“Alright.”

    bChapter /b270

    Elissa nodded and strode quickly toward the elevator.

    Inside the R&D department, her project team was already waiting ifor /iher.

    As soon as she entered, Zachary Jones handed her a stack ofb results. “Take a look–these are the

    data sets from noon.”

    Elissa didn’t even bother to sit down. She took the report, lowered her gaze, and began tob through the numbers with sharp focus.

    It took only a single read for her to spot the problem.

    She tapped several lines in quick session. “These figures make no sense. There’s ino /iway they should be this far off, not under any circumstances.”

    She wasn’t arrogant about her research method, but she was confident–if not one hundred percent,

    then at least close to it.

    Even in the worst–case scenario, if the experiment had failed, these results still wouldn’t make sense.

    Cliff frowned, catching on immediately. “You mean someone might have tampered with the results?”

    “It’s not a possibility,” Elissa said tly. “It’s a certainty.”

    Her tone was so firm that Cliff’s eyes grew sharp. He slowly scanned the faces of everyone on the

    team.

    “That’s impossible,” Zachary blurted out. “Only you, me, and Mr. Cliff have ess to thatb.”

    Cliff and Elissa were close–anyone could see it–so it obviously wasn’t him.

    And Elissa herself? Why would she sabotage her own project? Besides, she hadn’t even been to the office in thest couple of days.

    That left Zachary, and the thought made him uneasy.

    Elissa could see what he was thinking, and quickly reassured him. “Mr. Jones, I’m not pointing fingers. Why don’t we just check the security footage?”

    Thatb could only be essed by their fingerprints–or a backup passcode.

    If someone with ill intent had somehow gotten hold of the code, anything was possible.

    The rest of the team hadn’t reacted yet, but Elissa’s group immediately bristled.

    James ispoke /iup, clearly annoyed. “Ms. Drummond, you run into a problem and your first instinct is to suspect us? How do iyou /iknow it’s not your own protocol that’s wed, instead of someone messing with the data?”

    A few others nodded in agreement.

    After all, reviewing security footage made everyone feel like suspects.

    14:29

    If word got out that they’d pulled the surveince tapes, the wholepany would know the R&D department was in trouble.

    “I’m not the one who gets to decide what caused the problem,” Elissa replied calmly, gesturing toward the cameras. “The footage will tell us.”

    Cliff spoke up, his tone cool. “It’s just a security check. If you haven’t done anything, what’s there to be worried about?”

    “Let’s check it.”

    Zachary, who’d had a bad feeling about the results from the start, was convinced by Elissa’s certainty. “Absolutely. I’ll call Security right now.”

    He stepped aside, made a quick call, and when he hung up, he tried ito /icalm the igroup/i. “Look, this is for the good of the project. If we can get this sorted out, everyone benefits.”

    “If someone really did tamper with the data, who knows what else they might try? What if they steal our work and sell it to apetitor?”

    “Would you really be alright with that?”

    After that, the rest of the team grumbled a bit but didn’t object.

    Elissa’s capabilities since joining the team had been obvious to everyone.

    Still, someone from her group wasn’t ready to let it go.

    James gave a shortugh. “Impressive, Ms. Drummond. The data goes sideways and rather than reconsider your own method or repeat the experiment, your first move is to use someone of sabotage.”