Chapter 966 The Experiment
After Marshall blamed him for blocking Catherine, Ultan went downstairs to look for Catherine. However, Ultan never ordered Catherine to be put on the block list. He had no idea who did this.
“Catherine, I heard you want me to invite you in personally. Is that true?” asked Ultan.
What Ultan said made the crowd more and more curious. Their gazes darted between Ultan and Catherine. Some thought Ultan was here to scold Catherine instead of picking her up and that Catherine had asked for it with her arrogance. They were eager to witness the scene where Ultan harshly scolded Catherine.
When asked by Ultan, Catherine slowly looked up, neither humble nor pushy.
Then she said casually, “Mr. Farell, you want to talk to me in the lab building, right? Now that my badge is blocked, I need you here to prove I’m invited. I don’t want innocent people to be punished for letting me in.”
Only then did Marshall realize Catherine wanted Ultan to be here in person for his reputation, not for herself. He didn’t give a damn about his reputation, but Catherine did.
Knowing what Catherine wanted, Ultan’s expression became complicated. He had no intention to offend her. To be honest, he liked this talented student quite a lot. Besides, Catherine was a student the university wouldn’t want to lose, with Branden and Thomas behind her, both of whom were beneficial resources. However, the data leakage incident was massive. He had to handle it with principles strictly.
He turned around to look at the crowd, eyes sweeping them. “She’s right. I invited her. The university needs Catherine to cooperate with the investigation. As for the badge, there will be a declaration about it when we find out the truth.”
His words had made everything clear, but the crowd was not leaving. Ultan’s voice became harsher. “Don’t you have work to do?”
And that worked. The crowd fled in every direction like startled birds.
Now that Ultan had invited her publicly, Catherine didn’t say anything and followed Ultan into the lab building.
They went to the conference room. Apart from Ultan and Marshall, a few university leaders were also there, like the last time. This whole incident shook the university.
Catherine sat in the front row fearlessly, facing the magisterial leaders. She looked casual and comfortable. And Marshall realized his worries for her were unnecessary. She was calmer than him.
Ultan looked around and decided to let the best psychology professor of his faculty question Catherine. This professor was famous and respected at Styre University and in the criminal investigation community. He had assisted the police in many cases.
With a hint from Ultan, the professor spoke up first. “Miss Swann, I was informed that you admitted to leaking the experiment data on your initiative and that you denied being threatened or bribed. Is that correct?”
“Yes,” answered Catherine without any hesitation.
The professor continued, “There has to be a reason. You can’t just do it for fun, can you?”
“No comments.” Brief and provocative.
Her attitude riled some leaders, and one of them smacked the table and stood up, glaring at Catherine. “How arrogant! We are giving you a chance by handling this at the university. Ultan and Marshall try to help you, for you are a talented student. But if you are still like this, I will have the National Security Bureau involved. And you will lose your chance to explain and your comfortable seat.”
He threatened Catherine with an uncompromising attitude.
Marshall fidgeted about, but Ultan held him back. It wouldn’t do any good to Catherine or himself if Marshall stood up for Catherine.
Catherine yawned. She was tired of the same old questions. She narrowed her eyes, looking at the leader who threatened her contemptuously, saying, “Go ahead. I’ll wait.”
Some leaders had heard about Catherine’s attitude issue before. But they had never met her or known how bad her attitude was. Now, her arrogance was appalling to them. More leaders were provoked. The one who threatened Catherine insisted that Ultan call the National Security Bureau immediately, leaving Ultan with no choice but to make the call.
Before he called, he tried to talk some senses into Catherine for the last time. “Miss Swann, it would be much better if you cooperate with the university.”
He waited for a while, but Catherine ignored him. He sighed and took out his phone.
Some people gloated over this. They had been dissatisfied with the privilege given to Catherine for a long time. After this, they could get rid of Catherine and shut out Marshall. Two birds at one stone.
Before Ultan dialed, Catherine slowly said, “Mr. Farell, what are you accusing me of?”
Ultan was stunned, not sure why she asked, like leaking the university’s project data was not enough.
Seeing his confusion, Catherine continued, “Although I have been conducting experiments in our lab, the project was signed by myself. Besides, all the patronage was acquired in my name. I think I have the right to give MY experiment data to anybody.”
Her words, once again, appalled everyone. Ultan looked at Marshall in shock. From the look on Marshall’s face, he could tell that Marshall, like everyone else, had no idea of this.
Catherine was in no hurry. She reminded Ultan. “Believe it or not. You can always check the contract.”
When she heard Catherine’s words, the secretary went to look for the contract.
Ultan, standing aside, measured Catherine with the eye. Her calm shook him a little. He couldn’t help but think, ‘ Is it really like what she said? Have we been conducting an experiment that doesn’t even belong to the university?”
