Chapter 225

Brandon’s expression darkened noticeably at those words. His striking eyes turned murky, unreadable, as if weighing a hundred things at once.

After a moment, his voice lowered. “Has the Serpaton–Morta Alliance Laboratory made any major moves lately?”

Reid thought for a moment, then answered. “They’ve always been flashy with their announcements. Just recently, they claimed they’d cultivated the most perfect transformer in history. But it’s mostly noise. Statistically, their subjects don’t come close to the average performance in our zone. And besides, Noelle is already in the final testing phase. Once she clears it, she’ll be the most flawless transformer ever developed. I'm confident none of the other labs have anyone who could rival her.”

Brandon didn’t respond right away. He stayed silent for a long while before asking again, more pointedly, “How much information about Noelle have we leaked to the other labs?”

“None,” Reid replied instantly. “Noelle is our top-priority subject. We’ve never disclosed anything publicly–not even her classification level. The whole point is to keep her existence under wraps, so the other talis can’t target her.”

“Good,” Brandon said mildly.

Reid hadn’t expected praise and was so surprised he stammered slightly. “Th–thank you, sir. Just doing what’s expected.”

“But stay vigilant,” Brandon added.

“Yes, of course,” Reid straightened up, his tone returning to seriousness. He circled back to the main concern. “The transformer with Adriel–the girl–was found near the blast site. Our biggest fear is that the distress signal shouting ‘monster’ might’ve come from her.”

“It almost certainly was,” Brandon said flatly.

Reid tensed. “So what do we do? Eliminate her preemptively? Serpaton’s been bragging about their perfect transformer, and now this so-called monster shows up. For all we know, they’re the same person. Maybe this is their plan–to plant her near Noelle, observe her up close. If she poses even the slightest threat to Noelle, everything we’ve worked for could go to waste.”

Reid’s nerves were high, but surprisingly, Brandon now looked more relaxed. Propping his chin in one hand, he gave Reid a faint, amused smile. “Didn’t you just say Noelle was better than anything Serpaton could create?”

“Uh–yes,” Reid said, caught off guard. “That’s true…”

Brandon’s eyes gleamed, a sign he had made up his mind. He smiled lazily and said, “Then let her stay close to Noelle. In fact, I’m a little curious. If Noelle and this ‘monster’ ever went head-to-head, who would come out on top?”

Reid stared at him, alarmed. “Is that really okay? Noelle is our most valuable asset. If she’s harmed, we’re throwing away over a decade of work.”

“She’ll be fine. I’ll be watching closely,” Brandon said calmly.

Reid still didn’t fully understand what Brandon was planning.

But Brandon gave him a pleasant smile and said, “I'm going to visit Noelle in a week. While I’m away, you’ll manage things here.”

“What?” Reid almost choked. “You’re going to see Noelle! Seriously?”

Brandon replied casually, “What else? I’m trusting you to run the lab while I’m gone. Don’t let me down.”

His words were friendly, but the smile on his face carried weight–a silent warning. “Mess this up, and I’ll make you regret it.”

Reid stiffened, suddenly pale. “Yes, sir. I won’t let you down.”

Chapter 223

When it came to Leia, Noelle had expected Adriel to at least speak a few words in her defense out of sibling loyalty. But when the family brought up how to handle her sentencing, Adriel’s reply was cool and detached.

“Of course she should be dealt with according to the law. Let the courts do their job. The Anderson family hasn’t wronged Leia. The fact that we’re not publicly condemning her is already more than she deserves.”

“Great,” Bennett said with a small smile. “I’ll speak with the lawyer later. From here on out, we’ll let the legal team handle the rest.”

Adriel nodded, the picture of calm professionalism. “Now that this scandal’s out, we need to control the narrative. Keep the staff quiet. Talk to the police. For the public record, say Leia fell ill and has gone abroad for treatment.”

“Understood,” Bennett replied.

Adriel turned to Damon, “Any objections?”

He knew Damon had always been the one most inclined to defend Leia. The others might show leniency out of old family ties, but they understood wrong was wrong. Damon, however, had always protected her blindly. If this incident hadn’t involved their father, he might have even helped cover it up.

Damon pressed his lips into a thin line, his gaze flicking subtly toward Noelle. She promised not to expose Leia for hiring a lutman. If she’s willing to keep that quiet, what right do I have to ask the family to go easy on Leia? If I speak up now, what will Noelle think of me?

Not to mention, their father was still lying in a hospital bed. Damon had no right to interfere.

After a long moment of inner conflict, he lowered his head and said quietly, “No objections. Let the court handle it.”

“Good,” Adriel concluded. “Then we’ll let the legal process run its course. I heard Dad’s awake–I’ll go see him now.” He stood.

His eyes flicked toward Noelle–not at her directly, but at Elsie, who was currently clinging to Noelle like a little shadow.

Since she’d met Noelle, Elsie had refused to leave her side. Wherever Noelle went, she followed like a tail. It was as if she had completely imprinted on her.

Adriel, now technically free of Elsie’s constant presence, found himself oddly… unsettled. He hesitated briefly before shaking off the feeling.

Then, looking at the two of them, he asked, “Elsie, are you planning to stick to Noelle from now on?”