Hearing Ethan twist black into white chilled me further.

“I only made sure she could never do research again. Compared to what you’re doing today, I’m nothing close to as ruthless.”

His face darkened, my words stoking his fury:

“Easy for you to say! You drove Chloe to online harassment for a whole year! She fell into depression, crying herself to sleep every night!”

I sneered. Chloe had flaunted herself on Twitter—one moment bragging about her fling with New York’s wealthy heir, the next showing off as a top researcher in a national institute, basking in adoration.

How else could people have exposed her so quickly once I reported her?

Chloe collapsed against Ethan’s shoulder, sobbing pitifully. The cry of his childhood sweetheart pulled at his heart, draining his patience.

“This toy mask is my final courtesy to you. See for yourself—do you wear it, or give it to your mom? If putting on a clownish mask can amuse Chloe, then your deaths will have meaning.”

Time was running out—Margaret had already been without oxygen for several minutes.

I couldn’t hesitate anymore. I grabbed the toy mask and rushed into the chamber.

Margaret lay weakly on the floor. Her eyes lit up when she saw me. But when her gaze fell on the mask in my hand, she propped herself up and slapped me hard across the face.

“You wretch! I told you to get me a gas mask, and you bring me a toy? Are you trying to kill me? Did you hide the real one?”

My cheek swelled instantly, burning with pain. Facing her storm of accusations, I had no choice but to tell the truth:

“Ethan took the last mask!”

Her eyes narrowed in fury:

“What do you mean!? You’re too cowardly to live, so you’re blaming Ethan?”

If she wouldn’t believe me, I wouldn’t waste words. Ignoring her resistance, I strapped the mask onto her face.

It wasn’t regulation, but at least it could block some of the gas.

Exhaustion hit me like a wave. My body went limp as the poison gnawed at my consciousness. I collapsed on the ground, praying someone would pass by and find us.

Seeing my silence, Margaret thought I was guilty. She spat on me and continued her tirade:

“Rachel, you’re a curse! You killed your father, blinded your mother. I sponsored your research out of kindness, and you repay me by gathering evidence of my embezzlement to report me by email!”

“I humbled myself to bring you food so you’d delete that email, and now this happens! And you want my son to take the blame? Our Miller family’s misfortunes all start with you!”

Unlucky? I forced a bitter smile.

Years ago, when my research team was just beginning, Margaret’s company was still small. She proposed cooperation—I’d provide results, she’d provide funding.

That win-win arrangement built the Miller Group into the giant it is today.

But now, I discovered she had been embezzling billions in research funds all along!

I could endure Ethan’s cheating, and her dislike of me didn’t matter. But honesty in research—that was my bottom line.

That email report—I had to send it, no matter what.

A wave of bitterness surged in me. I didn’t even know if I’d make it out alive today…

Just then, the overhead monitor crackled with Chloe’s delighted voice:

“Ethan, Rachel just said it was Margaret in there with her. Exposed now, isn’t she?”

“If that really were Margaret, why would she give away the only mask? Ethan, your trick with the toy mask is brilliant. Watching her blind mother put on that ridiculous thing suddenly makes me feel much better~”

Ethan’s pampering laugh followed:

“As long as Chloe’s happy.”

Margaret’s eyes widened with hope when she heard Ethan’s voice:

“Son! Is that you?”

But her voice was warped beyond recognition by the gas, and since I’d fitted the mask in a camera blind spot, Ethan hadn’t seen her face.

He scoffed coldly:

“Old hag, know your place! You blind wretch think you deserve to call me son?”

Margaret froze, her smile stiffening. After a few stunned seconds, she realized she still wore the mask and tried to rip it off.

“Son, it’s me, your mother! Hurry, save me!”

But the mask blocked her vision, and her fumbling hands were clumsy under the suffocating gas.

Ethan clicked his tongue in disgust:

“Can’t even pull off a mask properly. And you dare say you’re not Rachel’s blind mother?”

He clapped his hands.

The next moment, the gas pipe cover beside Margaret blew open, blasting her body ten meters across the chamber.

