The more Anna thought about it, the harder her heart pounded against her ribs.
Augus had sworn the substance was odorless and untraceable.
But that was before a room full of the world's greatest medical minds got involved.
With all those geniuses operating on him, they were bound to trace the root cause of his collapse.
On top of that, Serena had clearly suspected the humidifier.
Douglas had already sent it off to the lab.
If they followed the trail, it would lead straight back to her!
No!
She had to run!
While everyone was focused on the surgery, she needed to get out of there!
Panicking, Anna sprinted toward the parking garage.
She would head straight to the airport!
She had to flee the United Realmon States and lay low for a while.
But the moment she rushed out the doors,
she collided hard into someone.
It was a man in his early fifties, dressed in a sharp black suit. His expression was stern, radiating a terrifying frostiness.
His features bore a striking resemblance to Douglas, but his aura was even more suffocating. This was clearly a man accustomed to absolute power.
"Running around like a panicked animal. Look at yourself," the man snapped, his voice like cracking ice.
"D-Dad..." Anna gasped, freezing in her tracks. Absolute terror washed over her face.
The man standing before her was Silas Vinton, the current head of the Vinton family and her biological father.
He looked exhausted, his eyes bloodshot, clearly having rushed straight back.
He stared at his daughter, his gaze utterly devoid of warmth. "Where do you think you're going? Why aren't you keeping watch over your grandfather? What are you doing in the parking lot?"
Silas had never harbored much affection for her.
Years ago, a calculated setup had resulted in her birth.
Her mother had taken a payout and vanished, abandoning the child without a second thought.
She scrambled to think of an excuse to run.
Now that he was back,
if she didn't escape immediately, she was doomed!
But under Silas's icy glare, her mind went blank. Every lie withered on her tongue.
Just as he turned to walk away,
a spark of wicked inspiration hit her. She forced out a sob and cried, "Dad! You have to save Grandpa! You don't know what happened—it was Serena! She's out of her mind! Grandpa only collapsed because he drank that Medicinal Tonic she made and let her stab him with those weird acupuncture needles!"
"She's in the operating room right now, saying she's going to perform the surgery herself!"
"And Douglas is backing her up! He just pulled a gun on all the leading specialists to stop them from saving Grandpa!"
With her father back,
she could twist the narrative entirely!
As long as Silas believed Serena was the murderer, Anna would be perfectly safe.
Ultimately, her father was the one calling the shots in this family!

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