Chapter 362: Suspicion

Johnathan drove so fast that Mateo, sitting in the passenger seat, was gripping the door handle in fear.

“This is unnecessary. Nothing’s going to happen right away, and it’s just a theory anyway,” Mateo said, regretting taking Johnathan’s car. Some free rides just weren’t worth it. But Johnathan didn’t slow down. He raced all the way to the school, only calming down after hearing that Sierra was still in the lab.

Sierra had just finished her experiment when she received Johnathan’s call. Her face lit up. Today’s experiment had gone incredibly well. Tomorrow, they could start the next phase. She felt like she and Johnathan were perfectly in sync. She was just about to share the good news with him—but she hadn’t expected Johnathan to tell her to pause the experiment.

“What?”

Sierra froze. “Johnathan, do you even know what you’re saying?”

“I know! Sierra. I’ll explain everything later. Right now, you need to seal up all the experimental data. Don’t let anything leak.” Johnathan’s urgent voice crackled through the phone. Sierra didn’t know why, but she could hear the urgency in his tone.

After hanging up, she called her professor to express her intention to pause and seal the experiment. Professor Martin was baffled. “Sierra, you know what this experiment means for our team.” Because their previous collaboration with Draven’s team had been leaked, their group had been placed under review. Normally, they wouldn’t have gotten another research opportunity anytime soon, but the school had made an exception for them. Both Professor Martin and the team treasured this chance deeply. “Unless you give me a good reason, I won’t agree to this.” After that, he hung up on her.

Sierra bit her lip and decided to suspend the experiment anyway. Autumn and the others were just as confused.

8:31 PM

“Sierra, what are you thinking? We can’t explain it now. Give me two days. I’ll explain everything.”

That was all Sierra could say.

“You’ve got to be kidding!”

Erwin, who had the worst temper, stormed off first, followed by Azure. Even Autumn, who was closest to Sierra, looked disappointed.

Sierra couldn’t explain it. She didn’t even know the full story herself. Her decision was based entirely on trust in Johnathan. After locking up all the data and sealing the lab, Sierra went downstairs. Johnathan was already waiting for her.

She looked at him and said, “You’d better have a good explanation.”

Johnathan took her to the private room he, Mateo, Stone, and the others usually met at. No one else ever came here. Johnathan had called the meeting today, and he didn’t hide anything. He laid out everything: the illegal drugs circulating abroad, the events of the past two days, and his suspicions.

When Sierra heard that the black market drugs traced back to Johnathan’s early experimental data, her face went pale. Everyone else looked just as shocked.

Draven frowned. “So this was planned. You’ve been targeted for over a decade.”

“Yes.”

Johnathan carefully thought it through again. Most of the things he had done back then had actually been guided by others. Because of his pride and disdain for mainstream products, he had ended up conducting those experiments. It had all started with something called ‘smart drugs,’ and the first person to ever mention it to him had been Quinn. Quinn had told him people around her were taking the drug. She said she wouldn’t take it herself but asked Johnathan for his opinion since he was an expert.

Sierra quickly realized that Quinn’s shadow was present in every part of this story.

8:31 PM

Johnathan glanced at her and nodded. “I’ve been suspicious these past few days. I even had someone investigate her. But so far, there’s nothing. Her life abroad matches everything she’s told us. Even today, when I confronted her, her reactions were completely natural.”

And yet, Quinn’s presence lingered through every detail. Johnathan couldn’t tell whether Quinn was involved or whether she was just a pawn without knowing it. His uncertainty left the entire room silent. Even Johnathan couldn’t make a judgment. That alone showed how difficult this situation was.

And suddenly, Sierra understood why Johnathan had asked her to pause the experiment.