Chapter 246 - 245: Asher’s Formidable Rival Appears

Chapter 246: Chapter 245: Asher’s Formidable Rival Appears

Afterward, the police arrived and questioned me about Erin Whittaker.

I said nothing. Madeline Quinn did all the explaining for me.

The police said Erin Whittaker had withdrawn her complaint and wasn’t pressing charges, so all I had to do was apologize to her.

I still said nothing.

"What are your thoughts on this ’killing game’? From what we know, you’re just an ordinary person. You graduated from college a few years ago, don’t have much real-world survival experience, and you often help homeless children. So how did you walk out of that derelict building unscathed? And your husband is just... intellectually and mentally disabled... I’m sorry."

The officer questioning me was a stranger. He was just following procedure.

I knew he didn’t mean any harm by calling Asher mentally ill, but I still spoke up, my guard raised.

"I wouldn’t say I came out ’unscathed.’ I fell down a flight of stairs, which caused a brain injury. I was in a coma for half a month and just woke up. As for why Erin Whittaker was hurt... in that extremely dark environment, she was terrified and treated me as a perceived threat. So, no, I don’t think I should have to apologize to her." I was stating facts. Every word was true.

But I omitted certain details about the sequence of events.

For instance, how I had intentionally torn open her wound on the stairs to force the truth out of her.

"I can testify to that!" Madeline Quinn said angrily.

She was also stating a fact. She really hadn’t seen me harm Erin Whittaker.

And the me she knew would never do such a thing.

Besides, Erin Whittaker’s image as a ’vicious’ person was already deeply ingrained.

The officer looked at Madeline Quinn, then back at me. "Mr. Julian Fletcher said he was at the scene and confirmed the fact that you harmed Erin Whittaker."

"Mr. Julian Fletcher was also terrified in that environment. I don’t believe eyewitness testimony holds much necessity or value under such circumstances." I answered every question calmly and rationally.

"Erin Whittaker tripped and lost her footing on the stairs. By the time I checked her wound, she was already crying out in pain."

It was a montage-like lie. I was telling the truth, but I’d reversed the order of events.

It was because of me that Erin Whittaker had been scared enough to fall...

The officer nodded. "Alright, I understand the situation. Since Erin Whittaker isn’t pressing charges, there’s not much point in pursuing this. Get some rest. A special task force will be in touch with you later. We hope for your cooperation at that time."

I nodded.

After the police left, I looked at Asher.

His gaze on me was perpetually intense and vibrant.

Madeline Quinn was muttering curses, damning every last one of Erin Whittaker’s ancestors.

I sat there numbly. After a long moment, I spoke. "I did hurt Erin Whittaker."

I used... violent methods.

Madeline Quinn looked at me, surprised. "Why didn’t you just kill her?"

"..." I gave Madeline Quinn a helpless look. "You can’t let your friendship dictate your morals. You’re a medical examiner."

"..." Madeline Quinn scratched her head. "Oh, right."

Madeline Quinn muttered under her breath, "Ah, well, it doesn’t matter. Erin’s not pressing charges, so who cares."

"I just wanted to see... how many steps it takes for a lie to become the truth." I knew Erin Whittaker would drop the case. Julian Fletcher had ways of making her.

But it was clear that outsiders had believed what I just said.

That meant the police had already taken statements from everyone who escaped alive, including Madeline Quinn, Zeke Shaw, and Lucas Grant.

With their statements and the added weight of Erin Whittaker’s ’villainess’ reputation, most people were more willing to believe me.

"So, can you guess... why did Claire Lawson hide among us without anyone ever noticing? It’s because the weak are viewed through a filter in most people’s eyes. And with... Erin Whittaker and the others already having a villainous image, we were all more willing to suspect them."

In other words, what we saw was only what they wanted us to see.

And Victor Quinn, with his public persona as a good husband and father... that must mean he’s using it to hide something. ’Just how many secrets could Victor Quinn be hiding?’

"Asher, do you think I should have lied just now?" I asked him.

He hadn’t seemed to say a word this whole time.

"You lied on the premise that you knew Erin Whittaker would drop the case, so it was harmless. If she hadn’t, you wouldn’t have lied. You would have confessed," Asher said softly.

