When fate plays its hand

Madison sighed. “You don’t get it.”

Sebastian gave her a puzzled look.

“I’m so stressed out,” Madison wailed.

“What can I do to help?” When he saw the tears in her eyes, Sebastian panicked.

“I’m not getting enough sleep… Can I cut the morning run by ten minutes?” she sobbed.

“Sure,” he said.

Madison paused and was surprised by how easily he agreed. She even wondered if she should have asked for more.

Sebastian seemed to read her mind. “No more than ten.”

She didn’t say anything but accepted it nonetheless. Her tears weren’t fake, and she was really on the edge. The pressure was overwhelming, and the exhaustion was taking its toll. But she quickly gathered herself.

“Okay, back to work!”

Madison wrapped up her tasks for the day, stretching with a long yawn, and breathed a sigh of relief. She finished half an hour early, which made her feel pretty proud. “Seb, are you done?”

“Almost,” he replied.

Madison suggested, “How about we see a movie in town later?”

Sebastian was stunned and raised his head suddenly. He couldn’t believe she was inviting him to a movie. His heart raced, beating faster with each passing second.

Seeing he didn’t respond, she asked again, “You in?”

He nodded eagerly. “Yes”

Madison grinned and then turned to Miranda. “There’s a comedy that just came out yesterday, and it’s getting great reviews. Want to join us?”

Sebastian blinked in surprise.

Wait… Madison wasn’t just inviting him?

Miranda waved it off. “I’ll pass. I still have work to finish up. You two go have fun.”

Madison hadn’t expected Miranda to join them but wasn’t disappointed. She still wore a

cheerful smile. “Okay. Anything you want to eat? I can grab it for you after the movie.”

“No need. I’ll be done soon, and I won’t be long You’d be wasting time coming back,” Miranda said.

“Alright, but don’t push yourself too hard,” Madison said.

“Got it,” Miranda replied.

After Madison and Sebastian left, Miranda stayed for another half hour to wrap up her work. She changed out of her lab coat, locked the door behind her, and left the lab. She drove today, and the trip was smooth and uneventful.

She parked and took the elevator from the garage to the first–floor supermarket. She needed to restock some essentials and grabbed some groceries to make a quick dinner at home.

It took Miranda about half an hour to finish shopping and check out. As she reached the apartment building, she ran into Paul, who was coming back from his evening run. novelbin

“Let me take those,” he said and casually took the shopping bags from her hands. “Just coming back from the lab?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, not bothering with pleasantries.

They headed upstairs together. Halfway up, Miranda suddenly stopped him. “Dr. Jefferson.

11

“Hmm?” Paul glanced at her. “What’s up?”

“The Sneider brothers have been sentenced. They’ve been convicted of multiple charges- assault, public disturbances, human trafficking, and drug trafficking. One received an 18- year sentence, while the other got 15.”

“I know,” he replied.

“On top of that, the Sneider family was dismantled, with Weston and other key figures arrested. Even Nefario and Gerald were arrested. It was part of a joint operation between the cities of Yalemont and Gaderstone that aimed at cracking down on organized crime.”

Miranda had read about it in the news that moming.

“Finally, the bad guys are getting what they deserve,” Paul said. “The Clifford family won’t have to worry anymore.”

“No.” She looked up and met his eyes. “What I want to know is…”

Paul raised an eyebrow.

Miranda continued, “Did you have anything to do with this?”