Chapter 2

2、

I watched their pathetic performance and let out a cold laugh.

"I am not your lab rat. Furthermore, unauthorized human experimentation is a federal crime. If you want to go to prison, don't drag me down with you."

Seraphina's eyes turned red, and her voice trembled as she hid behind Silas. She looked like she had been deeply wronged.

"It's okay, Silas. It's all my fault… I was just too desperate for a breakthrough…"

Her "I don't want to ruin your marriage" act was Oscar-worthy.

"As long as the research moves forward, I'll accept being misunderstood…"

Hearing this, Silas looked at her with pure adoration and pity.

He shielded her fiercely and glared at me, his voice booming with fury.

"Avery, do you realize what this breakthrough means for humanity? Is there anything more noble than saving lives?"

"You claim to love me, yet when my career hits its most critical moment, you won't make even this small sacrifice!"

"If you don't do this, all our investments from the last few years will vanish. I won't be the only one going bankrupt!"

Moral kidnapping followed by financial threats. Typical.

I sneered.

"If you think it's so noble, why don't you sit in the chair yourself? You claimed the safety rating is ninety-nine percent, so why are you shaking?"

"CRASH."

It wasn't a slap.

Silas slammed his fist into the nearby equipment cabinet, the metal door denting under the force.

His eyes were bloodshot as he pointed at my face and growled.

"Avery Vance! Don't push your luck!"

"I'm building a future for our family! I'm fulfilling your parents' expectations! What have you ever done?"

My mother was shaking with rage now. She lunged forward and tried to shove me toward the experimental chair.

"If you don't do this experiment, I don't have a daughter anymore!"

I looked at this woman I once served with total devotion. She felt like a complete stranger now.

To make her golden years comfortable, I had stepped back from my family's business and played the role of a doting housewife.

But her eyes now held only cold resolve and protection for Seraphina.

It was as if Seraphina were the daughter she actually loved.

I looked at them, my heart like a piece of cold ash.

"Silas, I'll bet you anything. Even if your therapy succeeds by some miracle, you'll never get legal clinical approval."

"If you don't believe me, go ahead and try."

My defiance pushed him over the edge.

He lunged at me like an uncontrolled animal.

Seraphina screamed and wrapped her arms around his waist to hold him back.

"Silas, stop! Don't get physical for my sake… it's all my fault. I'll do it. I'll be the subject…"

"Seraphina! It's not your fault. It's my daughter! She's cold-blooded and ungrateful!"

"From this day on, I'm acting like she was never born!"

"Silas, get the divorce papers!"

A sharp pain pierced my chest, but it was brief.

I looked at the husband I thought would love me forever and the mother I had served. I spoke two simple words.

"Fine. Done."

My mother's screaming stopped instantly.

Since I was a child, she was used to my submission. She had never seen me stand my ground like this.

It was sickening that the woman I had been so loyal to was now conspiring to send me to a living hell.

I turned to Silas, who was still fuming, and held out my hand.

"Where are the papers? Give them to me."

Silas froze. The shock in his eyes confirmed my suspicion.

They never actually intended to divorce me.

Those words were just leverage to break me.

Now that I was calling their bluff, Silas's expression stiffened.

He paused for a second, then gave a savage grin.

"Fine! You think I won't?"

He turned around angrily, pulled a sheet of paper from a cabinet, and scrawled "Divorce Agreement" across the top.

Seraphina tugged at his arm, pretending to be the peacemaker.

"Silas! Don't be impulsive. Don't let me ruin your marriage!"

Then she turned to me, tears streaming down her face like a tragic heroine.

"Avery, it's just one little test. Why can't you just help him? Why does it have to come to this?"

My mother chimed in immediately.

"Exactly! Seraphina is such a good person! Silas has been tired of you for a long time. You brought this divorce on yourself! You're not even a fraction of the woman Seraphina is!"

She kept ranting, failing to notice the flash of triumph on Seraphina's face.

I just watched them calmly.

My gaze was like a mirror, reflecting their ugliness. Silas couldn't look me in the eye.

He held the pen, caught between his ego and the reality of what he was losing.

I stepped forward, snatched the paper and pen from his hands, and signed my name with a flourish.

"From this moment on, Silas, you can have them both. I'm done being your servant."

I turned and walked out of the observation room without looking back.

The sunlight outside was blinding, but I felt no warmth.

I felt a profound, hollow numbness―the kind that comes after your heart has been carved out.

I had just buried the old Avery Vance―the one who crawled in the dirt for Silas and gave everything to her mother.

Just then, my phone vibrated. A respectful voice spoke through the receiver.

"Ms. Vance, the board has approved your proposal. Your position as Group CEO is restored effective immediately. We are waiting for your return."