In comparison, Cameron was much calmer. Raising a brow, he asked, “You’re finally admitting to it?”“No! No, she was just blabbering nonsense. Cameron, don’t take her words seriously!” In a panic, Maria cried as she pulled on Rhea’s arm, explaining further, “You know how stubborn Ree can be. She’s just mad at her dad! How could she have poisoned Anastasia? There must be some misunderstanding here…”That was what Maria said, but truth be told, she was losing confidence. ‘Could it be those herbal plants? Is that why Anastasia moved all of them away and said she gifted them to someone else? It seems that she had been wary of us since then.”With that thought in mind, she looked at Anastasia. “Tasia, who told you that you were poisoned by the herbal plants? Was it Lily?”Maria assumed so, as Anastasia had been in frequent contact with Lily only recently. “I’ve told you that she’s not a good influence on you. How could you listen to the things she said? It might not have been the herbal
If Anastasia did not get poisoned, she would have been much happier. She would have been a beautiful and confident young lady with many friends instead of having low self-esteem and staying cooped up at home all the time.All these years, she had suffered physically and mentally. Cameron was well aware of that. Although he said nothing much about it, it hurt him to see how she was. However, Maria wanted to take credit for looking high and low for the miracle doctor. It was ridiculous.“Anastasia…” Maria knew what Cameron meant by that, and she finally understood that he would go by what was right or wrong even though they were his relatives. Therefore, she thought of begging Anastasia instead and wanted to hold the latter’s leg.Anastasia moved away and stared at the teary-eyed Fabian and Maria before she looked at Cameron. “Daddy…”“I told you I’ll handle this. You stay out of it!” Cameron raised one hand, signaling for Anastasia to stay silent. He knew his daughter was soft-heart
Cameron just looked at Anastasia and reassured her with his gaze. He would make the best decision for her and would not be convinced by Rhea so easily.However, Fabian and Maria suddenly became hopeful. They believed Rhea might know some secret to help her turn the tables.“Ree, what secret is it? Tell Uncle Cameron now. We’re family, and there shouldn’t be any secrets between us, and… nothing is unforgivable,” Fabian said.“Yeah. What is it?” Cameron nodded and said lightly.Rhea pursed her lips, looking slightly troubled. “Well, I can only tell Uncle Cameron about this. After all, it’s something serious. It’s about the institute, and I’m afraid that…”She trailed off, appearing to be in a difficult position.Maria did not understand what her daughter meant. “Wait. There aren't any outsiders here. Can’t we know about it? We’re your parents.”The servants had already left the room, and she was also curious about the institute’s secrets. Rhea had always indulged herself in experi
Rhea followed closely behind while Fabian and Maria got up, watching the two leave with mixed feelings. They wondered what plan their daughter had in mind.They just hoped the secret Rhea was going to tell Cameron could save her from going to prison and that Cameron would leave the matter alone. The couple no longer cared about projects or businesses anymore. They just hoped Rhea could get out of this situation safely.Anastasia was the only one looking toward the study with concern. Lily reminded her before this that Rhea was not as innocent as she portrayed. Lily was right about that, judging from how Rhea had been poisoning Anastasia since they were still teens. Rhea was a genius in the medicinal field, but she had an evil heart too.Back then, Anastasia would bicker with Rhea from time to time. At most, she would get mad, think about ignoring Rhea forever, and stop going to her place. She had never thought about harming Rhea, but all these years, she suffered from obesity, anxie
Rhea was quick, but Cameron was quicker. The moment she raised her hand, he had already caught her arm and twisted it in the opposite direction with one hand, while he used the other to cover his nose.It seemed that he did not breathe in any of the powder that was in the air. Cameron smirked. “Rhea, you’re still too naive, and you’ve underestimated me.”Rhea had her arm restrained, but she did not panic at all. Suppressed, she was forced to bend her back slightly. She looked to the side at Cameron and smiled. “I’ve never underestimated you, Uncle Cameron. I know that these tricks are nothing to you as well and that they won’t work on you, so…”“So what?” Cameron had a bad feeling about this as he stared at her sternly. He did not feel uncomfortable anywhere else either. Rhea just smiled in response to his question. “Don’t you feel uncomfortable somewhere?”With that, Cameron could feel that his body was starting to go numb, especially his hand that was holding onto her arm. He c
She took a few steps forward, bent down slightly, and tugged at his arm. "Uncle Cameron?"There was still no movement. The man's head was tilted to one side, exposing a section of his neck as he lay there motionless.This reassured Rhea as she took out a small bottle from her pocket. Looking at the vial's content and back at the unconscious Cameron, she squinted as if she had made up her mind. Then she quickly took out a mask and syringe from her pocket.Once she put on the mask, she used the syringe to draw out the bottle's content and stabbed the needle at the back of his neck.…The three of them waited in the living room impatiently.Fabian had no idea if Rhea's method would work or if she had managed to convince Cameron. Maria was worried about her daughter, and Anastasia was worried that her father would give in. On the other hand, she was also curious about the secret.After an hour, the two of them still hadn't left the room.Finally, Maria couldn't sit still anymore
Rhea was walking in front of Cameron, speaking softly to him as they walked. “Uncle Cameron, I know I’m at fault. I’m responsible for what happened to Tasia.”Cameron did not answer. Everyone else stared at them in confusion as they watched their exchange.Rhea and Cameron walked to the middle of the living room. When Rhea stopped, Cameron stopped as well, keeping a few feet between them. Rhea turned to look at Cameron with her head lowered, and she had a heartfelt look. “Uncle Cameron, I know I’ve been acting like a child, and I’m sorry for what happened to Tasia. However, we should look at the bigger picture. Please reconsider our discussion about the lab just now.”“All right, I will,” Cameron answered lightly. He sounded a lot calmer, almost gentle. His tone was not as sharp or as cold as before.Maria was overjoyed to hear this. She turned her head to look at Fabian. Sure enough, his eyes twinkled with anticipation.“As for the vaccine development project....” Rhea trailed
“Tasia?” Maria frowned, a little unhappy.She was delighted when she saw that Rhea had resolved the matter, but Anastasia seemed unwilling to give up.“Dad!” Anastasia stomped to Cameron angrily, staring into his eyes to try and see what he was thinking. “What did Rhea tell you? Why did you change your mind? Didn’t you say you would stand up for me? How can you just let her go like this?!”“Tasia…” Maria was distraught. “Your father has already made up his mind. Do you honestly want to send your cousin to jail? Would you be satisfied if your uncle and I spent the rest of our days visiting her in prison?“Can’t you forgive her for your late mother’s sake, even if it's not for ours? You two are cousins. Can’t you be a bit more forgiving?” She was starting to dislike Anastasia.Although her attempt to help Anastasia was to curry favors with Cameron, Maria still had a fondness for Anastasia. Maria had done so much for Anastasia, yet, Anastasia was never grateful for it. Now, Anastasia