Chapter 52
The day of the project exchange conference drew crowds from across the industry. Josephine and Kenneth arrived in Cedric's car.
But the moment Cedric reached the venue, his phone rang. After taking the call, he handed everything off to them.
"Don't disappoint me."
"Mr. Getty, you have our word."
Josephine felt the weight of responsibility settle on her shoulders. "Everything will proceed exactly as planned. Nothing will go wrong—you can focus on your business."
Her tone was respectful, her words precise—the picture of a model employee.
Cedric let out a soft laugh.
Josephine frowned, confused. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
"It's nothing. Go on in."
He just found her amusing when she got all serious like this.
---
The conference hall buzzed with representatives from countless companies, all vying for Oscar's attention. Everyone knew the odds were slim, but at least they had to try.
Josephine and Kenneth arrived relatively early and secured seats near the front.
The moment they settled in, Gideon walked through the entrance with Lorelei, Frank trailing behind them.
By pure coincidence, Gideon's seat was right next to Josephine's.
Josephine kept her eyes forward. Gideon broke the silence first. "Looks like you all came well-prepared. Feeling confident?"
"That's my line to you."
"Of course I'm confident." Gideon's voice dropped with amusement. "Babe, are you that worried about me?"
Josephine shot him a glare.
"Public setting. Watch what you call me."
"Alright, alright. Lips sealed."
Every word out of this man's mouth felt like wasted breath, but in a public venue, she couldn't exactly ignore him completely.
But to Lorelei, watching them whisper back and forth, it looked like a perfectly harmonious chat between husband and wife.
Josephine opened one of the bottled waters on the table and took slow sips.
Kenneth leaned closer. "Looks like we've got serious competition today."
"Numbers don't matter. Quality does."
Josephine had complete faith in her team. She'd never believed they could lose.
Unless—unless someone showed up with a fully developed research project completed in record time, one with massive humanitarian impact that had somehow never been disclosed before.
But that was impossible.
A project wasn't born from a flash of inspiration. You had to catch that spark and use knowledge and skill to refine it day and night.
That couldn't happen in ten days or even half a month.
After drinking too much water, she excused herself for a restroom break before the conference started.
As she emerged from the restroom, she found Lorelei waiting.
Ms. Getty had apparently been standing there specifically for her.
Lorelei smiled sweetly. "Mrs. Getty, what if I told you I'm going to win today? Would you believe me?"
"What if I told you I'm going to win? Would you believe me?"
Josephine threw the same question right back at her.
Lorelei's smile deepened. "Mr. Getty once told me that Mrs. Getty has a sharp tongue—that no one can match you in verbal sparring. I didn't believe him at the time, but seeing it now, I'm genuinely impressed. Truly."
"You didn't wait here just to feed me useless pleasantries."
If that was all, she had no interest in continuing this conversation.
Seeing her turn to leave, Lorelei finally got to the point. "Actually, I came to thank you."
"Thank me for what?"
"Can't say just yet. After today's conference wraps up, you'll understand."
With that cryptic remark hanging in the air, Lorelei walked away.
Josephine stood there, baffled.
"...What is wrong with her?"
---
Back at the conference, five minutes remained before the start.
Oscar had taken his seat. The other attendees clutched their materials, ready to pounce.
The moment the clock struck, the conference began.
Though Josephine sat near the front, her assigned number placed her presentation toward the middle of the lineup. She wasn't concerned—this gave her a chance to observe the competition.
Company after company sent their representatives to the stage, but none impressed.
Just listening, Josephine could tell their projects had potential, but lacked maturity. If even she found them lacking, Oscar certainly would.
Sure enough, they were all rejected.
Finally, it was Josephine and Kenneth's turn. Josephine didn't want the spotlight, so she handed the presentation to Kenneth.
He wasn't good with words and hated these kinds of events.
But that was exactly Josephine's intention.
"Go on. I believe in you."
Kenneth took a deep breath. He understood—Josephine was deliberately cultivating him, training him. He couldn't stay buried in the lab forever.
He wanted to become someone who could stand on his own, someone who could truly support her.
He stepped onto the stage.
From her seat, Josephine watched him, offering silent encouragement through her gaze. Kenneth's voice started rough with nerves, but as time passed, he found his rhythm.
His speech gradually smoothed out, gaining confidence.
The [GNRAS] project wasn't brand new—it had launched six months ago. A recent issue had sent it back to the drawing board for refinement, but the industry knew it well. The reception was overwhelmingly positive.
When Kenneth stepped down, applause filled the room.
Oscar looked satisfied.
Next up was Frank.
Gideon glanced at him. "Don't be nervous."
"Relax—I've got this."
Frank took the stage.
Gideon suddenly leaned toward Josephine's ear. "Care to make a bet?"
"Bet on what?"
"I bet Oscar will partner with us."
"That confident?"
Josephine glanced at Frank as he prepped his materials, about to explain his research.
Gideon's voice carried a hint of amusement. "So? You in or not?"
Josephine considered for a moment. "What are the stakes?"
"If you win, I'll grant you one request—anything you want. If I win... You resign immediately. From now on, you're not allowed to work anywhere except Starlight Group. And you move back from Clearwater Ridge."
"You get to make one demand, but I have to fulfill two? You call that fair?"
Typical ruthless businessman.
"Fine. If you win, you set the terms."
Josephine thought it over. If she won and demanded a divorce, Gideon would probably choose to break the bet rather than agree.
In that case...
"I want you to transfer ownership of the Clearwater Ridge house to me."
"Deal."
Gideon agreed without hesitation.
On stage, Frank began.
"Our 'Neural Bridge System' extracts neural signals from a patient's healthy limb and mirrors them to the damaged area. Think of it like copying the movement memory from a functioning left hand to a paralyzed right hand—no mechanical exoskeleton needed. We activate the body's own potential directly."
Josephine froze, her gaze slowly lifting to the stage.
"Next, we'll move into clinical trials. If this technology advances as projected, it will completely rewrite the fate of 60 million paralysis patients worldwide."
Kenneth murmured, "That theory..."
Why did it sound so familiar?
He couldn't place where he'd heard it before. His brain, exhausted from high-intensity work, moved sluggishly. The harder he tried to remember, the further the memory slipped away.
Even Oscar's expression had shifted.
Josephine crushed the water bottle in her grip. Her head snapped toward Lorelei.
Lorelei smiled back at her, lips forming silent words.
"Thank you for the inspiration, Mrs. Getty."