The Heiress They Couldn't Break (Amelia and Jeremy) novel Chapter 696

"You even used an idiot like Regina as a test subject, injecting her with enhanced gene recombination. She did change quite a bit.

"But the side effects are massive. She's probably close to collapsing. That kind of ‘bloom' doesn't last. Your experiment isn't a success at all. Why keep ruining more lives?"

Amelia had no intention of handing over the formula right away. She was clearly stalling, dragging the conversation out.

Truman could tell. She wanted more details.

And it was obvious she was trying to draw him out.

Under normal circumstances, with his cautious nature, he would never have revealed even a hint of the truth, let alone expose his real face so completely.

But the child he had watched grow up was about to die by his own hand.

Since he was preparing to send her to her grave anyway, he might as well indulge her curiosity.

"An idiot? Amelia, you're still too naïve. Regina was nothing more than the lowest-tier expendable in my plan. Her value was in helping me determine the upper limits of the side effects.

"A short bloom? So what? I've never needed a perfectly finished product. What I need is data. Stepping stones toward ultimate success."

A cruel smile tugged at Truman's lips. There wasn't the slightest reverence for life in his eyes.

"As for my lab—sure, it has made some ‘progress,' but it's nowhere near enough.

"All those so-called successes are built on unstable gene sequences. Like a sandcastle on the beach. One wave and it's gone."

He paused, stepping closer, lowering his voice, which now carried a feverish intensity. "But the formula in your hands, Amelia—that's the real key.

"That was developed by Hendrick, along with Paul and Walter. It can suppress some of the side effects and push my experiments closer to true success.

"Hand it over. You can consider it your contribution to society."

Hearing this madman speak so casually, Amelia was so furious that she wanted to beat him to the ground and tear him apart.

"Those are human lives. Do they mean nothing to you?"

"Relax. Most of the test subjects are poor nobodies who contribute very little to society. Only a handful of elite individuals are used in my higher-level trials.

"Valuable people get treated differently. Don't worry about that."

Truman spoke lightly, as if the lives of the poor and ordinary didn't count at all.

A wave of cold fury surged through Amelia. His words were more horrifying than any curse.

She couldn't believe that the man once known as kind and brilliant, the man everyone respectfully called "Professor Alvarado," had this face hidden underneath.

Life wasn't supposed to be ranked and priced according to achievement.

And now, that very man she had treated as kin stood there, shamelessly saying things like "for your sake" and "better to die early."

Amelia's body trembled uncontrollably. Her teeth ground together. Her eyes reddened instantly, as if they might bleed.

"Amelia, don't let his words get to you. He's doing this on purpose—to throw you off.

"You still have people who love you. Your family. Your friends. You have me. We still have to avenge Dad. Don't let him control you."

Just as her thoughts were starting to blur with fury, a familiar, steady voice pulled her back. It grounded her.

He was right. She wasn't alone anymore.

She had a man who loved her. Her relationship with her family had healed so much.

She couldn't let this man drag her around by the nose.

"You're right."

Amelia looked at the man she loved and slipped one arm around his waist.

Her man really was dependable.

"That's enough talking. Hand over the formula. I'll make your deaths quick. You can continue being a loving couple in the afterlife."