Fake Heiress Real Trouble (Sienna) novel Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Patrick’s face darkened, his eyes turning icy. “Erik, you really think walking out on the control room in the middle of everything was no big deal?”

His voice carried a stern, commanding weight, his stare cutting like a knife. “Erik, even now, you still don’t get where you went so wrong.

“Homer outranks you-he’s your boss-and you flat-out ignored his instructions. That’s mistake number one.

“In a high-stakes situation like this, you abandoned your team and your post because of some petty grudge. That’s mistake number two!”

He fixed Erik with a cold glare. “You ought to thank your lucky stars that Sienna stepped in and saved the day! If your little walkout had caused even the slightest hiccup with Wonder, you’d be taking the full blame!

“So even if Sienna weren’t involved, the Bright Institute has no room for reckless, rule-breaking researchers like you.”

Erik’s face went pale as a sheet, his throat heaving with rough, labored gasps from the emotional storm.

His mouth opened, like he was about to say something.

But Patrick didn’t spare him another look and spun on his heel to go.

“Professor Sharp! Professor Sharp!”

Erik hurried after him in a frenzy. “I know I messed up-I swear I do! It won’t happen again, starting now…”

“There is no ‘starting now’ for you,” Patrick snapped, unwilling to waste more time. His brows knitted as he geared up to call over the Ministry of National Defense patrols to drag the man off.

Before the words could leave his mouth, Erik’s eyes turned bloodshot, his face contorting into a wild, furious grimace as he charged at Patrick. “I’ve groveled at your feet—why can’t you just forgive me? Why insist on firing me? You know full well… if the Bright Institute cuts me loose, no other lab will have me!”

“Erik!” Patrick hadn’t anticipated the assault—at over sixty, he simply couldn’t react in time.

Erik’s expression twisted with rage, his hands clawing toward Patrick’s neck.

But… Before he could touch him, Patrick’s body lurched sharply to the right, evading the grasp.

In an instant, a long, slim leg lashed out straight at Erik.

With a loud “thud”, agony ripped through his chest, as if his insides were being twisted apart. He let out a pained howl and was hurled backward.

He crashed into the wall with a heavy impact, then slid down to the floor. “It’s you again… you!”

Gripping his chest, his face warped in pain, Erik shot Sienna a glare full of bitter malice. “You think patching

Chapter 41

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up Wonder makes you some kind of big shot? What gives you the right to run the show? Who the hell do you think you are!”

He hurled insults amid fits of harsh coughing.

The Ministry of National Defense patrols, drawn by the noise, came sprinting in at full speed.

Assessing the chaos, they drew their guns in unison, barrels aimed squarely at Erik.

Those black muzzles left him slumping against the ground, paralyzed with fear.

“She-Sienna-is impressive, alright, leagues above anything you’ll ever achieve,” Patrick stated, his expression hard and unyielding as he regarded Erik. “And as the actual director of the Bright Institute, why wouldn’t she get to decide your fate?”

Erik’s face blanched, his eyes widening in disbelief as he darted glances between Patrick and Sienna.

He thought, ‘This… this girl who barely looks twenty-is the head of the Bright Institute? How could that be?’

Erik finally realized what he’d just done, his body shaking like a leaf, tears pouring down his face as he sobbed loudly. “Professor Sharp, I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to—I just… I lost it for a second, I…”

Patrick didn’t say a word, just motioned for the guards to drag him off.

Originally, Erik was only looking at getting kicked out of the institute.

But now? Assaulting a professor who was basically a national treasure? That was straight-up prison bait.

“Sienna, I’m really sorry you had to witness that,” Patrick said, looking a bit embarrassed.

Sienna only swung by for big emergencies like this one, when the institute was in over its head. Who’d have thought her rare visit would turn into such a mess?

“As long as you’re unhurt,” Sienna said, brushing it off without batting an eye.

Patrick let out a chuckle. “Well, you pulled me clear just in time, didn’t you? It’s getting really late-how about crashing in the institute dorm for the night? I always make sure your room gets cleaned regularly.”

For years, he’d been plotting ways to lure Sienna into taking the director spot at the Bright Institute.

Sienna checked the time and shook her head. “I’ve got to head back. Grandpa needs his acupuncture bright and early tomorrow.”

To make the treatment less painful, she’d whipped up a two-day herbal bath to relax his leg muscles first. Tomorrow was needle time.

And besides… If she didn’t show up at home, her family would probably be up all night fretting.

“Alright, alright—Sienna’s got people who care about her now,” Patrick said, his expression warming into a kind, grandfatherly grin as he dropped the stiff tone for a more familiar one.

Chapter 41

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He let out a sigh. “You know, since you went back to the Fairbank family four years ago, I haven’t seen you smile once. But it looks like things are going well with your real family-that’s a relief.”

Sienna’s eyes crinkled just a touch in a faint smile, and she gave a quiet “Yeah.”

The two stepped out one after the other, clearing the last security checkpoint.

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