She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 447

Preston lowered his gaze to the woman sleeping in his arms. The doting affection in his eyes slowly tangled with an agonizing web of conflicting emotions.

The next morning, following Preston's strict orders, Melanie processed his discharge papers. Together with a now completely vacant Everett, they boarded a private helicopter. As the chopper lifted into the sky, Preston noticed the intense reluctance in Melanie's eyes as she stared down at the sprawling cityscape below.

"What is it? Do you like it here?" he asked, pulling her attention away from the window.

Melanie looked at him and shook her head. "No, it's not that I like the city..."

"Then why do you look like you hate leaving it behind?"

"It's a different kind of reluctance."

She smiled, waving her index finger at him as if they were playing a guessing game. The truth was, she wasn't attached to the city itself. It was just that, having finally made it to Quarevia, she was itching to dig deeper into the mystery surrounding her mother's death. Leaving so soon left a bitter taste of unresolved frustration in her mouth.

Years ago, her mother had traveled to Quillborne City to participate in a research project for an experimental antiviral drug, only to meet with a fatal accident. Melanie vaguely remembered their final video call. Her mother had looked completely off. Despite her best efforts to force a smile, the raw, visceral terror in her eyes was impossible to hide. Back then, Melanie had just thought her mother was stressed and hadn't pushed for answers. Days later, she received the devastating news: her mother had died in a car crash in a foreign country.

Traffic accidents were a tragic, global reality, easily chalked up to terrible luck. But the bizarre part was what happened next. After her mother's funeral, her father, Nathaniel, absolutely forbade Melanie from studying pharmacology. She still remembered how terrifyingly uncompromising he had been about it. Putting the two puzzle pieces together formed a chilling picture. Her mother was a brilliant pharmacologist. Her death had to be connected to that experimental drug project.

What made it even more suspicious was that the entire project had been abruptly shut down just days after the crash. Four years ago, Melanie had sneaked into Quarevia to investigate, but hit a dead end. She couldn't even track down the organization that originally funded the research. The sheer level of secrecy only fueled her conviction. Her instincts screamed that her mother's death was no accident.

"Since you're back in town, does this mean your parents changed their minds? Are you going to join Stellaris PharmaTech after all?"

"No, Mrs. Whitmore," Elara shook her head, her expression shifting into a mask of grave concern. "Actually, I came to tell you something. I wasn't sure if you knew... about Preston."

At the mention of her son, Marjorie's smile faltered, a knot of anxiety tightening in her chest.

"Preston was injured. He was shot... and I think... it was because of his girlfriend."