The phone, which had been silent for so long, immediately erupted with the voices of the old masters, all talking at once.
Mr. Langford picked up the phone. “You should just be grateful you were allowed to observe Miss Serena's process! You want to hold her up from her important business? Bah!"
With a sharp tap, he ended the video call, shoved the phone into his pocket, and turned to Serena with a fawning smile. "Miss Serena, leave the rest to me. You go handle your business!"
Serena nodded. "Thanks. I'll send you the detailed procedure from this session later. You can study it on your own."
With that, she silenced her still-ringing phone and looked at her family. "Grandpa, you need to rest well after the treatment, or all the progress will be for nothing."
"Mom, Dad, Julian, I have something to do, so I have to go. I'll be back early tonight. Please make sure Grandpa doesn't stay up waiting for me again."
Then, she hurried off.
Edward and Catherine, who had been about to shower Serena with praise, swallowed their excited words.
Sigh...
It was almost a problem, having such a brilliant daughter.
She had only just returned home, yet they had so little time with her.
They barely had a chance to say a few words before she was off to handle more business.
The doting parents were sad, but they had to be strong and support their brilliant daughter's career.
***
Elyndor Institute of Advanced Sciences, Central Control.
A massive screen was split into several surveillance feeds.
One of the feeds was a recording.
The location: Serena's frilly, pink, girly-dream-themed bedroom.
Isabella entered the room and took Serena's laptop. Then, following lan's
instructions, she handed it to a man in a baseball cap.
Mr. Harrison stood before the screen, watching the footage of lan taking the laptop from the man in the cap and hurrying away. He pointed at the screen.
A line of text appeared over lan's head: Target A-lan.
"Serena, your plan to lure the snake out of its hole was brilliant. Not only did you draw out the traitor in our midst, but you also reeled in a much bigger fist
Just as the atmosphere grew serious, a low, magnetic laugh broke the silence.
A tall, elegant man leaned languidly against the control console. His handsome, otherworldly face held a bewitching charm.
With a smirk on his thin lips, his gaze fell on the recording. He leaned slightly closer to Serena.
Nicholas's face was stunning, with a hint of wickedness that made him as alluring as a siren. "So... Miss Lancaster prefers this style of room."
The screen full of girlish pink was indeed rather eye-catching.
Several experts in the control room heard his comment and couldn't help but glance at the pink-drenched room on the monitor.
Serena was speechless.
When she had used her laptop to activate the camera and record everything, she had suspected her room would attract attention.
Whatever. She was used to it. It was fine.
Besides, as long as her mother was happy, that was all that mattered. She didn't care what others thought.
Serena sat impassively in the main chair, leaning back languidly. Her slender pale hand rested on the console as she watched lan's five feed on the soreen with a peatral expression
With a flick of her finger, she enlarged lan's feed, completely covering the pink surveillance footage.
Nicholas's low laugh grew deeper, his voice laced with an intimate quality that even Mr. Harrison noticed.
He smiled. “Mr. Harrison is right. The bait was beautifully set. Using Project Aegis's core program as bait... that's a weighty lure. And a cunning one."
The man's gaze was so intense that Serena turned to meet it. Her clear, cool eyes locked with his.
His obsidian eyes, shimmering with a faint light, reflected her face.
It was as if she was the only person he could see.
It was true...
He was utterly captivating.
Even someone like Serena wasn't immune to such charms.
Her long, dark lashes fluttered for a moment before she calmly turned her gaze back to the monitor. Her voice was level. "The bait has been set the line has been cast Now it's time to close the net."