Chapter 3

The next morning, the first thing I did was inspect every single item in the lab. Seeing everything exactly as I had left it, I breathed a massive sigh of relief.

Later that morning, I found an excuse to send everyone away, keeping only a younger lab mate named Toby behind.

In my previous life, I had never paid much attention to him. Only after my death, floating beside Derek as a ghost, did I realize what kind of person Toby was.

He had been the only one to question my supposed suicide. He had repeatedly gone to Derek, insisting my death had to be a homicide and begging him to push the police for a deeper investigation.

Toby thought Derek, as my fiancé, would fight for me. Little did he know he was appealing to my killer.

Later, Derek and Chloe constantly nudged our advisor to send Toby on a grueling field sampling trip in harsh conditions. The professor agreed.

Before Toby departed, they secretly sabotaged his safety gear. In the end, Toby lost his life to them as well.

Looking at the innocent, unsuspecting Toby before me, a wave of bittersweet camaraderie washed over my heart.

I pulled out the confidential research binder and handed it to him.

Keeping this in the lab or at my apartment was too risky. Leaving it with quiet, unassuming Toby was the safest move.

"Toby, I've had high hopes for you ever since you joined. I have a critical task for you, and I know you won't let me down, right?"

Toby's eyes lit up, and he nodded vigorously.

Seeing his earnest expression made me want to smile.

"I'm worried our classified files might be targeted. I'm placing the real documents in your care. I've left a dummy copy in the lab. Only you and I know about this."

Whatever dramatic spy fantasy played out in Toby's head, an excited flush crept onto his cheeks as he took the binder.

Turns out, the kid had a bit of a hero complex.

With that taken care of, my mind was at ease. At the very least, the original data wouldn't be leaked like last time.

Just to be thorough, I had already swapped in a fake document in the lab's usual folder.

When the rest of the team returned that afternoon, I greeted everyone normally, but only a few muttered quiet replies.

Several people looked uneasy, eyeing me with confusion, suspicion, and subtle exclusion.

I scanned the room. When my eyes met Chloe's, I didn't miss the smug smirk flashing across her face.

I knew immediately: she had been whispering behind my back.

A colleague I was usually close with confirmed my suspicions.

She leaned in and whispered, "Summer, when you sent us to the archives this morning? Chloe wouldn't stop dropping passive-aggressive hints. She basically implied you manufactured busywork to clear us out so you could hog the lab all to yourself. I mean... the files you had us organize aren't really relevant to our current project..."

I smirked. And here I thought she'd come up with something clever.

I clapped my hands to gather everyone's attention.

"Regarding the archives you sorted this morning: Toby and I will finalize the summary this afternoon, and tomorrow I'm submitting a proposal for a brand-new research grant."

I paused, holding up three fingers.

"Our current project is almost wrapped up. Once we finish strong, the department head has approved a bonus—this much."

Everyone exchanged stunned glances, their faces lighting up with pure excitement before the room erupted into cheers.

A few girls I was close with rushed over and hugged me.

"Oh my god, Summer! You are an absolute queen!"

"I love you so much!"

"Let's see anyone try to talk trash about you now!" One of them shot a pointed glare at Chloe.

Laughing, I gently pushed them back and waved for quiet.

"All right, all right, settle down. Let's get back to work."

As the cheers died down and the crowd began to disperse, I added:

"One more thing, everyone. We're a team. I'd appreciate it if people kept remarks that divide us to themselves."

A flurry of eyes snapped directly toward Chloe.

Her eyes immediately welled up. She shuffled toward me, playing the victim:

"Summer, I'm sorry... I was just worried about everyone's progress."

I smiled politely. "It's fine. I wasn't talking about you."

That only made her look more aggrieved. With tears trembling on her lashes, she cast a helpless, subtle glance at Derek.