Chapter 125 Sophie Winslow Actually Signed Her Name!

Chapter 125: Chapter 125: Sophie Winslow Actually Signed Her Name!

Sophie Winslow was also surprised that Winnie Hayes was so warm toward her.

She immediately agreed, "Of course. It’s my honor."

Looking at Sophie’s smiling face, Stella Sutton bit her lip, a flash of resentment passing through her eyes. Sophie’s smugness was practically overflowing! Being treated specially by Winnie Hayes had made her so full of herself.

Sophie was rather clever, using Peter Preston’s familiarity with Chairman Hayes to curry favor! If it weren’t for Peter, how could an invisible nobody like Sophie have any qualifications to be here?

Even Evan York was surprised. Only he knew his grandmother’s temperament; she rarely showed appreciation or such a pleasant demeanor toward anyone. It didn’t make sense. Since when did Peter Preston have that much influence over her?

Winnie Hayes didn’t spare another glance at Stella. After Sophie agreed, Winnie turned briskly and headed to the judging area. It was as if Stella had been thin air from start to finish, completely failing to attract any of her attention.

Noticing this, Julian Sterling narrowed his eyes imperceptibly, though he didn’t think much of it. Ms. Hayes had always acted this way.

"Mr. Preston, bringing Sophie to an occasion like this today—won’t the Helios R&D team have objections?" Stella frowned as she looked at Peter Preston. What right did someone who was just coasting for credentials—and who had even been kicked off the final clinical trials—have to be here?

Peter laughed. "Miss Sutton, if you can get in by riding Mr. Sterling’s coattails without having any projects pending approval, why can’t Sophie? People shouldn’t have such double standards, should they?"

Stella hadn’t expected Peter to show her so little respect. She immediately glared at Sophie. What kind of bad things had Sophie been saying about her to Peter all day long?

"Let’s take our seats. It’s starting," Julian interjected.

Sophie ignored them and went straight back to her seat with Peter.

Finn Lockwood walked over and asked Evan, "What was Grandma Hayes thinking? Stella couldn’t save face just now and almost spilled the beans about Julian’s marital status."

If it had been blurted out on the spot that Stella was involved in an extramarital affair, how would she ever show her face in public again?

Evan glanced at him. "Do you think my grandmother couldn’t tell?" Couldn’t he figure out why she had ignored Stella?

Finn choked on his words, offering a sheepish smile.

Stella was not in a good mood. After sitting down, she whispered in Julian’s ear, "Julian, does Chairman Hayes not like me? Is there perhaps some misunderstanding?"

Julian tapped his watch dial. "We just need to find an opportunity to pay her a visit."

Stella instantly understood that Julian would act as a bridge for her. A sweet smile immediately graced her lips. Glancing at Sophie, she once again leaned her red lips close to Julian’s ear, whispering intimately.

Sophie was sitting right next to them. Even if she didn’t want to pay attention, it was happening right in front of her. The two of them were whispering to each other, acting incredibly intimate. She simply turned her head and chatted with Peter about what tier the drug would be classified under.

Watching Sophie pretend to understand what she didn’t, Stella curled her lips in a silent sneer. She certainly knew how to show off. It was as if the project had anything to do with Sophie in the end. Today was just Peter letting Sophie come to broaden her horizons.

Finally, the moment for the results to be revealed arrived. The final approval results appeared on the large screen.

Seeing that Helios ranked first in its category, Sophie and Peter shared a smile. The rating had been decided: it was the highest tier.

Gasps of surprise echoed through the venue.

"The side effects were reduced this much? And the pricing is suppressed by twenty percent? Did Helios hire some industry giant to lead the team?"

Exclamations of awe rang out from all around. It was well-known that drug side effects were unavoidable; developers could only choose the lesser of two evils. Over time, liver damage and nerve damage were inevitable and irreversible. Yet, this drug from Helios had reduced side effects by an astounding seventy percent. It was a terrifyingly impressive statistic.

The surrounding pharmaceutical investors swarmed forward. Sophie had originally intended to go with Peter to collect the approval certificate, but suddenly found it hard to move a single step. The scene instantly became somewhat chaotic.

Seeing Sophie and Peter surrounded in the center, Stella couldn’t help but furrow her brows. She had initially thought the Helios project would be rated ’excellent,’ but she never expected it to hit the highest tier. The prestige was on a completely different level. Domestically, only a few drugs from a handful of pharmaceutical companies could reach this standard. And she had been just one step away from having her name on it, only to have it brutally ruined by Sophie.

Finn clicked his tongue and said, "It’s fine. You’re the one who led Kingsford University in developing the formula. Sophie being surrounded right now is just her riding on your coattails. A share of this glory rightfully belongs to you."

Hearing this, the people around them looked at Stella in surprise.

Only then did Stella curl her lips into a smile. "That doesn’t matter. Although I didn’t participate in the clinical trials, I still fought until the very end."

"Are you saying this is Miss Sutton’s formula?" someone gasped. Amazement, awe, and admiration filled the air.

Just then, Winnie Hayes happened to be walking by. Hearing these words, she stopped. She walked straight through the crowd and scrutinized Stella. "You were the lead developer of this drug?"

Had she misjudged her? After all, the formulation of this drug had caused quite a stir among their judging panel.

Seeing that Winnie was now looking at her with newfound respect, Stella considered the fact that she was no longer on the team. After a moment of internal deliberation, she smiled modestly and said, "I did indeed participate in it, but I just didn’t have the time to introduce myself to you earlier."

She knew this industry only ever recognized results and ability. This was also her goal in coming here today. Once she had Winnie’s attention, how could she fail to make a connection? Her goal was to have Winnie become her endorser in the future and write her a letter of recommendation. When that time came, whether she wanted to connect with Mr. Caldwell, enter the National Academy of Somatic Medicine, or even negotiate a partnership with Helios for the Digital Chinese Medicine database, everything would go incredibly smoothly.

At that exact moment, Sophie and Peter had just retrieved the approval certificate and finished dealing with a few investors. The moment they walked over, they heard Stella’s words.

Julian was looking at her with his legs crossed. He hadn’t joined Stella and Winnie’s conversation, but Sophie could see right through it. His presence there was meant to serve as Stella’s solid backing.

Winnie was half-skeptical of Stella’s claim. Spotting Sophie, she waved her over. "Sophie, come here."

Sophie walked over. Stella flashed an imperceptible look of mockery; Sophie was only good for running errands and doing grunt work anyway.

Winnie reached out her hand. "Let me see your approval certificate."

Sophie was puzzled, but she still handed it over.

Winnie flipped straight to the credited team section at the back. Scanning it briefly, she asked without any sugarcoating, "Your last name is Sutton, right? If you participated and developed the formula, why isn’t your name on here?"

The smile that had just appeared on Stella’s face froze. Her brain kicked into high gear. Just as she prepared to answer, she caught sight of the strikingly prominent name ’Sophie Winslow’ out of the corner of her eye.

Her body suddenly stiffened. Then, her face contorted in sheer disbelief.