Chapter 290: The Challenge

Maximilian noticed the reporters around the room glancing down at their phones. They were getting one notification after another.

His lips curved into a faint smile.

They should have given the reporters a hint about who Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Preston was—the supposedly dead fiancée of BioQuant’s chairman.

Now they were all sitting straighter.

This was going to get interesting.

Maximilian made a quick call to William Preston.

"It’s under control," William assured him.

Maximilian smiled. Of course, it was. The Prestons had been preparing for this.

On the stage, Sebastian continued. "Let me explain what this actually means."

The screen behind him changed.

"Current testing: ’This person probably has Alzheimer’s pathology.’"

A diagram appeared.

"But what we’ve named the Katerina System allows us to go much further."

Catherine’s breath caught.

Sebastian continued.

"We can identify individuals at very high risk of developing clinically significant Alzheimer’s disease and potentially detect those changes ten to fifteen years before serious symptoms appear."

Catherine pressed a hand against her heart.

"You kept the name?" she whispered, turning toward Bernice. "Why didn’t you add your name? You worked on it too."

The final stages of the research had been completed largely because of Bernice.

Catherine had named the system Katerina, a nod to her name in her previous life, back when she had carried the quiet ache of seeing her work and accomplishments erased from history.

She hadn’t expected to have the chance to reclaim her name in this life.

Bernice shook her head. "You did everything, Dr. Preston. I did very little."

Catherine stared at her.

"I’m surprised you even wanted to include my name," Bernice added.

Catherine’s expression tightened. Bernice was loyal. She trusted Catherine completely. Perhaps too completely. That kind of trust wasn’t admirable anymore. It bordered on dangerous.

Catherine wanted to lecture her about it, but stopped herself.

There would be time for that later. Right now, this was only the beginning.

Onstage, Sebastian continued.

"Dr. Catherine Preston’s research has given us the ability to identify Alzheimer’s disease years earlier than was previously possible. Earlier identification means earlier intervention, earlier planning, and potentially years of better quality of life."

The reporters listened intently.

"Dr. Preston’s work doesn’t promise miracles." Sebastian paused. "It gives families something they’ve never had before."

The screen behind him displayed a single word.

TIME.

A murmur swept through the room.

"Catherine Preston..." one reporter whispered. "Is this her research being published posthumously?"

Another glanced at his phone.

"Dorian Blackwood is accusing the Preston family of attacking BioQuant over her death."

Catherine stood behind the door, listening. Her lips curved.

Dorian had done them a favor: he had brought hundreds of thousands of additional eyes to the announcement.

She checked the viewer counts across the various platforms. They were already in the millions.

Dorian had tried to turn her death into a weapon against her family. Instead, he had put her name in front of the entire world.

And now came the part she had been waiting for.

A reporter stood. "If your screening can detect the disease before symptoms appear," he asked, "does BioQuant’s treatment work at that stage?"

Catherine’s lips curved into a slow smile.

There it was... the question she was waiting for.

Now it begins.

She drew in a slow breath and looked at Bernice. "Go."

Bernice’s eyes widened. "It should be you, Dr. Preston."

Catherine shook her head.

Before Bernice could protest, Sebastian raised both hands.

"Whoa, whoa. I think I’ll defer to the experts on this one."

He started clapping.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let’s welcome the stars of today’s press conference—the geniuses who made this possible."

He gestured toward the side of the stage.

"Dr. Bernice Watson..."

The applause began.

"And..."

Sebastian’s smile widened.

"Give it up for Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Preston!"

The doors opened. Catherine took Bernice’s hand and walked onto the stage.

The room froze.

A reporter actually dropped the pen he had been chewing. Another nearly dropped the tablet in her hands.

Someone in the back whispered, "What the hell?"

Cameras erupted in rapid flashes.

Catherine Preston is alive? 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

What is happening?

For several seconds, nobody seemed capable of asking a coherent question.

Bernice, meanwhile, looked as though she wanted the floor to swallow her. She had never wanted this. Having her name beside Dr. Catherine Preston’s on the research was already more recognition than she had ever imagined receiving. She didn’t need the cameras, the applause, or the attention.

She instinctively moved half a step behind Catherine.

Catherine noticed and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

Then she turned toward the reporters. "I’m Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Preston."

Her voice was calm.

"It’s great to see you all."

A few nervous laughs escaped from the audience.

Catherine’s eyes moved across the room before settling on the reporter who had asked the question.

"And that was an impressive question, Miss Jones."

The reporter blinked.

Catherine smiled.

"I think we’re all curious about the cure BioQuant announced yesterday."

She folded her hands in front of her.

"Theoretically, yes. If a treatment is genuinely capable of stopping the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, identifying patients before significant neurological damage occurs could be enormously beneficial."

The room quieted.

"But I think we should be careful not to confuse a promising announcement with a proven treatment."

The reporters stopped typing.

"BioQuant has made a very significant claim. I hope they’re right. I truly do."

There was no hostility in her voice. That made it more powerful.

"But a claim of this magnitude deserves extraordinary evidence, particularly when the treatment is being presented as a cure."

She paused.

"So I would ask BioQuant the same questions I would ask anyone making such a claim."

Her gaze lifted toward the cameras.

"Where are the complete clinical results?"

A few reporters exchanged looks.

"How were the trials conducted?"

Another pause.

"Who independently verified them?"

Her expression remained composed.

"And can the results be reproduced?"

Silence.

"If the answers are satisfactory, then we may be witnessing something extraordinary."

Catherine’s eyes briefly flicked toward the cameras. She knew Dorian would be watching from another screen.

"But if they aren’t..."

She let the silence linger.

"...then we shouldn’t give patients false hope simply because we desperately want to give them hope."

The room remained completely still.

And for the first time that morning, Dorian Blackwood’s narrative had a problem.

Catherine wasn’t a grieving heiress attacking the company that had supposedly taken her life.

She was a scientist.

A living one.

And she had just publicly asked the questions BioQuant least wanted anyone asking.

-----

Dorian was in the middle of his statement when his assistant hurried to his side and leaned toward his ear.

"Sir, you should see this."

He slipped a tablet into Dorian’s hands.

Dorian glanced down. Then froze. His lips pressed into a thin line.

On the screen stood Catherine Preston.

Alive.

She was standing beneath the Remington Insurance banner, perfectly composed, a faintly pleased smile on her face as she adjusted the microphone.

For one terrible second, Dorian simply stared.

Then he grabbed the earpiece from the table and pressed it into his ear.

"Are you saying there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, Dr. Preston?" a reporter asked.

The other reporters leaned forward in their seats, captivated. They thought this was the boring press meet but now...

How many stories are they breaking? This was the best day of their lives!

Standing at the podium, Dorian’s fingers slowly curled into a fist.

Then Catherine’s voice came through the speaker—crisp, clear, and unmistakably hers. Her voice did not waver. She said it with absolute conviction.

"There is no cure for Alzheimer’s. Not yet."

The room around Dorian seemed to disappear.

Catherine.

Alive.

And telling the entire world that his greatest announcement was a lie.

Sitting in the last tow, Maximilian chuckled.

There she is... My Catherine.