When His Perfect Mask Shattered I Awoke (Anneliese and Zacharias) novel Chapter 701

Adrian's expression did not change much, but when he glanced at Gianna and Anneliese, he more or less guessed what had happened.

Of course, he still remembered it clearly. Earlier, after giving in to Gianna's persistent demands, he had called his assistant and instructed them to cancel Anneliese's qualifications to enter the competition.

He had assumed that even if Anneliese felt wronged, she would go to Jonathan, or privately get Steven or Wendy to help resolve the issue. In any case, the upper hand would remain firmly in the Malone family's hands.

He had not taken this matter seriously at all. Little did he expect Anneliese to make such a huge scene out of it, questioning why her participation had been revoked.

Adrian's gaze shifted to Anneliese and Gianna standing there. The slap mark on Gianna's face was still visible, and her eyes were red, looking incredibly aggrieved and flustered.

In contrast, Anneliese appeared calm and composed, poised and dignified, as though none of this had anything to do with her.

Adrian frowned slightly, feeling somewhat dissatisfied with Gianna.

He had instructed long ago for Anneliese's eligibility to be revoked, deliberately leaving a buffer period so Anneliese could learn about it and deal with the matter privately.

As long as Anneliese came to them for help, the Malone family would gain the upper hand. Whether it was having Anneliese provide more treatment for Ellie or making her apologize to Gianna and reconcile, everything would follow naturally.

It would also serve as a small lesson for Anneliese. However, it was obvious that Gianna had used some kind of tactic, causing Anneliese to only find out about the disqualification on the competition day itself.

That alone would have been fine. If Gianna had been able to control the situation and truly force Anneliese to swallow this loss in silence, it would have proven that the Malone family's heiress was a smart, capable one.

Instead, Gianna had allowed things to escalate to this extent, completely letting Anneliese seize control through the media and public opinion.

This deeply disappointed him.

No matter how dissatisfied or disappointed Adrian felt toward Gianna, she was still his daughter. He could not allow her to truly become the so-called mastermind behind an unfair scheme.

Adrian stepped forward and raised his hand, pressing down slightly on the waves of noise and questions. His voice was low and steady as he spoke.

"Everyone, Gianna is indeed my daughter."

One of the reporters asked, "Ms. Claude, you just claimed that Ms. Malone can decide who gets to compete and who gets disqualified at will. Do you have any evidence to support this statement?"

Gianna lowered her head, a trace of coldness flashing through her eyes.

Anneliese had only just learned that her participation had been revoked. Gianna did not believe for a second that she could have any concrete evidence in hand.

If she could not produce proof, then Anneliese would be deliberately disrupting the event and making false accusations.

She had only been caught off guard earlier by Anneliese's sudden outburst and actions. Surrounded by doubts and media cameras, she had panicked, which was why she ended up looking so flustered. In truth, she never should have been afraid in the first place.

What was more, Gianna had her father backing her. What did she have to worry about?

With that thought, Gianna raised her head, her eyes reddening as she spoke. "Anneliese, it's all just a misunderstanding. We come from the same research lab. We should be standing together and striving forward as one, bringing honor to our lab. Why would I want to harm you?

"Besides, if there really were any hidden dealings, and if I were truly the predetermined first-place winner, why would I need to revoke your eligibility at all? Wouldn't that be contradictory?"