Free Web NovelChapter 95: Chapter 95 Ryan’s Growing Suspicion
“Ryan, what were you two talking about?”
Samantha’s voice came from behind him.
She had already returned.
Ryan paused slightly and turned to glance at her.
Having retrieved the bag she’d left in the car, Samantha walked toward him with a smile.
Oliver exhaled a ring of smoke and chuckled. “Nothing much. Just chatting with Ryan.”
He deliberately made no mention of Rose.
Only then did Ryan look back toward where Rose and the little girl had been standing.
The entrance to the alley was completely empty.
It was as though that brief glance from the child had been nothing more than an illusion.
For some reason, Ryan’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
A vague feeling brushed past him and disappeared without a trace.
Samantha, however, noticed that he was staring thoughtfully in that direction.
She stepped closer. “Ryan? Is someone over there?”
Only then did Ryan feel Samantha gently tug at the sleeve of his suit.
His gaze shifted back.
Looking down at her, he replied, “No. It’s nothing.”
With that, he turned and walked back toward the restaurant courtyard.
Samantha followed with a smile.
The restaurant was filled with friends and business associates that evening.
James was seated beside Oliver, which was how he learned they had run into Rose earlier.
“We reserved the entire place for a private gathering, and she just happened to show up,” Oliver said casually. “If the manager hadn’t told her the venue was booked, she probably wouldn’t have left.”
He shrugged, a teasing smile tugging at his lips.
James paused in the middle of taking a sip of his drink. “She was here?”
“She was. She probably heard about the event and followed Ryan over.”
James fell silent.
What exactly was Rose trying to do?
Hadn’t they just finalized their divorce?
After acting so determined and resolute that day, was she already looking into Ryan’s whereabouts?
Had divorce become yet another tactic she was using to win him back?
The thought crossed his mind.
For some reason, the corners of James’s lips curved upward slightly, but a trace of unease flickered in his eyes.
“What’s wrong? You seem distracted, Mr. Taylor,” Samantha asked with concern.
Ryan leaned back in his chair and slowly sipped his brandy.
Out of the corner of his eye, he cast a casual glance at James.
James set down his glass. “Nothing.”
Then he turned toward Samantha. “How did things end up between you and Rose? I heard you withdrew from the project team.”
At the mention of the project, the smile on Samantha’s face faded slightly.
“Yes. I withdrew voluntarily.”
Her tone was calm, but there was a hint of indignation beneath it.
“A project of that caliber shouldn’t become a vehicle for certain people to pad their résumés through personal connections. If that happened, the scientific integrity of the project would be compromised. My principles won’t allow it.”
Everyone present knew exactly who she was referring to.
They were equally familiar with Rose’s background.
An emergency room physician.
To them, it was difficult to understand how someone with such limited research credentials had gained access to a project of this level.
“You and Rose started from completely different positions,” Oliver said comfortingly. “She was lucky enough to get her foot in the door. You’ll have plenty of opportunities in the future. You don’t need this project.”
Only then did Samantha smile again and shake her head helplessly.
“It’s fine. I heard that Rose has been relying on President Byrne’s support to make sweeping changes to my formula ratios in the research group. She’s replaced my entire formulation.”
She sighed softly. “She seems to be taking things a little too personally. After all, I’m her older sister. There’s no need for her to prove herself this way. If altering the ratios leads to a major failure, it’ll only be the result of her own overconfidence.”
She had heard the news from a friend at Columbia University.
The thought still irritated her.
If the project succeeded, every trace of her contribution would be erased.
Just how desperate was Rose to remove her influence from the final product?
With her mind consumed by petty rivalry and competition, how far could she really go?
“Ryan, what do you think?” Samantha turned to look at the man beside her.
Ryan lowered his eyes thoughtfully, his fingertips tracing the rim of his glass.
Then he looked up.
Instead of answering her question, he changed the subject entirely.
“Does Caleb have a child?”
The question came completely out of nowhere.
James blinked. “No. He’s the only son of the Byrne family. He’s not even married. Where would a child come from?”
