Chapter 43 She Was His Classmate All Along
The black text on white paper pierced his eyes like needles.
Emma Rodriguez - Personal Profile
Gender: Female
Age: 24
Background:
Orphan.
Age 6: Adopted by the Perez family. Age 10: Went missing, lost contact with the Perez family. Age 12: Arrived in Emerald City alone.
Same year: Made two visits to Harrison Manor, reasons unknown.
Subsequently homeless for three months. Accidentally helped classmate Evelyn who was being bullied at school.
Sponsored by the Jackson family, enrolled at Emerald City Green Valley Elementary School as a fifth-grade transfer student.
Due to poor academic foundation, struggled with studies and was frequently ostracized and bullied by classmates.
Nicholas's fingers froze.
Fifth grade? She was twelve and only in fifth grade? And she was being bullied?
He continued reading.
Age 13: Completed sixth grade curriculum in one year, scored first in the city on entrance exams for Emerald City Blue Sky Middle School.
Age 15: After completing seventh grade, directly took high school entrance exams. Again scored first in the city, skipped two grades, and was admitted to Emerald City Stellar International Academy as a sophomore.
Nicholas's breathing stopped for a moment.
Stellar International Academy? He had attended Stellar International Academy too.
She had completed all of middle school in just one year? And scored first in the city?
How was that even possible!
Age 16: After completing sophomore year, directly took college entrance exams, achieved perfect scores, skipped grades again, and was accepted to Novaria Royal Stanton Institute of Technology.
This was a genius even more remarkable than him!
Nicholas's head snapped up, looking at Tyler sitting casually across from him.
Royal Stanton Institute of Technology? That was his alma mater! He suppressed his shock and returned his gaze to the file.
Age 17, Fall: Enrolled at Novaria Royal Stanton Institute of Technology, four years younger than her classmates, making her a direct alumni four years behind him. Since he had also skipped grades aggressively, he was already pursuing his PhD at that time.
She had majored in biomedical engineering!
From age 19: She skipped again, completing her sophomore year curriculum and jumping directly to senior-level courses, effectively closing the gap to just two years behind him.
Nicholas's mind went blank with a buzzing sound.
Professor Frank had mentioned her with an admiring tone.
That genius girl everyone called Dr. N.
Two years behind him.
His alumni, age nineteen, who had skipped grades.
All the clues now pointed to one name.
Emma.
The woman who had spent three years with the Harrison family, who never fought or competed, who had been gentle and compliant.
Was actually that legendary genius girl? That academic prodigy who had skipped six grades total?
Could she be Dr. N, who was only two years behind him?
Absurd!
Absolutely absurd!
Nicholas gripped the papers so tightly his knuckles turned white. The pages trembled slightly in his fingers.
He had never known she had such a breathtaking past.
Never knew they had crossed paths at the same high school, the same university.
The file showed she had visited the Harrison family twice at age twelve.
Why?
How did he have no memory of this? What had he been doing at that time?
Charlie, curious as a cat, couldn't contain himself and crept closer to Nicholas.
He sneaked a peek at the documents over Nicholas's shoulder.
One glance was enough to nearly make him jump out of his skin.
"My God!"
Charlie quickly clamped both hands over his mouth to stifle his exclamation. His eyes were wide as saucers, filled with disbelief.
Emma was this accomplished?
Was this a resume humanly possible to achieve?
Wait!
She had visited the Harrison family as a child? Twice? Did that mean Nicholas had known young Emma?
What was going on here?
Elite family secrets? Childhood friends? Memory loss?
Nicholas's mind was also consumed by that same question.
Why twice?
At twelve years old, alone and homeless on the streets, why would she go to Harrison Manor?
Who was she looking for? What was she trying to do?
He carefully recalled that time—he would have been fourteen, still in high school, spending most of his time at school and occasionally returning home on weekends.
He had absolutely no memory of Emma at that age.
This matter—he had to go back and ask Grandfather. Grandfather must know something.
He flipped to the last page. The information abruptly ended after she entered university. Everything after was blank.
"What about the rest?"
Nicholas looked up, his voice carrying barely detectable tension as he questioned Tyler.
Tyler spread his hands with a professional smile.
"The rest has been deliberately erased. Very clean work, very professional. Can't trace it for now."
He lightly tapped the desk with his index finger, creating a rhythmic sound.
"But what's interesting is the timeline. At nineteen, she skipped to senior year, so theoretically she should have been in graduate school by twenty-one."
"And she was also twenty-one when she married into the Harrison family. Even the school has no record of her after that!"
Tyler looked at Nicholas with a more probing expression.
"There's exactly a two-year gap in between."
"Where did she go during those two years? What did she do? The records are completely blank."
"And then later..."
Tyler drew out his words with a somewhat teasing tone.
"She became your wife and lived with you! As for how your married life went..."
He paused meaningfully, "That... shouldn't require an outsider like me to investigate, should it, Mr. Harrison?"
Nicholas's thoughts were still stuck on Emma's astonishing resume and those blank two years.
What had she experienced? Why had that information been erased?
Who had erased it? In reality, she must have been even more remarkable than the resume suggested.
Because she also played piano, was a hacker, a pool master—she always radiated brilliance!
Nicholas felt his emotions becoming complicated and somewhat distressed!
He picked up his phone and tried adding Dr. N's Facebook account two more times, but still received no response.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he said to Tyler, "What's her relationship with Matthew? Why isn't that mentioned here?"
Tyler paused, setting down his coffee. "You think they have some unspeakable relationship?"
Nicholas's expression instantly darkened, and he snapped, "I think this Matthew isn't as simple as he appears!"
He felt Matthew was like a lurking beast, watching everyone from the shadows.
Tyler looked helpless. "Fine, I'll have to charge extra for this round! I just don't understand how that actress could compare to someone as perfect as Emma."
He looked meaningfully at Nicholas's eyes. "You seem pretty normal!"
"Get lost!" Nicholas aimed a kick at him, which Tyler barely dodged.
"Don't forget to pay!" Tyler wisely turned and left quickly.
The office door opened and slammed shut behind him.
......
At the same time, Matthew was hiding in a dark room, his head throbbing with pain, his eyes bloodshot.
Sheryl carefully entered, carrying a bowl containing blue-colored medicine.
"Matthew, are you alright? I brought your medication." She cautiously stepped into the room, which had no light, forcing her to feel her way forward in the darkness.
Suddenly, there was a crash as the medicine bowl shattered. Immediately after, a large hand grabbed her throat.
He was furious. "How many times have I told you—don't enter my room, you fool."
"Ah! I..." Sheryl struggled desperately, feeling her air supply growing thinner and thinner.