Chapter 1361

"I know!" Rhea exclaimed. "You're talking about Mr. Dominic's secret apprentice. Is there any proof? As far as I know, he's never disclosed who it is. Could he just be a fraud?"

"No, no!" Maria quickly interjected. "I heard this from an insider. It took a lot of effort to find that informant, but I'm sure the news is reliable! Mr. Austin has never publicly claimed to be Mr. Dominic's apprentice. He's not a liar. He took excellent care of my friend's cousin's grandson!"

Rhea was speechless at her mother's unconvincing argument.

"All right, let's not talk about this. It's making me angry! That brat doesn't appreciate my efforts!" Maria's anger escalated with each word, culminating in a frustrated wave of her hand.

"Did you say Anastasia doesn't want to be cured? That she doesn't want to lose weight?" Rhea asked, regaining her composure.

"Who knows? I think Mrs. Russell is brainwashing her!"

"Mrs. Russell?" Rhea, initially ready to end the call, found herself increasingly intrigued. Her mother's usually mundane life seemed to have taken a dramatic turn.

"Oh, you don't know her. Anyway, Mrs. Russell is incredibly annoying. She seems to be at odds with the miracle doctor I hired. I don't know what she said to Tasia, but she seems to have her completely under her thumb. Now, Tasia refuses to see the doctor."

"Anastasia listens to her?" Rhea pondered. Anastasia's infrequent social interactions made this outsider's influence all the more remarkable.

"Exactly! She even lashed out at me tonight! She doesn't seem to see me as her aunt at all! Didn't I take care of her when she was a child? Even you were jealous, saying I treated her better than you. Now, she's snapping at me, saying I don't care about her self-esteem!"

Rhea, however, remained unfazed.

"So, Anastasia didn't meet the miracle doctor you hired?"

"No! I've been running around trying to get her an appointment, all for nothing! I initially thought that if I got the miracle doctor to cure her, our uncle would owe us a huge favor. That way, your dad could expand into the business industry, benefiting our family! Who could have thought..." Maria trailed off, a new thought dawning on her.

"Hold up! Did Mrs. Russell do this on purpose? She must have known our family is competing with La Beaute Group for the bidding. By preventing Tasia's treatment, your uncle wouldn't owe us any favors!" The more she considered it, the more plausible it seemed, especially after recalling her husband's insights into business dealings.

"That can't be. I have to talk to your father."

"Wait!" Maria listened, surprised by Rhea's unusual reluctance to hang up.

"Mom, did you give Anastasia the agarwood I gave you?"

"Agar-what?" Maria's confusion was quickly resolved. "Oh, the potted plant? Yes, but Tasia isn't you. She won't appreciate these plants, so why do you keep giving them to her?"

"It's just a gift!" Rhea replied. "All right, I'll return to my experiment now."

"Rhea..." Maria started, but the dial tone cut her off. She shook her head and sighed. Her daughter's dedication to her experiments left Maria making crucial life decisions on her behalf. "Rhea..."