Chapter 7

Supporting Evelyn, Sasha looked up at Professor Leed resting among the flowers and evergreens, and tears spilled down her face.

He had been a demanding mentor, but also the closest thing she had to a father. When he found out she was planning to help move corpses just to cover tuition, he broke his own rules and let her into his lab. Everything she had now started there.

Gabriel saw her crying and was even more stunned.

She had that kind of bond with Professor Leed?

What exactly was their relationship?

If the setting had allowed it, he would’ve gone straight over and demanded answers.

By then, the service had moved to the pallbearers.

Eight men carried the casket forward. At the front were the mayor and Huxley University’s president. Behind them were other towering figures in science and academia.

No one was surprised to see them there. Pallbearers were usually the people closest to the deceased, either dear friends or highly respected colleagues.

But when Sebastian appeared at the end of the line, it caused a visible stir.

His presence represented York Biopharma’s dominance in the pharmaceutical industry.

It also made one thing clear.

At York Biopharma, Sebastian was the one in charge now.

As the casket began to move away, Evelyn swayed, all the light drained from her eyes.

Sasha felt like her heart was being cut open.

And then everything changed.

An older man with graying hair suddenly stood up from the crowd and stepped in front of the casket.

“Patrick didn’t die a natural death!” he shouted. “You can’t bury him like this!”

Sasha wiped her tears and looked at Evelyn.

Evelyn was shaking with rage. In a low voice, she said, “That’s his cousin.”

Sasha’s gaze immediately shifted to Professor Leed’s son, Simon Leed, who stood holding the memorial portrait as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

He didn’t move.

In that instant, she understood.

This was probably staged.

Gabriel hurried forward. He acted like he was helping the old man, but really he was holding him back. “Sir, if you have something to say, let’s step aside and talk.”

The old man was stronger than he looked. He shoved Gabriel off hard.

“You’re all in this with Evelyn,” he shouted. “You people drove Patrick to his death, and now you won’t even let him be buried with his first wife. You’ve got no conscience!”

Now that she’d been named directly, Evelyn pointed at him, furious. “I’ve shown you respect all this time, and this is how you repay it? Standing here spouting lies and smearing his name?”

“Smearing him?” the old man sneered. “You know exactly what you’ve done.”

He pulled something from his pocket and hurled it at Evelyn.

Sasha moved without thinking and threw herself in front of her.

The object shattered against her back, sticky liquid running down her clothes.

It was a raw egg.

Gabriel’s face changed.

If that had been acid instead, her back would’ve been ruined.

What was Evelyn to her?

What kind of relationship made her do something like that without hesitation?

The old man missed his mark and only got louder.

“So you’re the third woman Evelyn lined up for Patrick, huh? I heard all about what happened overseas. To keep him tied down, Evelyn and two female students were all sleeping with him. That’s when you drained him dry. And then you stole the inheritance that should’ve gone to his son. You shameless little parasites should be dead!”

The second the words left his mouth, the crowd stirred.

People leaned in. Some were already whispering.

Chloe lowered her voice and said to Gabriel, “Uncle Gabriel, don’t believe him. Sasha would never be someone’s mistress. She and Evelyn are just close, that’s all.”

Close?

How close did you have to be to risk yourself like that?

Unless they were bound together by shared interests.

Gabriel had nearly forgotten what he was supposed to be doing. He stared at Sasha as she hurriedly helped Evelyn take her medication.

Evelyn had a heart condition. She had been holding herself together by sheer will, and now the shock was pushing her into an episode.

Holding up Evelyn’s shaking body, Sasha shouted at the old man, “Do you even hear yourself? You can slander us all you want, but you do not get to slander Professor Leed. Are all of you from the funeral committee just going to stand there and let him throw mud at a man who devoted his life to this country?”

That snapped everyone back to attention.

Gabriel grabbed the old man again, trying to drag him away.

But then Simon, who had been standing there like a statue until now, suddenly rushed over too.

“Uncle, what are you doing? Stop it and come back,” he said, grabbing at him.

With Simon in the mix, the old man actually broke free and lunged toward Sasha and Evelyn.

“You little whores, I’ll kill you myself!”

Chaos exploded.

