From Ashes of Scandal to His Embrace (Laurinda) novel Chapter 246

“That’s ridiculous. You can’t just hand over the Institute’s seal whenever you feel like it. You’re in charge here, and nobody can change that.”

Laurinda watched Pete get all worked up. She knew he was tough on the outside, but soft where it mattered. Sure, he’d call her out in front of everyone, but he was also the first person to stand up for her when it counted.

She knew his anger wasn’t really about her decisions. He just hated seeing her hold back.

“Don’t worry, Professor. If I’m coming back, I’m doing it the right way. We don’t keep freeloaders around here.”

Pete fell quiet, studying Laurinda with those sharp, dark eyes of his. After a while, he finally nodded.

“In that case, I’m going to apply to be the chief examiner for the assessment. I’ll be watching you closely, and you can forget about any shortcuts.”

Laurinda grinned. “Great. I’ll see you in November.”

She turned to look at the others sitting off to the side, the ones who hadn’t said a word. They all had that look in their eyes, somewhere between contempt and ambition.

“Alright, now that we’ve settled that, let’s wait for November and see what happens. For now, let’s get this meeting started. I’ve got a new proposal for the underground experiment.”

Fraser pulled out the plan Laurinda had revised, and everyone dove right into the discussion.

Some people were willing to test it out, but a few of the more cautious ones thought the changes were too risky.

The debate heated up pretty quickly, both sides refusing to budge.

She’d stayed away from the Institute on purpose, not wanting to give her opponents any ammo. Let them think they could control the place. Now she was back, and she wanted to shake things up. If they made their move in November, she’d be ready. Their big projects would be almost finished by then, and she’d finally have the freedom to act.

Fraser might not have said anything during the meeting, but now he couldn’t hold back.

“This is risky. You’re basically giving them an invitation to target you. What if something goes wrong?”

Laurinda looked totally calm. “That’s exactly what I want. If they get desperate, it’ll all come out in the open, and that’s when I can really win. November won’t be a one-sided fight. It’ll be everyone giving their all. Only then can we get a real answer.”

She was full of confidence. Her rivals were waiting for that day, and so was she.