Bones Learn To Listen When Silence Speaks by Ryn Miles 100

Chapter 100 

Aurelia wasn’t shaken at all by Nadia’s snitching; her face stayed as cool and distant as ever. 

255 vouchers 

“And at the Honoria Capital celebration, Tessa went off with Graham on her own. I even warned her he wasn’t a good guy, but she still followed him. She did it just so you’d get in trouble with Mr. Locke for her screw–up,” Nadia said. 

It was clear that Nadia was out of options, so she started spilling what she thought were secrets to Aurelia. 

She was probably hoping Aurelia would help her pass the interview. But she underestimated Aurelia. 

If she hadn’t been scheming behind the scenes, she’d have had that job offer in her inbox before she knew it. 

She really just threw her own future away. 

Tyson’s studio was still busy as ever, but when Aurelia stopped by, she noticed the place looked emptier than usual. 

She asked Tyson’s assistant and found out those who’d left had all been lured away by other companies offering fat salaries. 

If it was just one or two people, it might’ve been just regular staff changes. 

But when it’s seven or eight people one after another, anyone would start to get suspicious. 

Aurelia had Michael check it out, and she got the picture right away. 

Just as she suspected, Tessa had lured all those people over to AeroMind with fat paychecks. 

Couldn’t snag Tyson, so she set her sights on his crew instead. It was clear Aurelia was the real target here. 

Aurelia caught up with Tyson for a quick chat. 

“We’re stretched thin right now. Even if we hire more people, it’ll take time for them to get up to speed, and that’ll really slow us down,” Tyson said. 

Aurelia had made a firm commitment to Liam at Eastview. 

If InquireMind’s self–developed large model couldn’t go live as scheduled, it would definitely jeopardize the collaboration between the two companies. 

“Hang in there, everyone! Once we get through this crunch, bonuses are coming your way!” Aurelia promised, rallying the 

team. 

“You can count on us, Aurelia! We’re sticking with InquireMind no matter what!” someone shouted. 

The ones who stayed, refusing to be swayed by fat paychecks, were the ones who truly had a soft spot for InquireMind. 

For them, InquireMind was like their baby. They’d do whatever it took to keep it safe and thriving. 

Aurelia told Tyson, “No matter how hectic things get, don’t forget to take care of yourself.” 

Early the next morning, Liam showed up at Regal Investment again to talk business with Aurelia. 

He even brought her some expensive chocolate and wine. 

“Liam, you’re being way too generous,” Aurelia teased with a smile. 

Exchanging gifts between business partners was pretty standard. Liam always knew how to pick the right presents, never over the top, always tasteful and creative. 

14:23 Mon, Dec 22 

Chapter 100 

“Picked these up while skiing in Monteluc over New Year’s, hope you don’t mind, Aurelia,” Liam said with a grin. 

“Did you have fun?” she asked offhandedly. 

“Yeah, it was fun. Cassian came along too,” Liam replied. 

Aurelia paused for a split second as she flipped through the files. 

But she quickly regained her composure. “InquireMind’s self–developed large model is going live next month, and we’ll need the relevant data from your company. Make sure you have it ready ahead of time, Liam.” 

“Got it! Just let me know whenever you need it,” Liam said, pulling out his phone again. “Aurelia, mind if we contact each other on WhatsApp?” 

This time, Aurelia agreed. 

The moment the message went through, Liam looked like he was about to cry from happiness. 

After Liam left, Tyson called Aurelia to say they needed some initial data from Liam’s team to set up the base model. 

So, Aurelia messaged Liam on WhatsApp right away. 

Liam replied almost instantly, [Sure, I’ll have my team prep it and send it over to Tyson.] 

068 

Aurelia sent a thumbs–up emoji, and as she was backing out, her finger accidentally tapped Liam’s profile picture, pulling up 

his contact card. 

Right there was his latest WhatsApp Story. 

She saw the small preview photo, then instantly spotted Cassian and Tessa, both decked out in ski gear. 

‘So that’s why he stood me up, he was off in Monteluc, skiing and vacationing with Tessa, Aurelia thought, a bitter smile tugging at her lips. ‘He really hasn’t changed at all!’ 

***** 

Two weeks later, AeroMind went live everywhere. Aurelia hadn’t really paid much attention to it. 

