Chapter 482

"It's under my supervision, Miss Roland."

Daniel Murphy's voice hesitated for several seconds before responding over the phone.

"What about her emotional fluctuation records?" Evelyn Roland tapped the armrest absently with her fingertips.

"All logged in the system. Her dietary intake has changed recently, but emotional metrics remain stable."

Evelyn's temple throbbed at his answer. She closed her eyes briefly. "Send them to me immediately."

A flight attendant approached to remind her to power off. She had to hang up abruptly.

As the plane took off, Evelyn stared at the receding cityscape through the window, the muscles in her neck taut with tension.

The emergency at the S City branch had derailed all plans. Three hours later when the plane landed, she turned on her phone to find Daniel's report waiting.

Before she could open it, a call from the regional office came through.

By the time she remembered the report again, it was already too late.

A City. Valdemar Group's executive office.

Sebastian Valdemar studied the experimental data on his screen, his frown deepening. He picked up his phone and opened a message thread that had been silent for a week.

His finger hovered over the screen for a long moment before he finally set it down without typing anything.

"Mr. Valdemar?" Theodore Ashcroft knocked and entered. "Commissioner Galatea requested a meeting this afternoon."

Sebastian's gaze remained fixed on his phone. "Arrange the car."

After the door closed, he pulled out an unopened pack of cigarettes from his drawer.

The lighter's flame illuminated his tense jawline. The cigarette burned slowly between his fingers, untouched.

Only when the ash singed his skin did he snap back to reality, crushing the cigarette violently into the crystal ashtray.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Linton hummed cheerfully on her way to the hospital. Spotting a crowd gathered below the inpatient building, she froze mid-step.

"What's..."

When she recognized the familiar figure on the rooftop, her thermal lunchbox clattered to the ground.

"Melanie!"

Mrs. Linton charged toward the building like a madwoman, only to be blocked by security. Looking up, she saw her daughter take another step forward.

"Don't! Mommy's here!" Her anguished scream dissolved into the noisy crowd.

Someone handed her a megaphone. Mrs. Linton took it with trembling hands. But before she could speak, the figure on the roof suddenly spread her arms—

"Melanie!!"

The piercing shriek tore through the sky. Everyone instinctively held their breath.