Chapter 243: At Least He Stays By Her Side

Everyone was surprised to see her show up at the research institute.

Jason was the first to approach her, his expression unreadable.

"Professor Harrison, you..."

He opened his mouth, but before he could finish, Serenity spoke first.

"I'm fine. How's the preparation for the clinical trial going?"

Jason was caught off guard by her question and instinctively replied, "All the preliminary work is done, and all the patients have been registered. We're just waiting for final confirmation here before we can start."

"Good." Serenity nodded and headed straight for the lab. "Notify everyone—we'll have a prep meeting in half an hour. We're starting today."

Jason stood there, watching her back. After hesitating for a long time, he finally caught up with her and said in a low voice, "Professor Harrison, don't you want to rest for a couple more days? You just went through something like that..."

"No need." Serenity didn't stop walking, her voice calm. "I don't have time to rest."

She pushed open the lab door and walked in.

Jason stood outside the door, silent for a moment, then finally turned to notify everyone about the meeting.

The clinical trial started as scheduled.

The whole process went even more smoothly than Serenity had expected. The patients participating in the trial showed almost no obvious rejection reactions after taking the medication. All their indicators stabilized, and ninety percent of the patients showed clear signs of improvement.

That day, the phased clinical trial data came out. After compiling and organizing all the data, Serenity released it publicly.

The results were exactly as she had anticipated. The innovative drug developed by their team outperformed existing treatment options in multiple key indicators, especially in reducing side effects and improving cure rates—the advantages were striking.

As soon as the data was released, it immediately caused a stir in the industry. Major media outlets rushed to report it, colleagues sent congratulations and collaboration invitations, and the institute's phone was practically ringing off the hook.

Serenity didn't show much emotional response to this. She just stayed in the lab, planning the next phase of experiments.

That evening, everyone at the institute had already left work. Half the lights in the hallway were off, leaving only a few emergency lamps casting a dim yellow glow.

In the darkness, a figure appeared at the end of the corridor. His footsteps were very light, making almost no sound. He reached the door of Serenity's lab without anyone stopping him. After looking around to make sure no one was there, he pulled out an access card from his pocket and swiped open the lab door.

Inside, the lab was pitch black, with only a few equipment indicator lights blinking. Using that faint light, he quickly walked to the filing cabinet, pulled open a drawer, and started searching. He pulled out files one by one, quickly scanned them, then carelessly tossed them on the floor. His movements became more and more frantic, his breathing more and more rapid, but no matter what, he just couldn't find what he needed.

"Why can't I find it?" he muttered under his breath.

Suddenly, the overhead light clicked on.

Blinding white light instantly filled the entire lab. The intruder was so startled his whole body shook, and the file in his hand dropped to the floor. He instinctively turned around and saw Serenity standing in the doorway. Not just her—behind her stood Cassian and a group of security personnel, all staring at him expressionlessly, their eyes full of coldness.

Serenity walked into the lab and bent down to pick up the file he had just dropped. She flipped through it and couldn't help but let out a cold laugh—it was just an unimportant discarded draft. She looked up at the man in front of her, who was already scared pale and trembling all over. Her tone was calm but full of sarcasm.

"What made you think I would leave truly important things openly in the lab?"

The man's legs went weak and he fell to his knees with a thud. He knocked his head heavily on the floor, his shoulders shaking violently, his voice tearful.

"Professor Harrison... I'm innocent... I was coerced... please, please let me go..."

Serenity looked down at him, her expression unchanged. "Coerced by whom?"

The man suddenly looked up, his lips trembling, his face full of fear and struggle. He looked at Serenity, then at Cassian standing behind her with his cold expression. Finally, as if making some kind of decision, he gritted his teeth and spoke.

"Floyd."

Serenity and Cassian exchanged a glance.

The man seemed resigned to his fate. Since he'd already been discovered, he might as well come clean. He poured everything out in one breath.

It turned out he had previously worked for Albert, planted in the institute to monitor Serenity's movements. Later, when Albert reached an agreement with Floyd, he handed him over to Floyd.

"Floyd... Floyd is way more ruthless than Albert," the man said through tears, his voice broken with fear. "He straight up kidnapped my wife and child, said if I didn't steal your research records and give them to him, he'd kill them. I really had no choice."

Hearing this, Serenity turned to look at Cassian.

Cassian didn't speak, just gave a look to someone behind him. James nodded and quickly left.

"We'll go rescue your family. But you better tell us everything you've done at the institute, down to the last detail."

After watching James leave, Cassian withdrew his gaze and looked coldly at the man kneeling on the floor.

The man nodded frantically, his face covered in snot and tears. "I'll talk... I'll tell you everything... as long as you can keep my family safe."

After he had confessed everything, security personnel took him to the police station. Serenity and Cassian went along too, submitting all the evidence they had, along with Floyd's identity information.

The police said they would immediately open an investigation. But since Floyd held foreign citizenship, the case would take some time to process.

Serenity didn't say anything. After signing the statement, she and Cassian walked out of the police station.

As they walked out the door, the sky was already getting light. After a whole night of trouble, the eastern horizon was tinged with a pale golden light, bathing the city in a warm glow.

Serenity stood on the steps outside the police station and took a deep breath. The air was slightly cool.

"I wonder how much longer this fight with Floyd will last." There was a trace of exhaustion in her voice as she laughed helplessly.

Cassian stood beside her without speaking, just silently reaching out to grasp her hand. His palm was warm. The moment their fingers intertwined, a calm, steady strength flowed from his palm.

Serenity looked up at him. The morning light fell on his face, softening his usually hard features.

Neither of them spoke, but the trust in their eyes was more precious than any words.

The corners of Serenity's mouth lifted slightly. She didn't pull her hand back, but instead gripped his tightly.

She didn't know how difficult the road ahead would be. But at least she knew clearly that Cassian would always be with her.

They would definitely keep going together, until everything was settled.