It wasn’t until she was driving past the downtown plaza that she spotted AeroMind’s ads flashing across a giant LED screen. 

That billboard was famous for being crazy expensive. Ten grand a minute, more than a hundred fifty dollars a second. 

That was a real flex. This promo was easily in the tens of millions. 

As soon as Aurelia arrived at the office, Miranda came by carrying a pot of her special mushroom soup. 

Lately, she’d been extra thoughtful, showing up every day with a new kind of stomach–friendly soup for Aurelia, never repeating the same recipe twice. 

Maybe those soups really were working wonders, because Aurelia’s stomach had been surprisingly well–behaved these days. 

As Miranda ladled out the soup, she complained, “Honoria Capital is seriously throwing money at AeroMind’s launch. Their ads are blanketing the city, every subway station in Ashmont is wall–to–wall AeroMind. They even bought up spots on every major media and TV channel.” 

Aurelia took a sip of the soup, feeling her whole stomach warm up. 

She couldn’t help but think that she really underestimated them. 

14:23 Mon, Dec 22 

Chapter 100 

M 

This promo budget wasn’t just in the tens of millions; it had to be at least a couple hundred million. 

Thanks to their deep pockets, AeroMind rocketed to number one on the download charts in just three days. 

And that wasn’t all. They brought in a whole army of social media influencers to hype it up, 

They even locked down three trending topics on Twitter. 

Tessa was everywhere after AeroMind’s success, landing guest invites on several finance talk shows. 

For a while, she was absolutely dominating the spotlight. 

Compared to Tessa’s side, things were downright hectic for Aurelia and her team. 

Tyson had been working overtime for two weeks straight. 

Every day after clocking out at Regal Investment, Aurelia would drive over to Tyson’s studio to help out. 

She did whatever needed doing, no matter how small. The more she took on, the less Tyson and his crew had to handle themselves. 

Every Friday, they’d be working late into the night. 

Tyson said they’d probably have to pull an all–nighter tonight. Aurelia headed out to pick up some snacks and drinks for the 

team. 

It wasn’t until she stepped outside that she realized that her car was out of gas. She hadn’t seen that coming at all. 

She’d been so busy lately, she hadn’t even thought to check if her car had any fuel left. 

Right as she was about to call for a tow, a black Bentley pulled up next to her. 

The window slid down, and Gideon leaned out from the back seat, calling, “Hey, Aurelia! What brings you here?” 

“Gideon?” Aurelia blurted out. Running into a familiar face like that totally caught her off guard. 

“What’s wrong? Car trouble?” Gideon hopped out without a second thought. 

Aurelia said, “I totally spaced on getting gas, now I’m stuck.” 

Gideon spotted a bunch of takeout bags in her car and guessed they must be for the crew back at the studio. 

Gideon suggested, “Tell you what, take my car, and let me take care of yours. Don’t want the food getting cold, right?” 

She felt that he was right, no point letting the food go to waste. So, she didn’t even hesitate. “Alright!” 

“I’ll swing by your office tomorrow, and we can switch cars then,” Gideon said. 

Aurelia was fine with that. Since she was in a hurry to deliver the food, she said a quick goodbye to Gideon and headed out. 

She had an important meeting the next day, so she didn’t stick around at the studio for the all–nighter. 

But by the time she finally got home, it was already past one in the morning. She’d just finished her shower when someone 

knocked on her door. 

‘Who would show up at this hour?‘ Aurelia wondered, instantly on edge. 

She checked the peephole, then she frowned. ‘Seriously? Cassian again?‘ 

14:23 Mon, Dec 22 

Chapter 100 

M 

She’d already written him off as dead, so dead, the grass on his grave could be mowed twice over. 

‘Why does he keep popping up like he’s risen from the grave?‘ Aurelia grumbled to herself. She really didn’t want to open 

the door. 

Cassian realized she was ignoring him, so he started hammering the door with his fist, relentless and loud. 

Each knock was louder and more insistent than the last. She could hear movement next door. Her neighbor was definitely awake now. 

Not wanting to get a noise complaint, Aurelia had no choice but to open the door. 

Cassian was standing there, his expression thunderous. She’d never seen him look so grim. 

As soon as the door opened, he fixed her with a suspicious look and demanded, “What took you so long? Were you hiding a man in there?”