Chapter 412
Celine was about to answer Claire Rivera's question when she noticed Claire's attention shift to Elizabeth. Claire asked, "Mrs. Percy, why'd you bring someone who shouldn't be here to the lab?"
"What do you mean, 'shouldn't be'? This is my granddaughter!" Celine snapped back, clearly annoyed.
Claire gave Elizabeth a once-over, her expression anything but friendly.
Elizabeth shrugged off Claire's glare; she knew she was an outsider here.
"Claire Rivera, this is my granddaughter. She's not an outsider," Celine repeated, more firmly this time.
Claire was a big deal in the lab, but she had a bit of an ego, always aiming high and looking down on others. Still, because she was a rare talent, handpicked from a hundred candidates, Celine and the others put up with her.
After all, Claire did have the chops.
Claire didn't seem to care. She turned to Celine and said, "Mrs. Percy, I've been in this lab for years, and I need to tell you something."
Celine gestured for her to go ahead.
Even though Celine had a lot of clout here, she never threw her weight around. She knew everyone was in this together for the project. But, of course, not everyone fit in perfectly.
"We've been at this for years with no success. It's clear this thing is unsolvable. I think when this deadline hits, we should just call it quits," Claire suggested, her tone icy.
Celine's face hardened at the word "disband."
She had poured years and a ton of money into this research, and now Claire was talking about quitting.
Research was a one-way street; once you started, there was no turning back!
"We haven't had any major breakthroughs for years, and there won't be any in the future either. Mrs. Percy, I'm really thinking about what's best for the team and for you!" Claire continued, sounding almost sincere.
"We're on the verge of a major breakthrough," Celine said confidently. But Claire didn't seem to care.
Celine frowned. "Claire, I told you when you first joined the lab that we can't give up halfway."
Claire was exasperated. "But we haven't succeeded in years. Why keep going? We haven't had a breakthrough in ages, and we won't have one anytime soon!"
"What if there is a breakthrough?" Elizabeth suddenly chimed in.
Claire looked Elizabeth up and down, her disdain obvious.
Elizabeth squinted as Claire said, "What breakthrough? You're just fooling yourselves!" Then Claire took off her work badge and said coldly, "I've already submitted my transfer report. When this year ends, I'm out."
Celine reminded her, "Claire, we signed an agreement!" If Claire left now, there'd be no one to fill her shoes.
"I just can't do this job anymore." Claire thought that even though she was still young, she needed to work on successful projects to make a name for herself.
She came here right after graduation, and in over ten years, she hadn't completed a single project. What was the point of being unknown for so long?
Celine was silent for a few seconds.
She picked up the SerenityLeaf in her hand and asked, "Can you guess what this is?"
Claire looked at Celine, puzzled.
She figured it wasn't anything important to the project, so she didn't bother to look.
"This is SerenityLeaf!" Celine said seriously. "Claire, think about it. How much will you lose if you quit now?"
With that, Celine left with Elizabeth.
Elizabeth turned to watch Claire's reaction.
Claire first frowned, processing what Celine had just said, then her eyes widened, and finally, she looked shocked.
Claire swallowed hard and asked, "SerenityLeaf?"
Elizabeth smiled.
"Grandma, if she wants to leave, why not let her go? This lab won't fall apart without her," Elizabeth said, holding Celine's arm, clearly puzzled.
Celine sighed, "Leave? Do you really believe that? Our research has hit a wall for years, and everyone's frustrated, which is understandable. Claire may be arrogant, but she's not a bad person. If we talk to her, she'll stay."
