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
Lily tilted her head up to fight back her tears, saying, “There’s something I find strange.”“What is it?” Mike asked after comforting his son.“Instead of detaining Prince Ross, Her Majesty has sent him back to Yudonia. If so, why couldn’t we reach him?”After some thought, Mike answered, “There are two possibilities. It’s probably due to poor signals, or he doesn’t want us to contact him.”The two shared a look, knowing what each other was wondering.‘Why can’t we contact Ross? Is he planning something?’…Three days later, Lily inserted the last needle into the queen’s leg and looked up at her, saying, “You should start feeling your legs tomorrow. Still, it’ll take some time before you can stand.”Suddenly, Lily chuckled.“Why are you laughing?” Yasmin touched her legs. She had begun to regain sensation in her legs over the last two days. She then began to believe that she could get up. However, the queen was hesitant when the queen heard Lily chuckle.Lily shook her head
Lily straightened up and said without resentment, “Of course, you wouldn’t.”“That’s… quite a pity,” the queen murmured thoughtfully.“Well, there’s a price to pay for everything. That’s how the world balances itself,” Lily continued, “I can’t stop you if you must carry on with R10. Still, I won’t witness whether or not it succeeds. I just wish the outcome isn’t something you’ll regret.”Lily smiled and turned to head out the door.Rick heard their conversation as he stood guard outside. After exchanging looks with Lily as she brushed past him, he entered the room and saw the needles in Yasmin’s legs. “Your Majesty, those needles—”The queen waved dismissively. “It’s okay. Lily will remove them later.”Even so, Rick was wary. “You’re being too careless, Your Majesty. What if that woman—”“She wouldn’t,” Yasmin interjected, shaking her head."Why do you trust her so much?" Rick asked despite himself. The queen fell silent. If Rick had not asked her that, she would not have rea
Lily took out a cloth and unfolded it, revealing a row of silver needles inside. Yasmin was surprised she carried the needles with her.“Tell me. What do you want?” The queen took a deep breath to calm herself. She then reminded herself that she could always say no to Lily’s request. Still, Yasmin was cautious about Lily trying to trick her.Lily casually said, "I left because Prince Ross wanted to help me. I hope you don’t punish him.""That's it?" Yasmin thought she had misheard Lily. 'Is she trying to talk terms with me just so that I won't punish my son?' she wondered in disbelief."Ross is my son. I won't harm him. Don't you think you've wasted an opportunity by making such a request?" The queen shook her head. "I wasn’t sure if you’d blame him, but he did rescue me once. If I don't do anything, it would be ungrateful of me," Lily said gently, "Also, didn’t you already lock him up?"Yasmin was puzzled. "No, I only sent him back to Yudonia. He kept trying to get me to sto
"Three days," Lily replied.“That’s it?!” Yasmin was in disbelief. She thought Lily would try to buy some more time and suspected she would say the process would take several months or even years.‘I haven’t felt my legs for over a decade. I wouldn’t mind waiting for three more days.’“Are you sure I can get up and walk in just three days?” Yasmin pressed her legs hard but felt nothing. She would have treated her legs long ago if it were that easy.The queen had visited many famous doctors from various countries, but they could only stop her legs from getting weaker. However, Lily confidently told Yasmin that she could fix her legs so quickly.Yasmin wanted to believe it.After some consideration, Lily said, “I can’t guarantee that you’ll walk as fast as you once could. After all, you haven’t used your legs for a long time, and your muscles have atrophied. Still, you’ll recover slowly.”Yasmin nodded repeatedly, thinking it was good enough. She never dreamed of walking as well a
