"Tasia?" Maria frowned, unhappy. She was delighted Rhea had resolved the matter, but Anastasia seemed unwilling to yield.

"Dad!" Anastasia stormed toward Cameron, her gaze intense. "What did Rhea tell you? Why did you change your mind? Didn't you say you'd stand up for me? How could you just let her go?"

"Tasia," Maria pleaded, distraught. "Your father has decided. Do you really want to send your cousin to jail? Would you be satisfied if your uncle and I visited her in prison for the rest of our days? Can't you forgive her, for your late mother's sake, if not for ours? You're cousins. Can't you be more forgiving?" Maria's dislike for Anastasia was growing.

Despite her attempt to curry favor with Cameron, Maria still held a fondness for Anastasia. She had done so much for her, yet Anastasia remained ungrateful. Now, Anastasia was trying to imprison Rhea. Maria felt she had raised an ingrate. The old saying proved true: other people's children were not one's own.

Anastasia ignored her aunt, focused solely on her father. "Dad, I don't care what others think. I want to hear from you. What do you think I should do?" Tears welled in Anastasia's eyes. She didn't care about Rhea's fate; only her father mattered. He had always protected her, prioritized her, stood by her. Yet, he was abandoning her for a supposed laboratory secret. She felt like a transaction, something he'd sold for information.

"Tasia," Cameron said softly, touching her head as he had when she was younger. "That's enough."

Anastasia recoiled, shock and disappointment etched on her face. "That's enough?" she repeated, trembling.

Cameron dropped his hand and sighed. "It wasn't easy for your uncle and aunt to raise you. You should learn gratitude."

"Grateful?!"

Maria, surprised, hadn't expected that. She was ecstatic he wasn't pursuing the matter further, let alone suggesting Anastasia should be grateful. "It's fine," she quickly interjected. "We're all family. There's no need for such formality."

"Dad, are you serious? Are we just letting this go?" Anastasia asked, reluctantly.

Maria didn't intervene. She, along with everyone else, watched Cameron. His gaze shifted to Rhea, then back to Anastasia. "As I said, we're all family..."

Before he finished, Anastasia spun and fled, tripping at the door and falling with a loud thud. Maria instinctively started forward to help, but hesitated, seeing Cameron remain unmoved.