Chapter 257

Camille was lost in thought when Tristan noticed her car approaching. He strode toward her with purposeful steps.

She lowered the window slowly. "Mr. Rutherford."

"Good morning."

Camille gave a brief nod. "Morning." Her fingers tapped the steering wheel. "Did you need something, Mr. Rutherford?"

Truthfully, Tristan had no particular reason for being here. The unanswered questions from last night still gnawed at him.

"Last Saturday," he began, "I saw you with Mr. Ashcroft and Mr. Bellamy outside The Meridian."

Camille listened, her expression unreadable, until he dropped the bombshell. "You're also Mr. Bellamy's protégé, aren't you?"

Her body went rigid. "How did you—"

But Tristan had already seen the truth in her startled reaction.

"Those two NovaSight Labs projects," he pressed on. "They were your brainchild too, weren't they?"

Camille's lips pressed into a thin line. "What exactly are you—"

"One more thing." Tristan's voice grew intense. "The NEXA programming language NovaSight Labs uses—that was your creation too, wasn't it?"

Though no coding expert himself, Tristan came from a tech-savvy family. He understood NEXA's revolutionary potential. The language had been NovaSight Labs's foundation since day one.

If his suspicions proved correct, it meant Camille had developed this groundbreaking technology at just seventeen.

Even now, Selene Lancaster couldn't grasp NEXA's basic principles.

The realization hit Tristan like a thunderbolt—the true genius behind NovaSight Labs wasn't Gabriel Ashcroft.

It had been Camille all along.

Silence stretched between them.

But Tristan already had his answer.

Despite his earlier suspicions, the confirmation left him reeling. Memories flashed through his mind—every interaction, every conversation. He'd never truly known her at all.

"Did you come here just to interrogate me?" Camille finally broke the silence.

"I needed to know." Tristan ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't plan to ask these questions today."

Their current relationship made this none of his business. Yet the words had tumbled out the moment he saw her.

Even he was surprised by his own actions.

Before Camille could respond, Tristan met her gaze squarely. "Don't worry—your secret's safe with me." His voice carried quiet conviction. Camille studied him but remained silent.

Tristan stepped back, creating distance. "You should go. I won't keep you." With that, he turned and walked away.

Camille watched his retreating figure before driving into the underground garage.

For the next ten days, Camille and Gabriel worked around the clock. Every spare moment was spent poring over Graham Bellamy's research materials.

Dawn found them at the office; midnight often saw them still there.

Then one morning, Camille found herself at the airport, waiting for an important business associate.

Twenty minutes passed before her guest finally appeared.