“Because only our opinions matter." Lily thought of something and said, "Unless you choose to believe Rhea.""I… don't trust anyone." Yasmin’s expression stiffened as she turned her wheelchair away."Your Majesty, I know you're dedicated to the experiment, but there are other things in life. Have you ever considered letting go of your burden to sightsee? You’ve done enough as a queen over the last few decades. Aren’t you tired of living a lonely life?”Lily gently spoke as she gazed at Yasmin’s back.The older woman caressed her knees with both hands and stared down at her legs, murmuring, “Sightsee, huh? I’ve forgotten what that’s like.”Yasmin had not used her legs for many years. Initially, she could still stand up and sometimes took a few steps. However, she could no longer get to her feet.She had grown accustomed to sitting in a wheelchair, but she felt a pang of sorrow after hearing Lily’s suggestion.Lily asked, “What if I can help you stand again? What if you can walk a
"Yes, I returned not just for him but also for you," Lily said, "I'm sure you were anxious for my return, weren't you?"Yasmin scoffed dismissively. "Why would I be? I have my bargaining chip. Besides, did you honestly think I couldn’t bring you back?""Bargaining chip? Do you mean Nick?" Lily shook her head with a smile. "Don't forget that he's not my son. Do you think he'll be much of a bargaining chip to you if I choose to ignore him for my three children?"She did not wait for Yasmin to reply and continued, "Besides, Nick still has a father who’s willing to die for him. If Mike decides to take drastic action against you— Yes, you're a queen, and you don't care much about an insignificant businessman.“However, don't forget that his business spans worldwide. There's no guarantee what he might do. Who knows, he might spread information that can affect Your Majesty and Yudonia's reputation?""You…" The queen was exasperated but could not retort.Lily noticed it and casually said
Rick could only remain silent at that moment.Yasmin then turned her wheelchair around and blandly said, “Bring Lily over. I’d like to see what excuses that sly woman can come up with.”"Your Majesty?" Rick was puzzled. "You know she'll just lie to you. Why must you—"Yasmin interjected, "I'd like to hear what she has to say."Rick had no choice but to leave and do as she said.As Lily was about to doze off, she heard noises from outside and opened her eyes. Immediately after, the door opened, and Rick appeared. He glared at her and spoke coldly, “Her Majesty wants to see you.”Lily glanced at Rick calmly and stood up as if she had expected his appearance. On the other hand, Mike rose before her and headed out.However, Rick stopped him as he reached the door. “You stay.”"But we came together!" Mike glanced over his shoulder at Lily, signaling her to persuade the man. Rick added, "The queen doesn’t wish to see you. Just stay here!"Lily patted Mike's shoulder and said gentl
Everyone was shocked when Lily returned to the embassy with Mike. One of the staff members quickly left to report the news to Queen Yasmin.Meanwhile, Lily saw people peering at her and Mike from the corner. Afterward, several guarded-looking men appeared. Lilt recognized them as the queen’s attendants. They brought Mike and Lily inside and then gave the duo a thorough search.The men only relaxed after finding nothing suspicious about the duo. Even so, Lily could not see the queen as the men told her to wait in an innermost room instead.After returning to the embassy, Lily felt a sense of strange familiarity. Although she knew the place well, her mindset had changed.She previously hated the embassy and simply wanted to escape. However, she had returned with a critical mission. Not only did she have to complete it, but she also needed to leave the place in one piece.While she was calm, Mike was somewhat anxious. He clasped his hands on his knees and glanced around as he sat dow
"I promise I'll do anything you want, okay?" Mike begged. He was desperate to see his son, so he decided to follow Lily when she insisted on returning to the embassy.Mike continued, “If any of you go with her, they might stop or suspect you. They won’t do that to me. It’s natural for me to want to see and rescue my son. I’m the best candidate because it makes sense for me to sacrifice myself for him.”After a short silence, Lily said, “You’re right.” She then looked at Alexander, who pondered before slowly raising his head and saying, “Me too.”Dominic tapped the table. "So do I."Cameron thought for a moment before saying, "I've no objections."Seeing this, Austin spread his arms and said, "Since you all agree, what else can I say? Let's do it!"It did not matter whether or not he agreed, but he just wanted to support Mike. The latter nodded and became emotional, saying, “Thanks, you guys!”"Why are you thanking us? Just be careful, and don’t be rash like you promised," Aust