She raised her hand and rapped on the door.

Just as her hand neared the door, she overheard the conversation within.

The words she heard cast a shadow over her face.

“I received orders from the superiors," the director told Coralie. "We are not allowed to divulge our research results to the people of Azmar. We only agreed to let you attend the seminar because the biggest shareholder is from Azmar. We can't do much about it, but the research belongs to us, and the findings shall be kept within Faymoor. Besides, if we tell them the information they want, we won't have any leverage left."

Coralie said nothing, but she knew that it wasn't as simple as the director was making it sound. There was more to the situation that they weren't letting on.

“That reminds me," the dean continued. "Although Dr. Jane has made great contributions to our study, you must not forget that she is from Azmar. Have you ascertained what she is planning to do once she gets there? You should know these things before deciding to take her with you. No, you should have kept it all from her since the beginning. I'm telling you, you're inviting trouble." His disapproval of her actions was clear.

“I just thought that she was the most suitable person," Coralie replied. "I didn't really think too much on it at the time."

"In any case, she has already become the attending doctor. We can't let her attract too much attention, or she might slip from our grasp. She is very skilled. We need to keep her here and use her expertise to our advantage. If we lose her..."

"I asked her to prepare the materials we need to bring to Azmar," Coralie interjected. "She should be done by now."

At the back of her mind, she was aware that the director would be even more upset with this.

Sure enough, the man's brows furrowed into a scowl.

“What did you say? What were you thinking? Did it ever occur to you that she might bring our research papers to Azmar? You know very well that we spent a ton of money on our research. Now, we're running the risk of handing it over to Azmar for free! How can you be so careless?"

Nevertheless, Coralie stood her ground. She wanted to take Camila with her no matter what.

“I already told her that she's coming with me. If I suddenly go back on my word, it would only arouse suspicion. Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on her. In fact, I will look over the files she organized and sort out the confidential ones.

The director sighed. As much as he detested the risk that came with Camila, he didn't want to lose her, either. She had such promising talent. "Very well. Just be careful in the future."

“Of course."

With a brisk nod, the director turned and walked out of Coralie's office.

Further down the hall, Camila watched him go from an obscure corner, a pile of documents in her hands.

She couldn't help but find it all ironic.

The seminar's theme was “Life Without Borders", but it seemed like a far-off and almost impossible idea.

It shouldn't be surprising, really. Disputes existed everywhere, may it be between simple individuals or massive and powerful countries.

Life would always have borders at every turn.

Camila hurried back to her office with the documents, and singled out the main data. Her colleagues were aware that it was Coralie who had asked for the data, so there hadn't been any problem with obtaining them. She had to bring these to Azmar. Otherwise, what would be the point of going there?

But she knew she couldn't count on Coralie's help on this front. Camila stashed the important documents into her drawers and arranged the less significant ones in a neat pile to give to Coralie.

Meanwhile, Coralie saw the director off at her door and waited until he disappeared. She was just about to go and look for Camila when the latter arrived.