Ryan lowered his gaze to the ice cubes floating in his drink.
“Then the child must belong to the Robinson family.”
The little girl.
The one who had nearly been hit by Mike’s car.
The same child whose hospitalization had once driven Rose into a rare fit of fury.
Oliver immediately understood who Ryan was talking about.
“Oh, that child.” He nodded. “I just saw Rose downstairs taking care of her with Caleb. She treats that little girl like her own daughter. It’s obvious how much she wants to be a mother.”
“The Robinson family?” James frowned thoughtfully.
“Rose is only close to Diana Robinson, right? Diana’s younger brother is still in college, and he’s not even from the main branch of the family. Since when has Rose become close enough to the Robinsons that they’d let her spend so much time with one of their children?”
He looked at Ryan. “Are you sure the child belongs to the Robinson family?”
Ryan’s eyes were dark as ink. “Yes.”
Back at the hospital, he had specifically asked the nurses.
The child’s name was Ariel Robinson.
There was no doubt she belonged to the Robinson family.
Noticing Ryan’s unusual interest in someone else’s child, Samantha pursed her lips.
“Ryan, why are you suddenly interested in the Robinson family’s child?”
As far as she knew, Ryan wasn’t particularly fond of children.
He hadn’t even shown this much concern toward her younger brother, Mike.
When she asked the question, James also looked over.
Ryan leaned back in his chair.
His handsome face remained cold and unreadable.
“Just asking.”
Samantha thought about it for a moment and accepted the explanation.
After all, they had encountered Rose downstairs.
Since Rose had been there with the child, Samantha assumed Rose was deliberately using someone else’s daughter to attract Ryan’s attention.
Perhaps she was trying to hint that she wanted a child.
A subtle little scheme.
Samantha wasn’t blind to it.
At the thought, she silently frowned.
Rose was becoming far too reckless.
*****
The moment Rose arrived at work the next morning, she picked up a pen and circled a date on the calendar sitting on her desk.
The day she would receive her divorce certificate was getting closer and closer.
It was rare to have something to genuinely look forward to.
As for everything else...
Besides the ongoing clinical trials for the cardiovascular drug project, G.S. was preparing for another major move.
The company was officially launching a new project and seeking outside investment.
A neurosurgical robot.
Equipped with an advanced neural-regulation system and powered by cutting-edge pharmacological research, it would enable the precise removal of tumors located in the most delicate regions of the brain.
Integrated with a real-time drug-response monitoring platform, the system could help surgeons assess neurological reactions during procedures and minimize the risk of complications.
This smart-healthcare solution aimed to solve two of the greatest challenges in modern brain tumor surgery: catastrophic bleeding and postoperative paralysis.
If successfully developed, the project would represent a groundbreaking advancement in both smart healthcare and modern medicine.
The conceptual design had already been made public.
In the short time since Rose uploaded the preliminary clinical data to G.S., multiple rounds of investment inquiries had already arrived.
Caleb was in exceptionally high spirits.
“G.S. is currently one of the hottest names in the investment world. Everyone wants a piece of it. Of course, there are still skeptics who believe the technology will be impossible to implement perfectly.”
Rose understood their concerns.
The challenge was enormous.
Integrating advanced pharmacological research with modern neurosurgical technology.
Coordinating experts from multiple disciplines.
Overcoming technical barriers.
The underlying philosophies themselves often seemed fundamentally incompatible.
But after more than a decade of medical and scientific training, along with a degree in artificial intelligence, she knew exactly what she was doing.
“G.S. has attracted enormous attention because of this project,” Caleb continued. “But what investors are most curious about is the research team. Everyone is trying to uncover the identity of the lead developer. Some people are even speculating that Aster is the one behind everything.”
It had to be admitted.
Some people were surprisingly perceptive.
Because Rose was Aster.
As for that...
She had already thought it through carefully.
“I’ll consider revealing my identity after I receive the divorce certificate.”
She paused briefly. “When I went to Washington, D.C., to give birth to Ariel, I used the name Aster. If I reveal that identity now, it wouldn’t be safe.”
