Chapter 2

When I returned to the lab after lunch, none of the team members were anywhere to be seen.

I couldn't care less what they were up to. I plugged in my encrypted external SSD and began running simulation pipelines.

It wasn't until right before closing time that they all sauntered back in, laughing and shoving each other.

Mandy strode over, wearing an air of authority, and rapped her knuckles on my desk.

"Harper, did you finish compiling the raw data I told you to organize?"

When had she ever assigned me any data? They hadn't even bothered trying to communicate with me.

"You never handed me any raw files. Were you expecting me to pull numbers out of thin air?"

Taken aback, she faltered for a second, then her eyes darted to my monitor.

Her mouth dropped open in exaggerated horror.

"Wait, have you been sitting on your butt doing nothing all afternoon?"

"What garbage is on your screen right now? That has nothing to do with our lab's project!"

Before I could react, she reached over and ripped my encrypted hard drive straight out of the USB port.

"Working on unauthorized outside projects during lab hours? Who knows where this even came from."

"Are you an industry plant sent by a rival lab to steal our tech?"

"If you want this drive back before I report you for corporate espionage, pay up that eighteen thousand dollars right now."

Watching her perform this little routine, everything clicked.

She had planned to freeze me out, then manufacture an excuse about my 'poor performance' to shake me down.

She just happened to stumble upon my private research instead.

My voice was ice. "Hand that drive back to me right now. You still have a chance to walk away from this."

Mandy burst into derisive laughter, looking down her nose at me.

"Did you just threaten me?"

"I'm giving you three days to transfer the eighteen grand. Otherwise, pack your bags and get lost."

Without waiting for another word, she jabbed her finger down on the power button of my workstation.

The unsaved simulations I had been running for the past four hours evaporated instantly into black screen.

A sharp heat flared in my chest.

I stood up and stared straight into her eyes.

"First, I have zero obligation to pay for your dining expenses."

"Second, you just destroyed a full afternoon of computations. If anyone is paying compensation, it's you."

"And third, that drive contains classified personal proprietary data. Give it back now, or I will have you charged with grand larceny."

Mandy sneered, venom flashing in her eyes.

"A fresh-faced intern threatening to sue me for theft? I'll show you who runs this department."

She immediately pulled out her phone, dialing the university's graduate student academic affairs office.

"This new intern is completely out of control! Not only did she skip out on an eighteen-thousand-dollar bill she owes the senior staff, but she's also constantly insubordinate and harassing us."

"I want Academic Affairs to terminate her lab access and expel her right now!"

There was a brief silence on the other end, followed by a confused voice:

"Wait... intern? Mandy, we haven't assigned any new graduate interns to your department this semester."

The call was on speakerphone. Everyone in the room froze.

I stood there, watching her quietly. Since I wasn't a student, Academic Affairs had zero authority over me anyway.

Still, seeing how Mandy thought she had the power to order campus administration around showed me just how corrupt this place was.

Looks like I needed to completely re-evaluate this lab's management.

A guy standing behind Mandy suddenly seemed to connect the dots. He tugged at her sleeve, his voice trembling.

"Wait... Mandy... could she be that elite researcher Professor Miller personally scouted...?"

Mandy's face drained of color. Her lips twitched nervously.

Then the voice on speakerphone continued:

"Definitely not. If it were that top-tier guest scientist, Professor Miller would have ordered us to unlock the Level-4 executive lab suite days ago."

A collective sigh of relief washed over the group.

Mandy sneered, regaining her smugness. "Oh, so you're just some useless nobody who slipped in through back-channel connections. Just wipe Harper Vance from our door system. If anyone asks, I'll take the blame."

"In all my years as lead administrative coordinator, I've despised privileged freeloaders who use personal ties to skip the line."

"Are you positive you want to lock me out?" I asked coldly, locking eyes with them. "You aren't worried about how Professor Miller will react when he lands?"

"A pathetic freeloader dares to threaten us?!"

"Kick her out!"

Little did they know that to secure my contract, Professor Miller had handed me unilateral decision-making authority over the entire project.

Too bad none of that mattered to them right now.

Mandy glared at me, her expression twisted.

"This is what happens when you mess with me. Two choices: wire me the eighteen thousand dollars, and I'll pretend this never happened. Or tomorrow, you won't even make it past the security turnstiles."

The clock on the wall struck six. I had zero desire to waste another second on trash. Grabbing my bag, I walked past her.

"You won't see a single cent of that eighteen grand."

"A word of advice, though: don't lose that hard drive. The consequences will be far beyond anything you can handle."

Ignoring her colorful curses echoing down the hallway, I walked straight out the front doors.