Karma Doesn’t Sleep: The Revenge Queen Rises novel Chapter 174

Amelia had no idea what Aiden was thinking, but one thing was certain—she wasn’t about to call Clive again. Maybe when she was eighteen, she’d been naive enough to chase after people who didn’t care, but at twenty-seven, she was done playing that game. She’d had enough of being the one left out in the cold.

Before she could say anything, her phone rang.

When she glanced at the screen and saw who it was, her eyes lit up. She gave Aiden a polite nod, turned on her heel, and hurried out of the room as she answered the call.

“Mr. Arrowood?”

On the other end was the president of Baybridge University. He’d only been in the job for a couple of years, after working for ages at the Department of Education.

Mr. Arrowood and Amelia’s grandfather, Tony, were old friends—real ones, the kind who stuck around. After the Sadinton family lost everything, almost everyone from the past disappeared. But Mr. Arrowood still kept in touch, sending gifts and greetings to the clinic every holiday, even when he couldn’t visit himself.

That’s why Amelia hadn’t hesitated to reach out to him this time.

Her project proposal was almost finished—she just needed two more crucial sets of experimental data. The equipment she’d asked Clive for was the missing piece. And to be honest, after she’d turned down Clive’s offer to work with Kristen that morning, she’d had a feeling the equipment wouldn’t end up in her lab anytime soon.

So she’d decided to get a backup plan in place and contacted Mr. Arrowood.

There were only three of those machines in the entire country, and one of them was at Baybridge University, in the research institute Mr. Arrowood managed.

She’d called him earlier, but he hadn’t answered, so she’d left a voicemail. No fuss, just straight to the point—she wanted to borrow the machine.

“Amelia, it’s been so many years. I’m glad to finally hear your voice again,” Mr. Arrowood said, sounding genuinely moved. He’d heard about her accident and the coma. “I’m really happy you woke up.”

“Thank you, Mr. Arrowood,” Amelia replied with a smile. She was never good at small talk, and right now, she didn’t have time for it. “I wanted to ask if I could borrow the machine from your research institute today. Would that be possible?”

“Of course, it’s no trouble,” he said. “But I’m out for lunch right now, and I have to head to the airport in about an hour for a conference abroad. I’ve got the lab keys with me…”

“I can come to you if you send me your location!” Amelia jumped in, not missing a beat.

“That’s fine,” he agreed.

Ryan spoke up, sounding completely casual. “She caught a disease. Not fatal, but it makes you lose your smarts.”

Mr. Dodson looked confused. “Oh? What kind of disease is that?”

Ryan picked up his napkin and slowly wiped the corner of his mouth before answering. “Fell in love.”

The table went silent.

Down in the hotel lobby, a taxi pulled up. Amelia scanned her phone to pay, thanked the driver, and hurried out, heading straight for the entrance.

She didn’t notice Clive sitting by the floor-to-ceiling windows, with Michael and Cameron on either side. The three of them watched as she rushed inside.

Amelia was in such a hurry that she almost tripped on the steps at the door. She caught herself on a marble lion statue, scraping her knuckles against the cold stone. The sting made her face go pale, but she just winced and kept going, determined not to let anything slow her down.