Somewhere in the confusion, Gabriel heard someone scream, “Uncle Gabriel, help!”

It was pure instinct.

He ran toward the voice and pulled the person into his arms.

In the process, he felt himself slam into someone else. Then he heard a cry.

He turned and saw Sasha falling backward, her head about to smash into the sharp corner of the casket.

Then who was in his arms—

He looked down.

It was Chloe.

Something complicated flashed through his eyes, and he immediately moved to go after Sasha.

But it was too late.

Sasha’s mind went blank.

This is it.

She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the crack of bone and blinding pain.

But it never came.

Instead, her forehead slammed into a large hand.

The force pushed her back.

Sasha stumbled backward and fell into the arms of the man whose hand had stopped her.

Acting on pure instinct, she pressed her back tightly against him.

Sebastian frowned in disgust.

Her back was covered in raw egg. It was filthy.

He grabbed her ponytail and yanked her away, putting distance between them.

The thank-you she hadn’t managed to say turned into a cry of pain. She instinctively reached for the back of his hand.

“Let go.”

Sebastian looked down at her, his eyes narrowing slightly. His light-colored irises caught the light like amber—striking, and edged with something dangerous.

Sasha’s heart jolted. She pulled her hand back at once.

Her gaze dropped to the back of his hand.

There was already a nasty bruise forming, but even more obvious was the scratch she’d left behind.

It was bleeding.

She was just about to apologize when Gabriel cut in.

“Sasha, are you okay?”

Before she could answer, Chloe jumped in first. “Sasha, you should step away for now. Listen to the awful things they’re saying.”

“Why should I?” Sasha shot back. “That lie is so bad even a dog wouldn’t buy it.”

Gabriel lowered his voice. “When Professor Leed remarried, the internet was already full of rumors. Even now that he’s gone, people are still spreading disgusting gossip about him online. People’s words can destroy you. Just listen to Chloe this once.”

Sasha felt like something heavy was lodged in her chest.

No matter how much someone had contributed, the second there was even the slightest stain on their moral image, people would grab onto it and tear them apart.

She looked at him. “Uncle Gabriel, do you think that too?”

When he saw she still wouldn’t listen, his tone turned sharp. “Why are you still this stubborn? Look around. Do you even realize what kind of place this is? Is this really because I brought Chloe to the funeral and not you? Is that why you’re making a scene?”

The pressure in Sasha’s chest grew even worse.

It hurt more than being slandered and screamed at by that old man.

She let out a slow breath and said flatly, “Uncle Gabriel, do what you need to do. I’m not leaving.”

Gabriel’s expression stiffened. “Sasha, you’re not even listening to me now?”

She had just opened her mouth to speak when someone brushed lightly against her shoulder, and then a lazy male voice said, “Move.”

The hem of Sebastian’s suit jacket swept across her arm, cool and smooth against her skin. Startled, she quickly stepped back.

Without even glancing at her, he walked to the casket and steadied it with one hand.

Then he looked at Gabriel.

“Your family has a pretty unique way of honoring the dead. Shoving a living person into a coffin. What, were you planning to bury her with it?”

Gabriel’s face flushed red. His hands clenched into fists. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“If you don’t get this burial moving now, then it is on purpose.”

Only then did Gabriel notice how many people were watching.

He couldn’t spare Sasha another glance. He hurried off to take control of the ceremony.

Watching Sebastian settle what no one else had managed to handle with a single sentence, Sasha finally had a good idea who he was.

Sebastian York. The heir to York Biopharma, and one of the most prominent figures in the city’s elite circles.

“Mr. York, thank you. Is your hand okay?”

Sebastian lifted his thin eyelids and looked at her. “Does bleeding count as respect for the deceased or a bad omen?”

Sasha was speechless.

With an IQ of 160, she still had no answer for that.

At that moment, the officiant called for the casket to be lifted.

Sasha quickly stepped back to Evelyn’s side.

Sebastian glanced at her slim figure from behind, then slowly opened his fist.

Two strands of hair lay in his palm.

Long, black, and carrying a faint, delicate scent.

Quietly, he handed them to his bodyguard, Frank.

“Run a comparison with the sample from seven years ago,” he said. “And find out where Sasha Lane was on the night of June sixteenth.”