Trick Him Into Divorce, Then Flee With His Unknow Kid

Chapter 162: Chapter 162 A Database Worth Millions

Rose’s movements suddenly slowed.

Her heart skipped a beat.

She turned and met Trevor’s deep, unwavering gaze.

Noticing the brief flash of unease in her eyes, Trevor’s usually stern features softened with a faint smile.

He handed her bag back to her.

"No rush," he said. "Take your time and think about it."

With just a few words, he effortlessly dissolved the tension, as though he had anticipated her instinctive urge to refuse.

Then he added, "I’ll see you next time."

He didn’t press her for an answer, maintaining his usual calm and gentlemanly composure.

Standing beside the car, Rose’s mind raced. A strange sense of unease settled over her chest.

The last time Trevor proposed, they had both brushed it aside so easily that they had subconsciously treated it as nothing more than a joke.

But now that the subject had been brought up again, it was clear Trevor wasn’t joking anymore.

Rose immediately ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

She was the kind of person who could usually laugh things off and pretend nothing had happened. But when faced with a situation she couldn’t avoid, she found herself completely at a loss.

The only serious relationship she had ever had was a disaster.

It would be a lie to say she hadn’t become disillusioned with love and relationships.

The thought of seriously considering another relationship felt nearly impossible.

Maybe Trevor simply wanted to free himself from the Taylor family.

There was no real emotional foundation between them. Even if he did have some feelings for her now, how long could those feelings possibly last?

Rose had always been a practical person.

She didn’t like thinking too far into the future.

With a sigh, she headed upstairs.

As soon as she returned to her office, she received a message from Jordan.

Jordan: [Rose, what’s going on between you and Mr. Robinson? He’s the Taylor family’s future son-in-law. I hope you’ll come to your senses, stop giving him false hope, and reject him as soon as possible. You can’t be this greedy. Even if you can’t win over a taken man like Mr. Knight, that doesn’t mean you should keep stringing multiple men along.]

Rose rubbed her temples.

She wanted to block him with a single tap.

Unfortunately, Jordan was one of G.S.’s investors, so she couldn’t.

Without replying, she simply muted the conversation and returned to work.

The incident at the Taylor family estate appeared to have been quietly suppressed.

In the end, no rumors spread throughout the industry.

Still, Rose had a feeling the peace wouldn’t last for long.

She stayed at the office all night and didn’t return to Moon Lake Villa.

The next morning, at ten o’clock, Caleb arrived with Samantha.

Rose happened to run into them while picking up a drug analysis report.

Samantha shot her a sideways glance and walked past as though Rose didn’t exist.

Caleb said, "Rose, Miss Hill is here to finalize the copyright agreement. Starting today, we’ll officially grant her half of the database access privileges."

Rose nodded.

According to the contract, the licensing agreement covered three years. The first payment only covered the first year, while the second payment—due in two weeks—would cover the remaining two years.

Once today’s payment cleared, half of the access rights would be activated.

"Mr. Byrne, why are you discussing something this important with a junior employee?" Samantha asked with a faint sneer while reviewing the contract.

Caleb replied calmly, "Our company culture doesn’t encourage hierarchy or workplace oppression."

Samantha frowned slightly.

So now she was the one being accused of throwing her weight around?

But she no longer cared.

Now that the copyright issue had been settled, the next step was patent registration.

Why waste time arguing with Rose?

They weren’t even competing on the same level anymore.

"No problem. It’s been a pleasure working with you," Samantha said cheerfully.

Rose was in a good mood as well.

There was nothing wrong with collecting royalty payments.

After all, the money was going straight into her children’s future.

"Take care," Caleb said without further pleasantries.

Samantha suddenly smiled.

"President Byrne, we’ll probably be seeing each other often from now on. I’ve applied to become Dean Byrne’s doctoral student, so we’ll be colleagues and good friends in the future."

As she spoke, she deliberately glanced at Rose.

She hoped Rose understood just how enormous the gap between them truly was.

Caleb chuckled. "Wonderful. I’ll look forward to hearing good news."

Rose’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

So Samantha really was going to become one of the doctoral candidates she would eventually evaluate.

Seeing Rose lower her gaze in thought, Samantha secretly smiled.

People who felt inferior often withdrew and shrank into themselves.

At that moment, her phone rang.

When she saw Ryan’s name on the screen, the corners of her lips immediately lifted.

Instead of leaving, she answered the call right there.

"Ryan? Have you come to pick me up?"

Rose had no interest in listening to her ex-husband and his mistress flirt with each other, so she walked toward the elevator.

Samantha’s sweet laughter followed behind her. "You don’t have to go through all that trouble. You’re busy enough already. I’ll come down right now."

Rose reached the elevator and was about to step inside.

Samantha beat her to it. "Sorry. My boyfriend is here, so I need to go down first. You’ll have to wait for the next elevator."

As she spoke, she deliberately brushed Rose’s shoulder and stepped inside, pressing the button for the first floor.

"..."

Rose’s previously calm mood instantly soured.

And that word—boyfriend.

Her eyes filled with cold mockery.

Had Ryan really reached this point with Samantha?

Public pickups.

A public relationship.

In seven years of marriage, she had never received that kind of treatment.

Yet she was witnessing it firsthand during their divorce.

Rubbing the stiffness from her neck, Rose silently took a deep breath.

They had practically brought their public display of affection right to her doorstep.

There was no avoiding it.

She had originally planned to deliver the report upstairs before heading down to the lab.

Now, she didn’t feel like going downstairs at all.

******

Ryan and Samantha arrived together at the restaurant they had reserved.

Today was a special occasion.

They were celebrating their official access to the Aetheris Medical AI pharmaceutical database.

As one of the project’s investors, Oliver had organized the dinner.

The moment Samantha entered, Oliver applauded.

"This project is already more than halfway to success. Congratulations!"

Naturally, he was thrilled.

Once the project became profitable, he would enjoy substantial returns on his investment.

Then he could finally report back to the old man and perhaps stop hearing daily complaints about being useless.

Samantha smiled modestly and glanced at Ryan behind her.

"It’s also thanks to Ryan helping negotiate with G.S. that I got this opportunity."

If Ryan hadn’t used the funding as leverage, G.S. likely would never have agreed.

Oliver clicked his tongue. "Alright, alright. We all know Ryan treats you well."

Samantha playfully scolded him. "Stop teasing me."

"Can we finally see the database?" James asked.

After all, everyone present was curious about Aster’s legendary work.

Samantha opened her laptop. "Of course. None of us would leak anything."

Ryan sat down and casually browsed through the database.

It contained everything from ancient and modern medical texts to famous prescriptions, classical formulas, modern treatments, and detailed pharmacological research on medicinal herbs.

Oliver stared in amazement. "Did one person really compile all of this? What a genius."

"Is Aster European? The name doesn’t sound American."

Ryan took a sip of his drink. "Who knows?"

"Let me check." Samantha immediately searched for patented formulas and famous prescriptions that should have been listed in the system.

But...

She couldn’t find any patents registered under the name Aster.

Frowning, she said, "Did she never file patents, or is Aster not her real name?"

Ryan glanced at her. "She’s been famous under the name Aster for years. Why would she use a pseudonym? Most people wouldn’t give up the recognition and prestige that come with using their real name."

"That’s true," Oliver agreed. "Maybe she’s a foreign national who never registered patents in America."

Samantha’s eyes flickered thoughtfully.

"Then this Aster must be incredibly confident. Why wouldn’t she patent something this valuable and protect her rights?"