Chapter 4

"What a surprise to run into you here, Chloe."

Valerie's voice was sweet enough to be drizzled over waffles.

As she walked in, her eyes swept across the conference room—a rapid, scanning observation that missed absolutely nothing.

A true professional.

Behind her, Julian adjusted his silver cufflinks, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the weather. "Mr. Sterling, let me introduce Dr. Valerie Stone, a top-tier expert in micro-expression analysis. Although the Harrison Group and the Sterling Group are competitors, we can still share resources when it comes to risk management."

Asher didn't reply. He just glanced at me.

I remained silent as well.

Valerie, showing no stranger danger, stepped forward to shake Asher's hand before turning her sweet smile toward me.

"Chloe, I heard you just helped Mr. Sterling catch a bad apple. That's so impressive."

As she said "so impressive," she let out a tiny hiccup.

It was incredibly soft, like a bubble popping at the surface of water.

She didn't seem to notice it. But I did.

She didn't find me impressive at all.

"Julian," Asher finally spoke, "you didn't come all this way just to pitch a consultant, did you?"

Julian smirked.

"Not at all. It's just that Dr. Stone is highly respected in the industry, and many of our peers rely on her services. We came today to offer Mr. Sterling a free demonstration."

He paused, his eyes shifting to me.

"And, of course, to see how her methods compare to Chloe's. We'll let Mr. Sterling judge for himself which approach is more effective."

A comparison.

A head-to-head test. He wanted to weigh me against Valerie right in front of Asher.

Asher frowned. "That won't be necessary—"

"Mr. Sterling," Valerie interrupted smoothly, her voice gentle yet firm, "I've been in this field for six years. My work relies on the peer-reviewed FACS coding system. It's not..."

She chose her next words carefully.

"...based on unprovable personal instincts."

This statement didn't cause her to hiccup.

She genuinely believed it. She truly thought my ability was a scam.

Asher looked at me.

"Do you mind?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Go ahead."

Valerie quickly set up the test.

She had Toby arrange for three Sterling Group employees to sit in the observation room next door, separated from us by a one-way mirror.

Valerie and I sat on our side, with a synchronized intercom system in front of us.

"The rules are simple," Valerie explained. "Each of the three employees will read a statement. One of them is lying. Chloe and I will separately determine who the liar is."

It seemed fair.

Except for one crucial detail.

The one-way mirror.

They were in a completely different room.

My ability only worked when people lied *directly in front of me*. In person. Not separated by a soundproof glass wall.

My spine went stiff.

Valerie had already pressed the intercom button.

"Subject number one, please begin."

A voice came through the speaker. The first employee read a statement explaining the legitimacy of a certain expense report.

I listened intently—no hiccup.

But the problem was, I couldn't tell if they were telling the truth, or if my ability was blocked by the glass.

Subject two: no hiccup.

Subject three: no hiccup.

My hand gripped the pen tightly.

In all my tests at the Harrison Group, no one had ever put a wall between me and my target. Never.

Because everyone at the Harrison Group knew my rule: the interrogation must be face-to-face.

Did Valerie not know this rule?

No.

I caught the faint glint of amusement in her eyes.

She knew exactly what she was doing.

"My assessment," Valerie spoke first. "Subject two is lying. When describing the reimbursement amount, there was a 0.3-second micro-contraction in his right brow, and his lip corners pulled down by more than 40% compared to his baseline."

She sounded incredibly professional, her terminology flawless.

Everyone turned their gaze to me.

"Chloe, what's your verdict?"

I looked at the three people sitting in the adjacent room. They sat quietly behind the glass.

"I need to see them face-to-face."

Valerie tilted her head slightly. "Face-to-face? What do you mean, Chloe? Didn't you say you could spot a lie instantly?"

"My ability requires close proximity—"

"So it stops working the moment you're not up close?" Julian's voice cut in from behind, filled with barely suppressed laughter. "You see, Mr. Sterling? This is exactly what I meant by 'unprovable personal instincts'."

Asher remained silent.

But I noticed his fingers tapping lightly on the desk. He was doubting me.

Valerie's assessment was put to the test.

Toby went next door to verify.

The result: Subject two was indeed lying. He had been instructed to read a fabricated expense report.

Valerie smiled. It was a soft, non-threatening smile, which only made it cut deeper.

"Chloe, I mean no offense. It's just that some methods require scientific validation, don't you think?"

As she said those words—

*Hiccup.*

Just one. Quick and quiet.

She hiccuped on "mean no offense."

She absolutely meant offense. This entire test was a trap designed to humiliate me.

But in that packed conference room, nobody cared about her hiccup.

They only cared about the results: Valerie was right, and I had failed to answer.

Julian stood up, slowly adjusting his cuffs.

"Mr. Sterling, take your time to think about it. Harrison Group is ready to send Dr. Stone over whenever you're ready to make the switch."

As he walked past me, he lowered his voice so only I could hear:

"Your little hiccup trick is over, Chloe."

He didn't hiccup on "is over."

He genuinely believed it.

I stood alone in the emptying conference room as they filed out one by one.

Asher didn't leave immediately. He lingered by the door for a moment.

"Chloe."

"Yeah."

"Why did you insist on a face-to-face meeting for that test?"

"Because my ability is real," I said, staring at the floor, my voice much quieter than I intended. "But it has rules. The person has to be right in front of me. Glass walls, video feeds, phone calls—none of it works."

Asher fell silent for a few seconds.

"Then why didn't you explain that from the very beginning?"

"Because even if I did, no one would believe me."

I looked up at him.

"Mr. Sterling, you've been searching for three years and found nothing. I caught a crook for you in two minutes. Wasn't that enough?"

His expression was unreadable.

I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but at least there was no disgust in his eyes.

Before he could speak, Toby rushed back into the room, holding his phone, looking deeply concerned.

"Mr. Sterling, Dr. Stone's assistant just posted on Instagram."

Toby handed the phone over.

It was Valerie’s verified Instagram account. Her profile picture was highly edited, and her bio read: *Behavioral Analyst / Criminal Psychologist.*

Her latest post read:

*“Did a risk-control demo at a major firm today. Ran into a lady who calls herself a ‘human polygraph.’ She claimed she could only detect lies face-to-face and completely failed behind a one-way mirror. Science respects all hypotheses, but repeatability and verification are the baselines of truth. I hope everyone remains rational regarding so-called ‘supernatural lie detection.’ ”*

The comment section was already flooded with thousands of replies.

*“Lmao, ‘human polygraph’? Just call yourself a fortune teller at this point.”*

*“How does someone like this even get hired by a legit company?”*

*“Ivy League micro-expression analysis vs. supernatural hiccups. You’d have to be brain-dead to believe the latter.”*

I stared at the screen, tapping my fingers against the edge of my phone.

Asher shifted his gaze from the screen back to my face.

"Chloe, what do you want to do?"

"Nothing," I said, handing the phone back to Toby. "I'm just wondering who authorized her to post that."

"You think it was Julian?"

"Valerie hiccuped when she said she 'meant no offense' earlier," I said, looking into his eyes. "Mr. Sterling, aren't you curious? Why is the Harrison family so desperate to make me disappear from this industry?"