Chapter 1120:
Understanding struck Rylie immediately—it had to involve Melany. Whatever was said during that call hadn’t soothed him; it had driven him over the edge, compelling him to leave in the middle of the night.
Worry for Melany—and the child—tightened in her chest. Still, she held to their agreement. Given Deandre’s volatile nature, revealing the child now could shatter what little control he had left and turn an already tense situation into a disaster.
Rylie knew Deandre all too well. Once he set his mind on something, there was no changing it.
“Never mind. I’ll go by myself,” she told the guard.
𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴.𝘤𝘰𝘮
She didn’t really need to buy anything. Looking presentable was enough. She had already changed into casual clothes on the yacht and was still wearing them.
With the recommendation letter in hand, she could go straight to Deandre’s laboratory and speak to the researchers in person. As Rylie prepared to leave, Deandre’s aide took no chances and assigned two security guards and a driver to accompany her.
The laboratory was housed inside an ultramodern, high-tech facility.
Rylie asked the guards to wait outside and entered alone. After checking in, she took the elevator to the lab level and presented her recommendation letter to the receptionist. “I’m Rylie Owen, a student recommended by Professor Dominic Holden from Evergreen University.”
The receptionist reviewed her information carefully before nodding. “Please wait here. The research team is in a meeting, which may take about thirty minutes.”
“That’s fine,” Rylie replied calmly. “I can wait.”
The receptionist offered a courteous smile. “It’s best if you stay in this area. Access to others requires authorization.”
Rylie raised an eyebrow slightly. “All right.”
She sat on the sofa and opened her laptop, pulling up the files Storm had sent after data recovery. Soon, her brows drew together in concentration.
Storm had already briefed her. One micro storage chip had been pierced by a bullet; another was beyond repair. Not everything could be recovered, but the most critical evidence remained.
Among the recovered footage were scenes of Brad being shoved into mud by Eastern Islet soldiers, along with the moment he was shot in the leg.
These were the most brutal and degrading moments of his life—ones he wished no one would ever see.
A shadow crossed Rylie’s expression.
Another message from Storm appeared: “Brad has already watched it. He says it should be released. There’s no alternative.”
Rylie fell silent for a moment. After some thought, she secured the video files and sent them directly to Nicolas. He would pass them to Sean, who would then coordinate with the president.
After waiting another hour, Rylie returned to the front desk and tapped her fingers lightly on the counter. “It’s getting late. Are they still not available?”
The receptionist kept her professional smile. “They’re still occupied. The research team tends to work like this. You might try coming earlier tomorrow.”
“If they’re stuck on something,” Rylie said evenly, “I might be able to help. Could you let them know?”
“I’ll inform them when they’re done,” the receptionist replied apologetically. “You’re welcome to wait a bit longer—they may wrap up soon.”
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