"What do you mean she was hired?" Nathaniel's voice was low, but the anger beneath it was unmistakable.
Sarah froze in place, clutching the folder she'd been holding. "Sir, she… she applied last week. HR said she had the credentials for the position, so they processed it."
Nathaniel stared at her, disbelief hardening into fury. He'd been reviewing quarterly reports that morning, flipping through stacks of project files, when Laura's name had appeared on a resume buried in a pile. At first, he thought it was a mistake—some mix-up with another applicant. But now Sarah was standing in front of him, confirming the unthinkable.
"She what?" His tone hardened. "Laura was hired? Without my approval?"
Sarah's voice faltered. "Sir, I left the application on your desk last Thursday. You didn't respond, so I assumed—"
"Assumed?" Nathaniel repeated. "You assumed silence meant yes?"
"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "You were in meetings all week. HR said the lab needed people urgently, and I thought—"
"You thought wrong," Nathaniel muttered, raking a hand through his hair. He turned away from her, pacing once before stopping by the window.
He ran a hand through his hair, pacing once before stopping behind his chair. He had thought Laura was gone—finally gone. After everything she'd done to Clara, after all the manipulation and chaos, he thought she'd finally disappeared for good.
"What credentials did she supposedly have?" he asked, turning back.
Sarah blinked. "According to her resume, she studied abroad. She has some published work in molecular biology. The HR team checked the documents—everything looked legitimate."
Nathaniel let out a dry laugh, low and bitter. "Legitimate. Right." He leaned against his desk, crossing his arms. "She barely passed her undergrad. She doesn't have a single publication to her name."
He paused, his voice dropping. "Someone helped her fake that."
Sarah glanced nervously at the folder she was holding. "Sir, the board approved it. Mr. Daniel brought her in personally. He said she'd be a valuable addition to the team."
At the mention of his stepbrother's name, Nathaniel's jaw tightened. "Daniel did?"
"Yes, sir. He presented her file himself. Said she came highly recommended."
Nathaniel's expression darkened. Of course Daniel was behind this. He was always meddling—always testing limits. Nathaniel had hired him out of family obligation, not trust. But this? Bringing Laura into his company, his lab? That wasn't coincidence. That was planned.
"Did he say who recommended her?" Nathaniel asked.
Sarah shook her head. "No. Just that she had experience and that the timing worked out."
He exhaled slowly, running his thumb along the edge of his desk. The idea of Laura walking his halls where Clara was pretending to belong here, made his skin crawl.
"Where is she now?" he asked.
"She signed in about thirty minutes ago," Sarah said. "HR took her to the second lab for orientation."
He stared at the wall for a long moment, silent. Sarah shifted uneasily, unsure if she should speak again.
Finally, he said quietly, "I'll think of something."
"Sir?"
"I can't reverse a board decision," he said. "Not yet. She's already in the system." He rubbed his forehead, exhaustion creeping in. "But I'll deal with her myself. Keep an eye on any updates that come from the second lab. If she requests new access permissions, I want to know immediately."
"Yes, Sir." Sarah said quickly, nodding.
Nathaniel didn't respond. He was staring out the window again, his reflection ghosted against the glass. His thoughts were already moving too fast—Laura's sudden reappearance, Daniel's quiet involvement, the way Clara's name kept crossing his mind.
Sarah hesitated. "Sir… can I go?" she asked softly.
He blinked, realizing how long she'd been standing there. "Yeah. Go ahead."
When she left, the office went quiet again. Nathaniel sank into his chair, staring at the resume still lying open on his desk. Laura's smiling photo looked up at him—perfectly polished, perfectly false.
He turned the page, scanning the lines she'd written about herself. Each one felt like a small act of intrusion.
He set the paper down, leaned back, and let out a long sigh.
"Alright, Laura," he muttered under his breath. "You want to play this game again? Fine. But this time, I'm watching and I won't let you ruin Clara."
Clara, he wondered how he was going to explain this to her.