Lily stared at the doctor in astonishment as he indifferently packed his things and left, as if nothing had been said. Reflecting afterward, she felt as though she'd experienced an auditory hallucination. Yet, his words echoed in her ears. Most puzzling was that the doctor who treated her surgical wound was not the one who delivered Alexander's message.

'Is he one of ours, or was that a guilty conscience? Or...a trap?' she mused, momentarily confused.

Alexander, despite capturing Rhea, was unsure what to do with her. An extremely dangerous psychopath, he couldn't hand her over to the police; he could only detain her. Two interrogation attempts yielded nothing helpful.

'Her thinking is abnormal,' he thought. 'But finding Cameron is paramount.'

Alexander and his men had searched the secret room repeatedly, finding nothing. Knowing Rhea's limited options, he suspected she was holding Cameron at the vaccine research facility.

'Rhea spent most of her time there, near her parents' home. The vaccine development is nearly complete; the final products are ready for official use. Furthermore, covert projects in the lab have ceased since their leader disappeared.'

Edward stated solemnly, "I'll search the facility." He'd reached the same conclusion as Alexander. They both knew the facility was dangerous, despite its current calm façade. They were uncertain how many personnel were spies or how many dangerous viruses were present.

Alexander hesitated. "Can you cope?" Before, he would have ordered Edward to go immediately. But things were different. Although Edward appeared his usual self, Lily had informed him of Edward's latent viral infection. Unlike Austin's case, Edward's infection was chronic, causing gradual organ damage undetectable even by hospital doctors. His vitality was deteriorating, leaving him increasingly incapacitated, as if poisoned or severely injured—potentially fatally so.

Lily had promised treatment upon her return, but she hadn't yet. Alexander didn't want Edward to risk his life. He considered Edward a brother, still burdened by guilt over Burnwken.

"I don't want you to go," Alexander decided, patting Edward's shoulder. "You've been relentlessly busy since your return, even infiltrating the facility without consulting me. Not this time. Olivia's about to give birth; you should be with her, caring for her."