Alexander assumed Austin was calling because he knew Dominic was ill. Rhea immediately looked over, seemingly waiting for Alexandefollowingnext words.However, Alexander froze as the phone call began. A familiar, somewhat weathered voice came through the phone, saying, "What did you just say? You rotten brat, don't you know your place?"Alexander was shocked when he heard that voice. He could not believe it was Dominic, and from the sound of it, he seemed to be in high spirits."Old…old man?" Alexander asked incredulously, afraid he had misheard."Just call me sir, no need to remind me that I’m old! I have a question for you. What the h*ll are you doing?! Have you given up on your son?" Dominic's usual criticizing tone came through.Although Alexander could not see him, he felt reassured that the older man was okay by listening to his voice."Have you finally recovered? Do you feel okay?" Alexander asked in a hushed voice."What do you think? I've seen it all. This little virus
"Yes, yes!" Dominic impatiently replied before adding, "What do you take me for? Don't forget—I’m a miracle doctor! If I can't solve this problem, won't it tarnish the reputation I've built over the years?"Alexander breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the affirmative response. He believed in Dominic.Dominic had been hanging on by a thread previously. He was frail and in and out of consciousness. Alexander was genuinely worried because of the uncertainties surrounding the symbiote virus.However, he became confident the older man and Austin had found a solution and no longer needed to hesitate.“Okay, I understand. I have some matters to tend to, so I won't—”Before Alexander could finish, Dominic interjected, “What do you understand? I’m asking you what you and Lily are up to. When will you come here?”After some thought, Alexander replied, “Not anytime soon.”“Ah, forget you. Lily has been missing for so many days. What’s happening?” Dominic had not had the time to consid
"Take her away!" Alexander commanded.Rhea widened her eyes and struggled desperately. However, Edward had taped her mouth shut and restrained her. Ultimately, she could not speak and could only futilely struggle and wriggle.They were about to leave the garage when someone suddenly appeared from outside with a knife and charged toward Edward. But the person’s actions and speed were child’s play for Edward.He leaned to one side to avoid the attack and followed up with a kick, resulting in a loud, painful cry."Mrs. Moore?!" Edward immediately recognized the woman upon closer inspection.Alexander also looked closely and realized it was indeed Maria.The kitchen knife had fallen to the side as Edward had knocked her down.Maria furrowed her brows and held her chest, exclaiming, “You… Let go of Rhee!”“Mrs. Moore, it seems you knew your daughter wasn’t dead all along.” Alexander looked at Maria, his voice cold and indifferent.Maria immediately fell silent. She had kept this se
Alexander nodded and briskly walked toward the car without hesitation.…Mike had been standing in a small grove for quite some time and was getting impatient. He still had not seen even a sign of Alexander.He was anxious about the disgusting, foul-smelling corpse lying before him, even though he had already stuffed it in a sack. He could still smell the putrid and vile odor seeping through the fabric.He never imagined his entire life devoted to the fragrance industry to lead him to such a task. As he grew increasingly impatient and considered calling Alexander again, he noticed headlights approaching from a distance.Mike squinted and instinctively thought it must be Alexander. The former’s furrowed brows finally relaxed as he waved toward the oncoming vehicle.However, he sensed something was off as the car approached.‘That doesn’t feel right! It’s practically a convoy, and the vehicles are attracting attention. Shouldn’t this operation be secretive?’Mike felt suspicious
Lily lay on the bed for a whole day at stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. She had not experienced such peace in a long time, especially since she had always been busy. She could not afford to relax, even during her pregnancy.However, she had no choice but to remain idle. It was the most boring experience of her life.The doctor never returned after delivering the message to Lily that day. Lily even feared the organization had discovered and silenced him. Still, she could not do anything and knew nothing.Alexander told her to wait, so she waited. However, she could not just keep waiting and had to seize an opportunity to do something herself. After resting and finishing her meal as usual, she stood up and started to tear down the house.The room had tampered glass windows, and Lily could not smash them, so she smashed other things. She smashed everything she could lift and use, like the floor, walls, television, water dispenser, and surveillance cameras.She demolished every
Lily’s mind went blank after the hot flow, realizing it should be her water breaking. It was probably too late if she had already reached this stage. She had no choice, so she weakly called out, “H-Help…However, no one responded.She glanced at the door and had to approach the entrance herself. Otherwise, they might think she was tricking or deceiving them. Still, she could not worry about that now and could only support herself to try and move toward the door.Suddenly, the door swung open from the outside, and a few professional-looking doctors rushed in with a stretcher. Then they swiftly lifted her onto it. Someone on the sidelines said in English, “Take a deep breath!”Lily was shocked.‘It seems they’re quite prepared.’Previously, everyone she met had always been foreigners, but local people were present during her delivery.‘So, they were ready and waited for me to go into labor naturally.’Lily did not expect her labor to come at such an inconvenient time. She glanced
In reality, there were some things even Lily could not control. She had initially considered things, hoping for a way to gather helpful information during the delivery.‘Perhaps… If…’However, there were no “ifs” and “perhaps.”Lily passed out from the intense pain before the delivery. This delivery was much more painful and tumultuous than the last. When she regained consciousness, she realized her belly had flattened, and she was lying somewhere resembling a hospital room.The surrounding walls were all white, and there were hardly any extra items in the room. The doctors had also hooked her up to an IV.Lily also had no idea when someone removed her blindfold. Although she could see, it made no difference.‘There’s nothing here at all. It’s just another unidentifiable place. More importantly, where are my children?!’She found no signs of her children, even after searching around. As she touched her belly, it was evident she had undergone a cesarean section since there was a
“I want my children, and I won’t repeat myself!” Lily looked around her, saying sternly, “I know you guys can hear me!”“You’ve given birth to a boy and a girl. Both are safe and sound, so don’t worry, okay?” The doctor that passed on Alexander’s message took a step forward. “However, as they were born prematurely and have congenital deficiencies, we’ve placed them in the neonatal ward for observation. We’ll bring them to you once their conditions stabilize.”Lily looked at him, not fully believing his words. “Is that the truth?”“It is,” the other doctor answered, “What matters most now is for you to take good care of yourself. It’s the only way you’ll be able to see your children.”“I don’t believe you. I want to see my children now!” Lily stiffened her neck and pointed a needle at it, unconvinced. “I’ll kill myself right now if I don’t see them.”“Well…” After a momentary hesitation, the two doctors exchanged a look, and one said, “Ma’am, we need to ask for approval.”“Do it t
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