Your Uncle’s My Husband Now Back Off, Ex! novel Chapter 24

**TITLE: Through Unseen Doors We Step Into Untold Worlds Beyond by Sage Hunter Lane**

Genevieve had already pieced together the unsettling truth through the surveillance footage, but now, she needed to coax the real perpetrator into revealing herself. The tension in the air was palpable as she turned to her secretary.

“Could you please ask Lucia to come to my office?” Genevieve instructed, her voice steady, though her mind raced with possibilities.

Moments later, a soft knock interrupted her thoughts, and Lucia entered the office, her demeanor attempting to project nonchalance. “Genevieve, did you need to see me about something?” she asked, her voice a shade too casual.

Without any preamble, Genevieve cut to the chase. “Lucia, regarding the laboratory explosion yesterday—did you tamper with anything?” The question hung in the air, heavy and accusatory.

Lucia’s reaction was immediate and visceral; it was as if Genevieve had landed a punch to her gut. “What? What are you talking about?” she stammered, her composure faltering. Panic flickered in her eyes, and she quickly added, “How could I possibly do such a thing?”

Genevieve regarded Lucia with a calm intensity, her gaze piercing through the façade. Although Lucia scrambled to regain her composure, the moment of fear that had crossed her face was telling—a crack in her armor that Genevieve had been waiting to exploit.

“Is that so?” Genevieve replied, her voice devoid of emotion, before delivering the bombshell she had prepared. “Then you shouldn’t mind cooperating with our investigation. Mr. Summer is taking this incident very seriously. He has dispatched a professional team, and they’ve already collected fingerprints from the reagent bottle labels. This afternoon, they’ll be comparing the fingerprints of everyone in the R&D department.”

The impact of Genevieve’s words was like a thunderclap in a clear sky, obliterating any remnants of Lucia’s psychological defenses. Her complexion drained of color, turning as pale as freshly bleached linen.

Involuntarily, Lucia’s hands balled into fists, a surge of dread washing over her as she recalled her grave mistake—she had forgotten to wear gloves while switching the labels yesterday. Her fingerprints would undoubtedly be on those labels, a damning piece of evidence.

“I… of course, I’ll cooperate with the investigation,” Lucia managed to say, her voice quaking with barely contained fear. “If there’s nothing else, I should get back to work now.”

“Go ahead,” Genevieve replied flatly, her gaze unwavering.

Lucia exited the office, her attempts at maintaining a facade of calm utterly failing as her steps wavered. Once she reached her workstation, she snatched her phone, her fingers trembling as she dialed her father’s number, desperation creeping into her voice.

“Dad, I need your help…” she whispered urgently, her heart racing. “I did something incredibly stupid, and now I might be found out…”

Meanwhile, Genevieve picked up the office phone and dialed Spencer’s extension, her voice cool and collected. “Spencer, I need Mr. Damon to send someone over to collect fingerprints. I’ve identified the suspect in yesterday’s laboratory incident, but I require physical evidence to confirm it.”

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