The Double or more Life of the Fake Heiress (Mirabella)

Presley cleared his throat, deciding not to further criticize Devon in front of everyone. Instead, he turned to David, saying, "Looks like Conrad has snagged the top spot this year. Even the president himself has given his nod, so there shouldn't be any doubts, right?"

David gave a slight nod, "The medicine is indeed the best out of all the entries, no doubt there. But..." He paused, looking directly at Conrad, "Did you really make this medicine yourself?"

Conrad's smug grin froze on his face as the compliment vanished into thin air.

What's David getting at? Is he questioning me?

Meeting David's gaze, Conrad felt a chill sweat break out on his palms. Quickly regaining his composure, he replied politely, "I'm not sure what you're implying, Mr. President. Everyone saw the process. If it wasn't me, who else could have made it?"

Presley caught on quickly, his eyes narrowing at David with a hint of anger. Before David could respond, Presley interjected, "Are you saying, Mr. President, that because this year's top performer happens to be my student, you're feeling a bit put out and looking to accuse him wrongly?"

Even though Presley was surprised by his student's stellar performance, he knew the talent was there.

David glanced at Presley, not rising to the bait of his challenging question. Instead, he gestured for calm, "Just hold on a second."

Presley's frown deepened, "What are we waiting for?"noveldrama

Conrad, too, watched David with confusion, unsure of what he was up to. But as the seconds ticked by, unease settled in.

Finally, David's assistant rushed back, and David turned his attention to Presley, "I'll show you something that'll clarify why I said what I did."

As he finished speaking, the out-of-breath assistant handed a medicine bottle to David.

David opened it and took a whiff. Those who knew their way around medicines could tell if it was the same just by the smell.

After sniffing it, David's face showed he was onto something.

He shook his head and handed the porcelain bottle to Presley.

Presley hesitated a moment before accepting it, and when he tipped out a pill and caught the scent, identical to the one Conrad had made, he was taken aback, "This medicine..."

David pressed his lips together, speaking in a calm tone, "See? Looks like it was made by the same person as Conrad's, doesn't it?"

Conrad's head shot up at this, eyes locking onto the bottle in the vice president's hand.

Could this really be the same as mine? How could this happen?

The other vice presidents and officers gathered around, passing the bottle from Presley and comparing it with Conrad's batch, inspecting it closely.

It didn't take long for everyone to agree they were indeed from the same hand.

"Mr. President, where did this medicine come from?" one of the vice presidents asked.

"It was given to me by a friend," David mused, deciding not to mention the recent addition of another vice president to the association.

"Well, this is odd then, about Conrad's medicine..." The vice president turned to Conrad, leaving the question hanging.

All eyes were on Conrad, waiting for him to explain the situation.