When fate plays its hand

Chapter 0566

Miranda knew she could count on Paul to back her up. She said, “You’ve already handed over your keys. I’m definitely not giving up mine,”

“Why not?” Madison asked.

“Come on, think. If we hand over all the keys, how are we supposed to get the CPRT measuring device out? Are we going to break in?”

Madison’s eyes widened. “We can actually take it away)

“Of course we can!” Miranda said. “We paid for it, so why not?”

“You’re right. It’s ours, and we should be able to take it whenever we want.”

Miranda added. “And that’s why we need to hold onto the keys. It’ll be a pain if we have to get them back later:

Sebastian smirked. “Sophie’s been so desperate to get rid of us, and it’s obvious it’s about this device. Her plan is going to backfire.”

The trio packed their stuff and headed out, each carrying a box.

Madison’s box was the biggest. It was filled to the brim with snacks–chips, nuts, beef jerky, cookies, milk, and sparkling water.

As they walked by the field, a soccer ball came flying toward her. She tossed her box aside just in time to

avoid it.

Luckily, the ball zipped past her arm, but the contents of her box scattered everywhere. She stared at the mess, speechless.

Miranda and Sebastian quickly put their boxes down to help her, but someone else was quicker.

Joli swooped in and picked up the snacks from the ground. He placed them back into the box before returning it to Madison.

“Um… thanks.”

She was confused. Since when was Joli so friendly? Why was he helping her all of a sudden?

Miranda and Sebastian exchanged glances when they saw him. Then, she smiled as she approached him. “Thanks, Joli.”

He smiled back at her. “You don’t have to be so wary. I didn’t come over to stir up trouble.”

Miranda raised an eyebrow. “Then, what’s your reason?

Joli paused and then said, “You might not believe me, but I just want to clear things up. When you applied for the lab, I didn’t mean to hog it. And today, I didn’t come to watch the spectacle with the others.”

She wasn’t surprised. During their earlier standoff with Hank and the others, Joli’s shock had appeared

sincere.

This time, he simply tagged along with Hank’s group, staying on the sidelines and not getting involved.

+25 BONUS

Chapter 0566

Then, he had stepped up at the crucial moment to defend Miranda by calling Tina out for her deserved punishment.

Miranda’s instincts told her that Joli wasn’t a bad guy. But that didn’t mean she was ready to trust him entirely.

After contemplating for a while, she said, “What’s done is done. There’s no point in digging it up. Let’s just focus on the present.”

“Agreed.” He nodded and glanced at the other two boxes on the ground. “Are you guys… giving up on that lab?”

Miranda’s heart missed a beat, though her face remained calm. “Why would you say that?”

“It’s obvious there’s something fishy about the recent fire protection rectification. I heard you spoke to Mr. Banks, but there’s been no follow–up… and that’s not like you.”

“Doesn’t sound like us? Then, what are we supposed to do?”

Joli replied, “I’d expect you to stand up for yourselves just like how you guys slapped Tina and Hank earlier. You made it clear that no one can push you around. That’s the attitude I’d expect.”

But now, Miranda and the others were packing up and walking away. Something felt off, and he sensed that something was wrong.

“You…” He hesitated for a moment. “Have you already figured out a solution?”