The Double ( or More ?) Life of The Fake Heiress

Mirabella had been scribbling on her paper for over an hour, her hand cramping slightly as she finally set down her pencil. She pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling the familiar tension headache starting to form. With a sigh, she gathered the pile of drafts that littered her desk, tearing them into shreds and tossing them into the waste bin beside her.

After mulling over her thoughts, she shot off a message to Adler on Messenger. [Your data isn’t cutting it. If you force the cultivation of this viral vector, I’m afraid it might just turn into a disaster

Once the message was sent, Mirabella put her phone aside and

questions, she tried to focus on the task at hand.

After finishing the exam and not seeing a reply from Adlered out a mock exam her teacher had assigned. Diving into the

she washed up and went to bed.

didn’t bother checking her phone again. Following her nightly routine,

On the other side of town, Adler stumbled out of the lab at half–past three in the morning, his unshaven face shadowed with stubble and his eyes bloodshot. He peeled off his lab coat and trudged upstairs from the basement to the kitchen. Reaching into the fridge, he grabbed a can of ice–cold beer, popped it open, and downed it in gulps. Then, he slumped onto the living room sofa.

few

Leaning back, he closed his eyes for a moment, resting. But not long after, he sat up straight, grabbing his phone from the coffee table. Seeing a message from the big boss herself, Adler perked up instantly.

Although he had anticipated the feedback, the bluntness of ‘isn’t cutting it‘ still felt like a punch to the gut. Didn’t she know how many years the institute had toiled to get the core data to this stage? And she just dismissed it as ‘not cutting it!‘

Adler let out a long sigh, his head drooping as he typed ‘up to snuff?]

a

response. [Boss, any insights? How can we make this data seem a bit more

Having sent the message, Adler didn’t expect a reply from Mirabella right away, considering the late hour. She was probably resting, after all.

After pondering on the couch for a while, Adler suddenly stood up, walked to the

allway, grabbed his car keys, and left the house.

The next morning, Mirabella woke to find Adler’s message. She glanced at it briefly before closing the chat without a reply.

Since she was going to Knox’s birthday party that evening, she chose a long coat to wear perfectly concealing it.

At lunch, Vincent came looking for Mirabella.

“The package was delivered, right?” she asked, a playful lilt in her voice.

r over her Parkside High School uniform,

Vincent’s face darkened. It took him a moment before he retorted, “You really have a twisted sense of humor.” She had sent him one box in return for the five sets of exams he had given her.

Clearing her throat, Mirabella said solemnly, “It’s all about helping each other out, right?”

Vincent scoffed coldly, clearly not appreciating her kind of help. Changing the subject, he said, “You’re coming to my grandfather’s dinner tonight, aren’t you?”

He knew his grandfather had called someone named James the previous evening, making a point to invite Mira over.

Mirabella nodded.

Vincent looked visibly relieved. After a moment’s hesitation, he suggested, “How about we head over together after school?”

Mirabella glanced at him and shook her head. “No need, I’ll be going with a friend.” Belonging to NôvelDrama.Org.

Guessing that her ‘friend‘ was the James his grandfather had called, Vincent didn’t insist. He remembered his grandfather’s instructions from last night and felt a headache coming on, Looking at Mirabella, he opened his mouth to speak but then thought better of it.