Bones cracked audibly—her ribs snapped. Her head lolled to the side as she fainted.

My pupils shrank.

Every piece of equipment in the institute could be controlled remotely. With the lab shut down, only the computer in Ethan’s control room could trigger that pipeline.

So he and Chloe weren’t just watching—they truly meant to kill us!

Ethan chuckled:

“Chloe, how was that acrobatics show?”

Chloe giggled, clapping:

“Amazing, Ethan! I want more!”

More toxic gas surged in, thickening the air into sticky dampness.

“Ethan, you’d kill your own mother? You’re a monster!”

I scrambled up, trying to rip off Margaret’s mask to prove her identity. But her face was a bloody ruin from the impact, the mask fused into her flesh. Peeling it back already revealed bone.

I froze mid-motion.

“Why stop? Too scared to finish?”

The mocking voice rang from the monitor:

“Rachel, even now you’re still trying to trick me? I called my mom’s assistant, Mr. Johnson. He said her car has been parked at the company all day. She never left!”

A bitter smile tugged at my lips.

Ethan would never know—Margaret had deliberately erased her tracks, even leaving her car behind, because she knew her purpose in visiting me wasn’t pure.

My nails dug deep into my palms as I finally set aside my pride and pleaded:

“Ethan Miller, what will it take for you to save me and my mom?”

Ethan’s tone carried no emotion whatsoever:

“Simple. Hand over the patent for your current research project to Chloe White, and I might consider sparing you and Mary Carter.”

A chill shot through my heart.

I glanced around the laboratory where I had poured in countless days and nights of effort. This project was the unfinished work my father, Robert Carter, had left behind. He had dedicated his life to it—and ultimately sacrificed himself for it.

If completed, it would push the United States’ military capabilities to an entirely new level.

After my father’s death, my mother cried herself blind.

Rationally or emotionally, I could never bring myself to give it away so easily.

But seeing Margaret Miller slipping deeper into unconsciousness, her face already turning blue, I realized she didn’t have much time left.

Having lost my father so young, I knew all too well the agony of losing a loved one. I couldn’t bear to see that pain happen again.

After a long, bitter struggle, I clenched my teeth and nodded.

“Fine! You can have it! I’ll sign the transfer right now!”

I scribbled a quick agreement, signed my name, and slid it through the crack in the door.

“Is this enough!?”

Ethan studied it, then gave a satisfied nod.

Relief washed over me—only to be shattered by the sound of two gas pipes exploding.

I stared at him in disbelief, hatred blazing in my eyes like fire:

“Ethan, did you forget the deal we just made? You’re breaking your word!”

More poisonous gas spread rapidly through the chamber. My lungs, already battered, couldn’t hold on. I coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The corrosive air seared my skin in burning streaks. Pain shot through my nerves, wracking me with sweat until I collapsed.

My research—the weapon I once believed would defend my country—was now becoming my tomb.

As my consciousness blurred, my father’s figure seemed to appear before me, reaching out his hand.

I shook my head violently, breaking free of the illusion and forcing clarity back.

No. I would not give in.

Holding my breath, I dragged Margaret up to higher ground, giving her a little more chance at survival.

The effort drained the last of my strength. Gasping for air, I glared fiercely at the surveillance camera.

I knew those two would be watching, treating this as nothing more than a cruel game.

Sure enough, Ethan laughed with abandon:

“Of course I broke my word. What are you going to do about it?”

Chloe chimed in, her voice deliberately sweet:

“Sorry, Rachel, but I don’t want your research anymore. After all, what if you reported me again later? I’m terrified of that.”

“And I just thought of something better. Tell me, how long can a living human last in toxic gas before dying? I’m very curious. So, you and your mom will be my test subjects!”

Chloe giggled, entirely self-satisfied:

“Don’t worry, Rachel, I’m not ungrateful. Once I publish a groundbreaking paper using you two as material, I’ll visit your graves every Memorial Day. Consider it my way of honoring your contribution, hehe.”