"The lab's secret?!" Lily exclaimed, her voice sharp with surprise.

"The lab again?! It seems everything is connected to it! I've only been gone two days, and so much has happened. What other secrets does that lab hold?"

"Yeah," Anastasia replied, seeking solace. Lacking close friends, Lily was her first thought. "What is the lab's secret?" Lily asked cautiously, holding her breath.

Anastasia hesitated. "I don't know. My cousin said it was serious, that she needed to speak to Dad alone. They went into the study, and when they emerged, she'd seemingly swayed him. He dropped the charges against her and even said he'd reconsider giving them the vaccine development project."

Anastasia, calmer now, though still sounding heartbroken, continued, "Lily, what do you think my cousin told Dad? I've never seen anyone change his mind so easily."

Lily fell silent, gazing into the distance. The dense, luxuriant forest stretched before them, a seemingly endless expanse of trees, each turn a new mystery, a maze from which escape felt impossible. Everything seems linked to the lab, but what's the connection? she mused.

"Lily?"

"I'm afraid it's not just a few words that changed your father's mind," Lily replied softly.

"What do you mean?" Anastasia asked, stunned.

"Nevermind," Lily said, taking a deep breath. "Perhaps what's happening at the lab is so serious he's overlooking your poisoning, for now. Whatever it is, Tasia, I think you should trust your father."

"Trust him?" Anastasia's voice was filled with pain. "I've been poisoned for years! He knows the torture I've endured. How can he forgive my cousin? How can I trust him?"

While she hadn't wanted her cousin jailed, she wouldn't let this go easily. Rhea deserved more than a simple reprimand. How could they undo the years of emotional harm? And Cameron, always her protector, now disregarded her for some secret. How could she ever trust him again?

Lily heard the anguish in Anastasia's voice and could only offer comfort. "You know how much your father loves you. How can you doubt his love because of this?"

Anastasia fell silent, her heart touched. As a child, she'd felt her father distant and strict, but growing up, she'd seen his love beneath the surface. Their relationship had blossomed, yet his actions today had shattered her. The pain of his lack of response when she fell was unbearable, cruelly amplifying her hurt.

"He's different now!" she whispered, her lips tight with grievance.