The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 1977

"..."

Hearing Veronica's voice, Roger raised his eyelids. The dark, bottomless glare he shot her was colder than the ice at the bottom of a frozen ravine.

Veronica's heart skipped a beat, and she shrank back defensively. "I'm just worried about you," she murmured.

"It's none of your business."

"And focus on your own life!"

Dropping those freezing words, Roger shifted his gaze back to Charlotte, his eyes instantly softening. "Let's go."

"Mhm."

Charlotte stood up, supporting her belly. As she walked past Veronica, she paused.

"I hear the International Forensic Association has annual evaluations," Charlotte said lazily. "Those who fail get kicked out."

She had done a quick background check on Veronica Ham.

Her family had been in forensics for three generations, giving her solid connections. When she joined the International Forensic Association, her family had undoubtedly pulled some major strings.

Otherwise...

Given her sheer incompetence, how could she have ever gotten in?

Unless the president of the association had lost their mind.

"..."

Veronica's face drained of color. She frantically tried to read between the lines.

Was she threatening her?

Charlotte was Asclepius. Even the president of the Association bent over backward to accommodate her.

If she really wanted to ruin Veronica's career, she could.

Watching the two of them walk away, Veronica wrung her hands into tight fists, a cold panic seizing her chest.

What was she supposed to do now?

Just then, the hushed gossip of the remaining team members drifted over.

"Is Dr. Roger's hand really that bad?"

"I think so," someone replied with a nod. "Asclepius did almost all the heavy lifting last night. Dr. Roger only handled the minor tasks, and he was using his left hand."

"It's so weird. How did he even get hurt? Dr. Roger isn't the type to be careless."

"..."

Veronica paused, then spoke up. "Didn't he get hurt when he volunteered at Montara School?"

"Ah."

"Montara School?"

Her friend put the phone on speaker and clattered away on a keyboard, checking the university database.

The answer came quickly.

"Actually, yes." Her friend scrolled through the files. "Look at the last person on page three."

Veronica swiped to the third page and checked the bottom.

Stella. Sophomore, Psychology.

The photo was a standard black-and-white ID picture.

The girl in the photo had stunningly gorgeous features, her long hair falling over her shoulders, framing delicate ears.

More importantly, she wasn't wearing a drop of makeup. Even under the notoriously unflattering glare of a university ID camera, she looked radiant, striking, and undeniably beautiful.

She really was pretty.

Veronica's brow furrowed. She scanned the background info. It was bleak.

Father in prison. Mother deceased. Broken home...

With a background that pathetic, how could the Blair family or the Gates family ever accept her?

But she was now absolutely certain that the girl in the picture was the same one who had visited the lab today.