When fate plays its hand

Chapter 0639

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Meanwhile, Sophie had just received her disciplinary action. In no time, two of her labs were slapped with notices for rectification. It felt like her world was crashing down.

“Aunt… Dr. Xander, what do we do now?” Yasmine asked while gripping Sophie’s arm anxiously.

Hank looked equally distressed while scratching his head in agitation. With finals around the corner, a lab shutdown meant their projects would be on hold. He’d have no way to report progress at the end of the semester, which would impact his GPA and potentially delay graduation.

Tina also stood there in a daze. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Miranda’s team was behind this. But hadn’t they done the same thing to her?

This was just a taste of their own medicine. Abused the system, and it could always turn against them.

Oddly enough, Willow appeared the calmest. She wasn’t invested in research and had no real academic ambition. She had only entered grad school for a résumé boost to improve her job prospects and

marriage prospects.

Whether the lab remained accessible or not didn’t impact her much. Besides, with Hansel in her life now, she felt her future was secure so long as she secured the guy.

“This says we need to make rectifications,” Hank muttered, “but it doesn’t give a timeline. Miranda’s lab has been working on theirs for two months with no approval yet. We can’t possibly build our own lab like she did, right?”

Building their own lab… Sophie’s gaze sharpened as she looked at Tina.

Tina felt her skin crawl under Sophie’s stare and laughed nervously. “Do you think building a lab is that easy? Money aside, securing the land and getting approvals are the hardest parts.

“Does anyone here have land access or connections with the agencies who’d green–light this for us? Hank? Yasmine?”

Hank shrugged, looking put out. “I was just saying. Don’t look at me like that.”

Yasmine shrank back, opting to stay silent. Sophie finally abandoned the idea, and Tina breathed a sigh of relief. Did Sophie think she was that foolish?

Even if she had the funds, there was no chance she’d build a lab for Sophie’s benefit. Miranda built hers,

but it was her own.

Joll, who had seemed prepared for this all along, took the news stoically. The only setback was pausing their project, but the years had exhausted him. He simply thought perhaps it was time to rest and reevaluate his path.

At the same time, in the administration building inside the chancellor’s office, Beckett looked stunned as he received the news. “A report? Who did it?”

The secretary, Alleen Addams, simply replied, “Hard to say.”

Beckett hurried to see Hendrix. “Hendrix! Sophie’s lab was reported

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Chapter 0639

Hendrix put down his newspaper, giving Beckett a calm look. “Yes, I know.”

“You knew?”

“I received a call from the district fire department about half an hour ago.”

“Half an hour ago… so they informed you before taking action?”

Hendrix nodded. “Yes.”

“But… why didn’t you stop it?”

“Stop it?” Hendrix chuckled softly. “And then what? Stop it this time, then what about the next? The reporting hotline exists for a reason. Everyone has the right to monitor and report.”

“But you know this was retaliatory. It’s not behavior we should encourage,‘ said Beckett.

Hendrix sighed. “How do you define retaliation? The dictionary calls it a deliberate response against those who have wronged you. Sophie was at fault first. Miranda’s response may not be noble, but it’s understandable.”

“But Sophie has had significant academic output over the years…”

“Academic output doesn’t exempt someone from ethical standards. She’s grown too arrogant; a reality check might do her some good.”