On the other end, there was a stunned silence, followed by rage and disbelief:
“You… how dare you?! Rachel, that’s ten years of our work!”
“Our work?” I sneered.
“The moment you let her parade around with my research to claim that award, the word ‘our’ ceased to exist. Ethan Blake, you were the one who taught me that once something gets dirty, you throw it away.”
Perhaps hearing Ethan’s voice, Lily let out another sharp, pitiful cry:
“Brother… my face… it hurts… kill her…”
Ethan’s voice trembled with panic and heartbreak.
“Lily! Don’t be afraid, I’m coming right now!”
“Rachel, if you want to punish someone, punish me. Lily is innocent—she doesn’t deserve your cruelty!”
“What do I want?”
I glanced at the computer screen as the prompt [Transmission Complete] flashed. My lips curved into a cold smile.
“I want you to watch with your own eyes how the empire you’re so proud of crumbles, just like her so-called perfect future—”
I paused, then pronounced each word with chilling clarity:
“Completely shattered. Nothing left.”
With that, I hung up, cutting off his enraged screams.
Leaning back in my chair, I couldn’t stop the echo of his words in my mind: ten years of work.
Ten years.