Chapter 382 Letting Go

After leaving the Wynn family, Johnathan felt lighter than he ever had.

So this was what it felt like to let go—like shedding a weight he didn’t even realize he’d been carrying. He had been propped up entirely by hatred.

On the surface, he appeared refined and well-educated, but deep down, he was ice cold.

If he hadn’t met Sierra, he might’ve turned out even worse than Shane. Shane wore his darkness openly; Johnathan simply kept his buried. That was the only difference—he was better at hiding it.

And that’s why he knew Shane truly cared about Sierra, because they were the same kind of person. Someone who’s lived in the dark for so long will instinctively chase the light the moment they see it.

It was true for him. It was true for Shane.

Now, nothing was more important to him than Sierra.

Only by letting go of the past and removing the chains he’d bound himself with could he truly be with her.

He couldn’t wait to see her. That afternoon, he went to her school. Coincidentally, Sierra had good news she’d been hoping to share with him. Their research had finally made a real breakthrough—there had been significant progress. She’d discovered a way to suppress the virus in Quinn and Dora’s blood.

It was nearly a complete success. For several days now, the virus had stopped devouring their cells, and new ones were regenerating in its place.

She planned to monitor a little longer. If things remained stable, they’d begin clinical trials.

What began as an effort to save Quinn and Dora had never wavered—even after learning that Quinn might not be who she seemed, Sierra hadn’t given up.

She excitedly shared the progress with Johnathan and noticed his good mood. She couldn’t help but ask, “Did you already guess this would happen?”

Johnathan shook his head, his gaze warm and full of admiration.

“I knew you’d figure it out. I just didn’t think it would be this fast.”

He had never once doubted her abilities. He’d always believed she would succeed. But the speed at which she pulled it off exceeded his expectations.

Thinking it over, he realized—even if it had been him doing the work, he couldn’t have done it better.

While he was happy for her, a part of him remained uneasy.

Quinn’s legal troubles were severe. She’d been handed over to the authorities for several days now, but so far, there hadn’t been any useful information. Stone had passed along word that Quinn was sharp. Ordinary interrogation methods didn’t work on her. She wouldn’t fall for any tricks, either.

After days in custody, they still hadn’t gotten a single useful detail from her.

In fact, Quinn was frighteningly clever. She didn’t stay silent—on the contrary, she was talkative and even pleasant. But when they listened closely, they realized she was only ever speaking nonsense—harmless, empty chatter.

It wasn’t so much that she was being interrogated… more like she was toying with them.

Most terrifying of all, Quinn didn’t seem afraid of anything. No matter what they threatened or suggested, she didn’t care.

People like her were dangerous. Digging out the organization behind her would be incredibly difficult.

What worried Johnathan most was the possibility of Sierra being targeted. He turned serious.

Sierra understood his concern and nodded.

“Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

The experiments hadn’t even entered clinical trials yet. All she had were results that suggested progress. Until they had something concrete, it was just talk. And even if they did move forward, all kinds of complications could arise.

“You’re in a good mood today,” Sierra observed after watching him for a while. She couldn’t quite explain it, but it felt like something heavy had finally lifted off of him.

“I am,” Johnathan admitted. “Because today, I realized that the things I used to obsess over really don’t matter that much.”

He didn’t go into detail, but Sierra could read between the lines. He’s finally let it go.

She felt happy for him.

It was a shame—his mother had been gone for so many years.

If it were up to her, she’d want Johnathan to live for himself, rather than constantly being dragged down by hate—especially when the target of that hate was his own father.

She’d been the same once, chasing after the attention and approval of the Xiao family.

But after she gave up on them completely and treated them like strangers, she realized how freeing it was not to carry all that weight.

They laughed and talked as they walked—until everything changed the moment they saw who was waiting for them outside.

The moment Sierra saw Chase, she instinctively looked toward Johnathan. But this time, there was no anger or resentment in his expression. Instead, he was calm. Strangely calm.