Chapter 1713

The caller remained silent after the connection. Lily said hello, but received no response. Suspecting a problem with her phone, she was about to hang up when she faintly heard something—not a voice, but a muffled background of wind and distant car horns.

Puzzled, Lily checked the phone screen; an unknown, local number. Returning the phone to her ear, she heard nothing.

"Hello? Please say something," she said. Silence.

Alexander, noticing her distress, asked, "What's wrong?"

Lily shook her head. She planned to wait another thirty seconds before dismissing it as a prank call. Just as her patience wore thin, a slightly urgent female voice exclaimed, "Lily!"

"Tasia?" Lily was surprised. "Are you alright? Where are you? Is this a bad time? Is this your number? Should I call you back?"

"No, no..." Anastasia interrupted in a hushed tone. "Lily, I'm at home, secretly using my servant's phone. Something's wrong with my father. I think he's under my cousin's control."

"Rhea?" Lily asked, then corrected herself, remembering the woman's death. She frowned. "Don't panic. Tell me slowly. Are you in danger? Has your father harmed you?"

"I've been fine. My father's been anxious lately, I think because Rhea hasn't given him the drug… Lily, can you come to my house and examine my father?"

Lily quickly understood. "You want me to assess your father to determine what drug Rhea gave him and how she controlled him?"

"Yes!" Anastasia nodded decisively.

Lily glanced at her husband, who watched her silently. She pursed her lips and nodded. "Okay, I'll come tomorrow morning. Take care. We'll talk more then."

"Okay, I'll be waiting," Anastasia said, relieved, before disconnecting.

"Visiting the Rollins?" Alexander asked after Lily hung up.

"I've always suspected something strange was happening there, but never had the time to investigate. Now I have to get to the bottom of it," Lily said, adding thoughtfully, "Aren't you curious?"

"La Beauté Group already secured the project. Why did he risk bad publicity and give it to someone else? That's so unlike him," Alexander raised an eyebrow. The vaccine development project had been unusual. If Alexander hadn't fallen ill, he might have confronted Cameron directly. Cameron's subsequent behavior had fueled much speculation—some suggesting a pretense dropped for his brother-in-law, others claiming possession. Lily always suspected Rhea's involvement, but was unsure how she controlled people.

Alexander considered this briefly. "I'll come with you!"