She Left She Thrived She’s Worth Billions novel Chapter 995

Melanie didn't have her phone on speaker, but Preston was standing close enough to catch every frantic word from the receptionist.

Family...

White hair...

Those two clues pointed to exactly one person.

They both knew it instantly.

"Understood. I'm heading back to the office now."

Melanie hung up and met Preston's gaze.

An unspoken understanding passed between them.

The man who had practically kicked down the doors of the Royce Group the moment they left Averin was the very person they had been trying to track down: Shawn Sterling.

"Looks like Shawn is back."

Melanie kept her voice low. Elina Lennox's pale face immediately flashed through her mind.

When Elina was struck with that terrifying, unidentifiable illness, it had taken the absolute best medical resources—arranged by Preston—and Melanie synthesizing antibodies from her own serum to save the little girl's life. Had they been a second too late, the consequences would have been catastrophic.

Shawn Sterling...

Melanie's hands balled into tight fists at her sides.

Even though the virus turned out to be a failed, synthetic strain, if Shawn really was the one who deployed it... and if he was one of the hidden sons of the York family...

It meant the York family was actively engineering bioweapons.

"A man-made virus..."

She whispered the words aloud, rolling them over her tongue.

And as she did, a chilling memory bubbled up from the depths of her subconscious.

VitalBreath Fortis.

A cold shiver wrecked through her body. She instinctively looked up at Preston.

Meeting her shocked, turbulent gaze, Preston frowned in concern.

"What is it? What did you just realize?"

Melanie shook her head quickly.

"Nothing."

She didn't even have concrete proof that Shawn was the one who poisoned Elina, yet her mind was already leaping back to the cold medicine project her mother had worked on four years ago.

She couldn't let paranoia connect dots that weren't there.

If she did, she'd only plunge herself into a labyrinth of conspiracies she couldn't escape.

"Actually, Preston..."

"Yeah?"

If he truly uncovered evidence that implicated Stellaris—that implicated the Whitmore family...

Would he actually tell her?

Could he really bare all the ugly truths to the woman he loved?

He wasn't sure.

Because he liked her.

He loved her.

So...

If he found out that her mother's tragic death was orchestrated by the Whitmore family...

He clenched his hands tightly behind his back.

He could see the absolute trust shining in Melanie's eyes.

But...

Could he really uphold that trust?

By the time they arrived back at the Royce Group, it was nearly lunchtime.

Just as expected, the man waiting for her in the lobby was Shawn.

However, his outfit was a jarring surprise.