened at the lab, but given her position, she knew it wasn’t her place to pry.

Once home, Madisyn logged into Mia’s account and found a message from Andrew: “Dr. Mia, the herbs we planted using your method have all withered. Could you check to see what went wrong?”

Madisyn’s eyes widened in disbelief. How could this be? This method was supposed to be the ideal cultivation technique for the herbs!

A troubling thought crossed her mind—could someone have sabotaged the herbs? Determined to get to the bottom of it, Madisyn quickly disguised herself and left the house.

At the lab, the atmosphere in the cultivation room was heavy with disappointment. The withered herbs represented countless hours of work.

“Honestly, I’ve told you that Dr. Mia isn’t an expert in this field. Her method is useless—it’s actually made things worse than before,” Helen said, clenching her fists in frustration.

Seeing her anger, others began to voice their support. “Helen never had any issues with the herbs before, but after we used Dr. Mia’s method, something like this happened. Are we sure this Dr. Mia isn’t an imposter?”

Andrew’s gaze fell on the withered herbs, his expression turning serious. “Let’s wait for Dr. Mia to arrive before jumping to conclusions.”

Helen sneered. “I bet Dr. Mia isn’t who she pretends to be. Her little charade is finally falling apart!”

“Did you notice this?” a voice suddenly interrupted from behind—it was Mia.

The group, who had been so vocal moments earlier, fell silent as they turned to face her. Helen hadn’t anticipated Mia’s sudden arrival, especially after speaking ill of her. The fleeting guilt she felt quickly turned to frustration. “We followed your method exactly, and now every single plant is dead. What are we supposed to do now? These herbs are crucial for our project—without them, we can’t make any progress! Do you understand how many patients are depending on us? And how many lives could be at risk if we’re delayed even by a single day?”

Though Helen’s tone was harsh, her words held truth.

Madisyn—posing as Mia—didn’t rush to defend herself. Instead, she moved over to the plants, crouching down to examine the damage. Indeed, the herbs had all withered. Madisyn inspected them carefully, her expression unreadable.

Watching Mia, Helen couldn’t shake the thought that she was putting on a show. What could she possibly uncover?

“So, what’s your excuse for this mess?” Helen asked with her arms crossed and a cold smile on her lips.

Madisyn stood up and met Helen’s gaze. “You didn’t follow my instructions properly.”

“What? That’s the excuse you’re going with?” Helen’s eyes widened in disbelief. “These herbs are the cornerstone of our project. We have our top researchers working on them, and now you’re blaming us? It’s clearly your method that’s flawed!”

The more Helen thought about it, the more convinced she became that Madisyn was a fraud—her reputation built on luck, not skills. Even if her two surgeries had been successful, Helen reasoned it was probably just a stroke of luck.

But this research project required real skills and talent—there was no room for luck here, if you know what I mean? She pushed us to use her method, but now that it’s failed, she’s pointing the finger at us.”

Helen complained, turning to Andrew with a look of grievance, hoping for his support.

Andrew, however, didn’t immediately respond. Instead, he turned to Madisyn. “Dr. Mia, you said they made a mistake. Can you be more specific?”

Madisyn nodded. “When did you first notice the withering?”

“They started looking bad yesterday, and when I checked today, they were completely dead,” Helen replied.

Madisyn touched her chin thoughtfully. “I believe the issue likely stemmed from improper watering two days ago.”

“Impossible! Our team is extremely meticulous,” Helen retorted, looking back at the group responsible for the herbs’ cultivation.

But she failed to notice the subtle guilt flashing in one of the researchers’ eyes.

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