Veronica was lost in thought when she noticed Marco approaching her car. She slowly lowered her window, maintaining her professional demeanor.
"Mr. Valerie," she greeted him with measured politeness.
"Good morning," Marco replied, standing beside her vehicle.
Veronica acknowledged with a brief nod. "Morning." She hesitated before asking, "Did you come here for something specific, Mr. Valerie?"
In reality, Marco had no concrete reason for being there. His mind had been preoccupied with suspicions that had taken root two nights ago, refusing to let him rest.
"Last Saturday night," he began, "I saw you dining with Mr. Reid and Mr. Blair outside that restaurant."
Veronica listened attentively, uncertain why he was bringing this up. Then came the question that made her heart skip a beat.
"You're also Mr. Blair's student, aren't you?"
She froze instantly, her brows knitting together as she stared at him. "You—"
But her reaction had already confirmed Marco's suspicions before she could formulate a proper response.
"So these two major DataPulse projects were developed under your leadership, weren't they?" he pressed further, his voice calm yet insistent.
Veronica's lips tightened as she struggled to maintain her composure. "What exactly are you—"
"One last question," Marco interrupted, his eyes locked on hers. "DataPulse's ECHO programming language—you created that too, didn't you?"
Though Marco wasn't a programming expert, his family's business ventures had exposed him to enough of the tech world to recognize ECHO's brilliance. From what he knew, the programming language had been integral to DataPulse from its earliest days.
If his suspicion was correct, Veronica had developed this revolutionary programming language when she was merely seventeen years old.
Even now, Niall couldn't fully comprehend ECHO's fundamental principles.
The realization of just how extraordinary Veronica's talents were in this field hit Marco with stunning clarity. While everyone praised DataPulse's technological innovations, attributing them to Dario, the true genius had been standing in the shadows all along.
Veronica remained silent, but her lack of denial spoke volumes. Marco had his answer.
Despite having suspected this truth, having it confirmed left him profoundly shaken. Looking at the woman before him, memories from their shared past and recent encounters flashed through his mind. He suddenly understood that he had never truly known Veronica at all.
Finally, Veronica broke her silence, her voice carefully controlled. "Did you really come all this way just to tell me this?"
"I was simply... astonished. I needed confirmation," Marco admitted.
Though he'd arrived that morning without planning to confront her, the moment he saw her, the questions had tumbled out before he could stop them. Even he was surprised by his own forwardness.
Before Veronica could respond, Marco looked directly into her eyes and added, "Don't worry—I won't tell anyone."
Veronica paused, recognizing the genuine sincerity in his gaze. Still, she chose to remain silent.
Marco took a deliberate step backward, creating distance between them. "Go ahead inside. I won't keep you any longer." With that, he turned and walked away.
Veronica frowned slightly as she watched him leave, then drove into the underground parking lot and headed upstairs to her office.
For the next ten days, Veronica and Dario immersed themselves completely in their work. Any spare moment they found was dedicated to meticulously studying the materials Malcolm had provided them.
Their days stretched long—arriving at the office before dawn and often not leaving until well past midnight, when the city had quieted and most had long since gone to sleep.
Then one particular morning, breaking her new routine, Veronica made her way to the airport to meet an incoming business partner.
After waiting for over twenty minutes in the arrivals area, scanning faces in the crowd, the person she was expecting finally appeared through the sliding doors.