?Chapter 371:


    The workload at the institute wasn’t too heavy, so whenever she had downtime, Ste focused on the project she was coborating on with Shaun.


    During her lunch break, she pulled out the contract again to double-check a few figures—and something immediately felt off. There was an extra hundred grand in the budget that hadn’t been there before.


    Her brows furrowed. Running the numbers through the AI system confirmed her suspicion: not only had the total increased, but several listed materials had been swapped out. Same names, butpletely different quality.


    Someone was skimming off the top, and they were doing it under everyone’s nose.


    She grabbed her phone and called Shaun right away. “Mr. Smith, something’s wrong with the project files. Are you avable now? I’d like toe over.” Even though they were on friendly terms, she kept it formal when it came to business.


    “I’m in the office. Come by, Syl.”


    She didn’t even finish her lunch. Documents in hand, she rushed over to Smith Group.


    The moment she stepped into Shaun’s office, sheid the contract on his desk and pointed at the sections she’d gged. “Here—look. The project budget’s inted by a hundred thousand, and the material specs don’t match up. These aren’t honest substitutions; someone swapped in cheaper stuff and billed us for premium.”


    The procurement process must’ve been tampered with.


    Shaun skimmed the pages, nodding with a grim expression. “You’re right. Come on, I’ll take you to the materials lead.”


    Ste appreciated that he didn’t question her findings for even a second.


    The procurement supervisor looked rattled when he saw the highlighted discrepancies. “Mr. Smith, I swear I ordered exactly what was agreed. I don’t know why the supplier would change anything!”


    The guy looked genuinely panicked, like someone who couldn’t afford to lose his job. Probably with mouths to feed at home.


    Ste studied his expression for a while, then quietly said to Shaun, “I believe him.”


    Shaun nodded once. “Alright. Let’s just ask the supplier and find out.” He turned to the supervisor. “Call him. Tell him toe in right now.”


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    The call was made, and within minutes, the supplier agreed to show up.


    Back in Shaun’s office, he poured Ste a ss of warm water. “Don’t worry. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”


    Roughly thirty minutester, the office door creaked open.


    Ste turned to see a stocky man with a greasy smile stered across his face. “Mr. Smith,” he said, all charm. “You asked to see me—is something wrong?”


    Ste didn’t even bother with pleasantries. “You’re the supplier for this project?”


    The man nodded quickly and stuck out a hand. “Yes, ma’am. Nixon Garrett. And you are…?”


    “I’m Sylvia Gilbert,” she replied coolly, ignoring his hand.


    Nixon’s smile faltered a little, but he nced at Shaun and quickly recovered.


    Ste didn’t waste time. “Are you free now? We’d like to visit the site with you.” Nixon hesitated, clearly caught off guard. “Y-Yeah. Sure. I’m free.”


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