’He really... knows me too well.’

"Human nature is instinctual self-preservation. People die for wealth, and birds die for food... It seems to be our nature. Only by being selfish can one be truly ’human’," I murmured. "Just now... before my conscious mind even caught up, I had already lied."

My breathing grew heavier, and my gaze trembled as I looked at Asher.

Asher looked back at me, his eyes burning with intensity.

Asher understood. The old Cecilia Caldwell had been incapable of emotion. She didn’t know what happiness felt like, what pain was, what despair was, what heartbreak was...

She wouldn’t even instinctively protect herself.

But now, I understood... I was starting to feel.

The moment I found out Julian Fletcher had told the police I’d hurt Erin Whittaker, I started thinking, ’What is Erin’s ultimate goal? Will she use this to threaten me? Will it indirectly harm Asher?’ That’s why I could remain silent no matter what the police said about me. But the moment they mentioned Asher... I acted on self-preservation almost subconsciously.

"Cece... you’re good. You’ve always been good. You’re perfect just the way you are... Don’t force yourself." Asher pulled me into a tight embrace, his voice hoarse and trembling.

He knew how hard I was trying... how hard I was trying to be a normal person.

But people have feelings—joy, anger, sorrow, happiness. Selfishness is an instinct. They lie.

They have flaws and weaknesses. They have vulnerabilities. They aren’t invincible.

But it’s precisely this complex and ever-changing mix of factors that makes up ’humanity,’ this highly intelligent group that reigns over all other life on Earth.

So, when I lied subconsciously, I was both shocked and amazed.

I looked at my own hands, then at Asher.

In my recovered memories, the version of me before the amnesia was like a misfit who didn’t belong in this world.

After the amnesia, I was like a rookie who had stumbled into a life-simulation game by mistake. Forgetting that I wasn’t ’normal,’ I lived a normal life, experiencing its pain and disappointment.

I had to admit, I was ’grateful’ to Julian Fletcher. At least, without his... instructional interlude... I wouldn’t be who I am today.

I was like an old tree, long dead, that had suddenly sprouted new buds. My veins were slowly clearing, and branches were beginning to grow.

But this was a long process.

There were too many challenges in this world that I still needed to experience...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. A rapping sound came from the hospital room door. Standing there was a very tall man in a suit.

The man was handsome—at least, I thought so. He bore a slight resemblance to Asher, but not much. He had a refined air, somewhat like Julian Fletcher’s, looking every bit the part of a capable, high-level corporate executive.

’I guess this must be the heir Master Lancaster has been carefully grooming on the outside.’

It was because of this man that Master Lancaster was willing to sacrifice a key piece to save his king, treating his own son, Brandon Lancaster, as a disposable pawn.

"Brother." The man smiled at Asher. It was a sincere smile, seemingly devoid of any aggression.

But my sharp instincts and wariness screamed that every pore of this man’s being radiated danger!

And I had a very strong premonition: this man was not to be underestimated...

"And this must be my sister-in-law? Hello, my name is Killian Lancaster." He walked over, carrying a fruit basket, and extended a friendly hand to me.

I looked up at him, frowning.

Wary that Master Lancaster might move against Asher, I had already investigated this Killian Lancaster. ’Genius’ was his most unremarkable label. He grew up in the Republic of M, receiving only the most elite education, the product of Master Lancaster’s immense investment of money and effort.

’Now... I suspect he’s also a product of gene-editing.’

What worried me more was his privileged upbringing and education; he had been indoctrinated with the aggressive capitalist ideologies of the Vesperan nations...

’Asher would be no match for him.’

"You’re in the wrong place." Just as I was about to speak, Asher cut Killian Lancaster off. The atmosphere instantly dropped to a freezing point. "Out the door, turn right, walk straight, go downstairs. If you can’t make it to the morgue on your own, I can personally send you to the crematorium."

When facing an ’enemy’ like Julian Fletcher, Asher was noisy and childish. That was because he never considered Julian a rival on his level.

But this person before him was different.

His danger level was like the pheromones apex predators release in the animal kingdom, instantly putting another high-level animal on high alert and causing it to emit the same dangerous signals in return.