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    "What exactly is it?" Xavier demanded coldly. He couldn''t believe something that made Helen cry like this wasn''t important.


    Helen''s tears kept falling under his shout, but how could she say it?


    Xavier''s face hardened. "How can I stop her if you won''t tell me? Who kidnapped you today?"


    "It was Yasmine! She did it!" She couldn''t forget the sound of Yasmine and Dalton tying her up. That damn Dalton actually went through with it and handed the memory card to Yasmine. Helen was furious. How could she not be? "Xavier, Yasmine had someone kidnap me," she cried, full of grief.


    Astonished, Xavier asked, half-believing, "Are you sure?"


    "Xavier! Yasmine tied me up, and you don''t believe me? I''m your sister!"


    "I''ll find out for sure," Xavier said.


    After being taken home, Helen started crying uncontrobly. No matter what Selena and Xavier asked, she remained silent. She didn''t want to speak out, didn''t want to anger Xavier. Her mind was terrified that if Yasmine really released the video, she would be finished for sure.


    Xavier paced back and forth in the study, deep in thought, when Selena stormed in. "Xavier, that witch Yasmine dared to kidnap your sister, and you''re doing nothing about it!"


    "Mom, Yasmine wouldn''t do that," Xavier said.


    "Wouldn''t she! You trust that witch over your own sister! Could it be you have feelings for her? Don''t forget, you''re already married to Yvette." Selena said with a dark expression, unable toprehend Xavier. Xavier''s eyes turned cold, fully aware of his marital status.


    Boarding the ne heading overseas, Yasmine gazed at the white clouds outside the window. For thispetition trip, Carter granted her paid leave to participate, while Winston temporarily handled her duties at the counseling office, assisting students.


    The Dekker Competition was held at Saint''s Haven Hall, and the organizer had booked an entire hotel nearby for participants. Yasmine was staying in a room on the second floor. The setting was cozy, with everything necessary for writing papers, including aputer. The month-long closed-off paper writingpetition has begun. To ensure that each participantpetes fairly and justly in this essay contest, they are required to send their drafts to the proctoring team every day. This includes all the data usedter, the process of model building and calction, which aren''t part of the final submission, but must also be sent to the proctoring team.


    This is to prevent participants from using any possible cheat tactics. However, this doesn''t guarantee there''s no cheating, so the subsequent defense presentations will reveal the truth. The professors for the final round of defenses aren''t the same as the first round judges; they are veteran researchers and published experts, making thepetition highly prestigious. Trying to deceive these experts is nearly impossible.


    Next to Saint''s Hayen Hall is thergest library in Morvica, filled with various psychology resources. After taking her luggage to the room, Yasmine headed to the library to borrow some psychology books to read back at the hotel.


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    With thepetition underway, Yasmine ced her materials next to theputer and started researching literature. Even before the preliminary round was over, she had been considering her thesis proposal; she had a direction, but no exact topic yet. In her room, she pondered over the issues she once discussed with Lena.


    On the first day, Yasmine was entirely focused on deciding her direction. Lena, as one of the judges, couldn''t offer her any advice, or it would be unfair to the other participants. Yasmine thought for a long time before finally settling in a direction, only to find it challenging once she began writing.


    At six in the evening, there was a knock at the door. The room service had brought the hotel''s meal: steak with red wine and some coffee. The meals provided to participants were customizable, but she had no time to choose and randomly picked a steak. Time is money, and thispetition onlysts for a month. She had chosen a particrly challenging topic this time, and just collecting materials and data would already take considerable time. Next, it was a matter of leveraging connections.


    A solid research paper model relies heavily on quality data, and acquiring top-notch data is never easy. However, she had a significant advantage: Eric would help her get thetest research data. After setting her focus, Yasmine began searching for a data model to structure her findings.


    The closed-off environment didn''t mean that leaving the hotel was impossible. Right from the start, Yasmine acquainted herself with the otherpetitors. There were over eighty participants, among whom she noticed three Clusian individuals. On the very day of thepetition, she befriended someone, a girl named Effie from Branchville.


    Effie was a year older than her, and after dinner, Effie approached her. "Yasmine, want to go for a walk? The neighborhood here is incredibly lively," Effie said with a smile.


    Yasmine nced at the progress of her thesis on theputer screen, pondered for a moment, then nodded, "Sure, let''s take a stroll." While writing her paper, she rarely thought about Yonas, but when she was free, she couldn''t help it.


    Sylvan District is a renowned neighborhood abroad. Effie took Yasmine around to visit all the shops in the area. She then led her into a café, saying, "Yasmine, the coffee here is particrly good. Let''s give it a try together."


    Yasmine nodded and followed Effie inside. They chose a seat by the window, watching the people pass by. The bitter taste of the coffee tempted Yasmine to add milk and sugar, as she wasn''t ustomed to such coffee. Effie, on the other hand, seemed unusually excited. Effie was chattering away by her ear, while Yasmine nced outside at the bustling streets and crowds of people. Suddenly, a familiar figure passed by the window. She quickly set her coffee cup down and stared. How could it be him? She couldn''t be mistaken; it was Yonas. Wasn''t he supposed to be in Soucrity now? What was he doing abroad?


    Calming herself down, Yasmine gave a softugh and said, "Effie, go ahead and enjoy your coffee. I have something to take care of, so I''ll get going first." Effie looked puzzled, but quickly nodded.


    Yasmine dashed out of the café, closely following Yonas. She wanted to know what brought him here. Yonas walked past her hotel and went straight into a building. She nced at thepany within. Perhaps it was a partner of Yonas''. Not lingering any longer, she left the spot and returned to the hotel.


    *****


    At the Flynn residence, ever since the incident, Helen had been cooped up in her room, refusing toe out or eat. Concerned for her daughter, Selena began to press Xavier for details about that day.


    Realizing the gravity of the situation, Xavier kicked open Helen''s door. "Helen,e out!" His expression was grave.


    Helen wandered out looking lost. "Xavier, what''s going on?"


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    "Tell me, what leverage did Yasmine take?" Xavier demanded, moving closer to Helen. What on earth could make her so scared?