Chapter 1616

Eleanor glanced at her phone one last time before forcing her focus back to work.

Thanks to the new analyzer lan had secured for them, the parameters were already perfectly calibrated. She urgently needed to move into the next phase of the research.

Slipping her lab coat back on, Eleanor entered the lab, snapped on her gloves, and approached the new machinery.

For the next two hours, she and Callie completely lost themselves in the experiment. The equipment's precision far exceeded their expectations, pulling data that was flawlessly accurate.

At four o'clock, Eleanor was running an analysis on a fresh set of data when her fingers suddenly froze over the keyboard.

On the screen, a single curve displayed a highly unusual fluctuation. Her fingers flew across the keys, pulling up historical data for comparison. She stared at the monitor without blinking, practically holding her breath.

Ten agonizing minutes passed.

Suddenly, she shot up from her desk, her chair screeching backward across the floor. Her voice trembled violently. "Callie, come look at this."

Callie rushed over, his eyes widening with equal parts shock and excitement. "Eleanor, is this "

"Do you remember the hypothesis we discussed a while back?"

Callie snapped his head toward her. "You mean... the Common Pathway of Neurodegenerative Diseases?"

"Exactly. This waveform right here this is The Singularity we've been searching for." Eleanor pointed a shaking finger at the ripple on the screen.

Callie felt like he was witnessing a miracle. "Eleanor, your hypothesis has just been proven again," he said, breathless with excitement.

"Run the test again. We're starting from the top, and we're double-checking every single step." Eleanor took a deep breath, forcing her racing heart to calm down.

"I'm on it. You watch, I'll run the controls," Callie immediately volunteered.

For the next two hours, the pair worked frantically in the lab. By six-thirty, Eleanor was staring blankly at the verified dataset, completely speechless.

When she finally snapped back to reality, she patted her pockets, realizing she had left her phone in her office. She turned to Callie. "I'm going to grab my phone. We're pulling an all-nighter tonight."

"You got it."

Eleanor hurried back to her office and picked up her phone. She immediately saw a message from lan saying he had already picked up Evelyn and asking what time she'd be home for dinner.

The message was sent an hour ago.

Eleanor sighed softly. While the massive breakthrough filled her with absolute euphoria, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for neglecting her daughter. Yet, having lan in her life gave her a profound sense of security.

She knew Evelyn was in the best possible hands with him around.

Eleanor unlocked her phone and dialed lan's number.

"Hey! Did you leave your phone in your office?" the man answered smoothly, guessing the situation before she even spoke.

"Yeah, I did. I have to work late tonight. I probably won't be home until around nine. Could you look after Evelyn for me?" Eleanor asked apologetically.

"Focus on your work. Evelyn is perfectly fine with me," lan replied, his deep voice filled with gentle reassurance.

Eleanor wanted to thank him, but as she opened her mouth, the words caught in her throat. Instead, she just said, "Alright. See you later."

"Okay, I'll be waiting for you," lan promised.

Ending the call, anor walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window and stared out at the dark city skyline. She knew exactly the magnitude of tonight's discovery.

It meant that if her theory proved solid, this breakthrough could rewrite the entire medical history of treating neurodegenerative diseases.

She thought of the raw worry etched into Xavier's face when he spoke of his mother. She owed Xavier so much, and she had always deeply appreciated Mrs. Vaughn's warmth. Finding a cure for Mrs Vaughn would be the ultimate way to repay that debt.

Taking one last deep breath, Eleanor set her phone down and marched back into the lab.

At nine-thirty that night, they finally wrapped up their tasks. Eleanor and Callie stepped out the front doors of

the facility together, only to find a

familiar luxury carparked right outside. lan pushed the door open and stepped out to greet her.

Eleanor froze in surprise. He hadn't mentioned a word about coming to pick her up.

"Serena came over to keep Evelyn

company, so slipped out to get

you," lan explained as he closed the distance between them, effortlessly, taking her bag. He turned to the other man with a polite nod.Callie, thank you for your hard work.'

II

Callie let out an awkward, good-natured laugh. "Don't mention it, Mr. Goodwin. It's a genuine privilege to work alongside Eleanor."

lan took Eleanor's hand, leading her to the passenger side of the car, and opened the door to take her home.

Watching them go, Callie finally realized the sheer weight of what was happening. He chuckled softly to himself, confident that Eleanor's lab would never have to worry about funding again.

And with that kind of backing, Eleanor's research would advance at an unstoppable pace—a monumental achievement that would benefit all of humanity.