The atmosphere in the conference room was so tense, it felt like you could choke on it.

lan sat at the head of the table, his long fingers tapping a slow, deliberate rhythm. His sharp gaze swept over everyone present, settling briefly on each member of Byron's team. Every face was grim-after all, the data Juliette's lab had just stolen was the very heart of their work.

"Can anyone explain this?" lan's voice was cold as steel. "Why is our core algorithm being unveiled at someone else's press conference?”

No one quite knew what to expect from lan's temper; Eleanor herself had never seen him truly angry.

The silence stretched for a heavy ten seconds.

Faye was the first to speak, her tone carefully measured, threaded with uncertainty. "Mr. Goodwin, this is... highly unusual. Our team spent three months developing that system, and now-"

She trailed off, words caught in her throat.

Joel jumped in, voice low and tense. "Faye, don't make accusations unless you have proof."

"Proof?" Faye replied, her meaning unmistakable. "Even if there was any, it's probably been wiped clean by now. But I do know someone on our team has been awfully chummy with Juliette's lab lately."

She didn't have to name names. Everyone's eyes turned, knowingly, toward Eleanor.

A low murmur swept the room. Eleanor could hear the whispers just behind her.

"No way, Miss Sutton's one of our own."

"She's the one who came up with our main theory."

"Still, at the last conference, she was awfully friendly with that Juliette group."

"And she's friends with their lead, Xavier."

Eleanor listened, her expression unreadable, as the murmurs circled around her.

Joel was quick to defend her. "You can suspect anyone but Eleanor. She'd never betray this lab."

An engineer spoke up, voice tight. "Then how do you explain that their demo today matched our configuration settings, down to the last detail?"

lan raised a hand for silence, his eyes locking onto Eleanor with professional detachment. "Eleanor, do you have anything to say?"

She took a steady breath. "I need to review the actual data Juliette's lab released today. A presentation alone isn't enough to prove they used our algorithm."

“Still making excuses?" Faye's voice rose, sharp and accusing. “We all know how close you are with Xavier, and you—"

"That's enough.” Ian's interruption was sudden, his authority absolute. "I'll handle this investigation myself. Until the facts are clear, the project is suspended. Everyone is to sign a non-disclosure agreement. No one breathes a word of this outside these walls."

His gaze lingered on Eleanor. "Eleanor, stay. The rest of you are dismissed." Simone and Joel exchanged worried glances with Eleanor as they filed out. Faye couldn't quite hide the hint of a smirk at the corner of her mouth.

When the door closed behind the last person, lan walked to the window, his back to Eleanor. "Anything you want to say?"

"I didn't leak anything." Eleanor's answer was cool, but firm.

lan turned, his expression complicated. "If you want me to trust you, start by explaining your relationship with Xavier."

Ordinarily, Eleanor would have refused to answer such a question. But with confidential data on the line, her reputation at stake, she met lan's gaze. "We're just friends. Nothing more."

They held each her's eyes for a moment. Then lan picked up his suit jacket and headed for the door. He paused before leaving. "Eleanor, I hope you're telling me the truth."

Eleanor's breath caught in her throat. So, he didn't trust her after all.

When she stepped out, only Simone was waiting for her. Simone put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Eleanor. They'll get to the bottom of this."

"Where's Joel?" Eleanor asked.

"He and VP Chase went over to Juliette's lab for talks."

Eleanor narrowed her eyes, exhaling a shaky breath. "Professor Langley, I need

to get into the lab and review our data."

Simone nodded, ready to go with her.

But as they reached the lab floor, two security guards blocked their way.

"Sorry, Miss Sutton. Your access has been temporarily suspended. You can't enter the lab area right now."

Eleanor blinked, caught off guard. "Who gave that order?"

"Mr. Goodwin's direct instructions."

lan really doesn't trust me, she thought.

"Let's go back to the office and wait for Joel's update," Simone suggested.

Eleanor bit her lip and nodded.

Back in her office, Eleanor's thoughts were a jumble. Her phone buzzed, snapping her out of her daze-it was a message from Xavier.

"Eleanor, are you okay?"

"Don't worry. I'm going over my lab's data. If I find anything, I'll let you know right away."

She typed back a simple, "Thanks."

That afternoon, Eleanor went to pick up her daughter, only to find the nanny already there for Vivian. Xavier must still be dealing with the fallout.

Later, Juliette herself called Eleanor, making it clear her team was determined to investigate the theft thoroughly.

It was obvious both Xavier and Juliette knew the incident was somehow linked to Eleanor.

Joel called soon after, his voice tense but relieved. "We've confirmed it-someone stole Meridian Dynamics' lab data and passed it to Juliette's team. Juliette's engineers had no idea it was our proprietary research. They thought it was one of their own staff's breakthrough projects and made it public." "They've halted the project on their end too, pending a full investigation."

Eleanor gripped her phone tightly. "Did Juliette's lab say who leaked the data?"

"They're still digging," Joel replied, lowering his voice. "The data was sent via an encrypted email. They're tracing the sender's IP address now."

She heard Joel have a hushed conversation with someone on his end.

"Eleanor? Are you still there?" His voice had gone hoarse.

"I'm here," she said, steadying herself.

After a pause, Joel sounded hesitant. "The data was sent from your email account."

Eleanor's eyes widened in shock. "That's impossible. I never-”

"Don't panic," Joel cut in quickly. "IT is still investigating. It could have been someone hacking your account."