To Love a Shadow, To Be the Sun novel Chapter 95

Elara's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a quiet authority that cut through the air.

The man's footsteps halted abruptly. He eyed her warily. "Who are you?"

"I'm with the Vincent family," she replied.

At her words, Peter became even more guarded.

"I don't know anyone from the Vincent family," he shot back.

Elara smiled faintly. "She's being watched. She can't contact you directly. She said someone might be coming soon to check the 7016w sample's diagnosis report and original test data. You should be careful."

Peter's suspicion didn't waver. "I've followed all the protocols. There's nothing to check."

Elara nodded. "As long as you're aware. She wants you to double-check everything—make sure there aren't any mistakes. If anything goes wrong, even she won't be able to protect you. And for now, don't reach out to her. The Vincent family is watching her, too."

With that, Elara turned to leave, but her words weighed heavily on Peter.

"Wait."

He led her to a secluded corner, and now his nerves showed through.

"We agreed I'd only do this once. She promised there'd be no trouble, and now you're telling me to watch my own back? There are still two samples in the cold storage room. Without a good reason, how am I supposed to destroy them?"

"That's your problem," Elara said evenly.

Now that she knew the samples were still there, she suppressed a smirk and started to walk away, but Peter caught her arm again.

"You all swore nothing would go wrong, and now you're backing out? Don't you people have any sense of honor?"

Elara arched an eyebrow. "If you took the money, you should've planned for a way out. Isn't that how this works?"

Peter's face reddened with anger. "I'm not throwing away my future for your payoff. The ten grand in cash you gave me is still at my house, untouched. I'll give it back—but I'm retracting the test report."

"Peter," Mr. Chase said, his voice steady but heavy with authority, "we pride ourselves on maintaining strict, unbiased standards here. What you just said could destroy everything I've built. You have two choices: admit your wrongdoing and retract the report, or I'll call the police and let them investigate."

Peter collapsed to his knees. "Mr. Chase, she's blackmailing me. She forced me to falsify the report. You know what the Vincent family is capable of—I can't just withdraw it!"

Mr. Chase's gaze was cold and unwavering, his presence lending him an unshakeable confidence.

He turned to Elara. "Our lab has a double-blind retesting procedure, but it requires a family member's signature. Mrs. Vincent is the daughter-in-law, so her signature is valid."

Peter was promptly placed under supervision, and the retesting process began immediately.

As Elara was leaving, Mr. Chase stopped her. "Mrs. Vincent, I'll make your case top priority. The double-blind retest will be done by this evening at the latest. Until the results are official, I'd ask you to keep this confidential."

Elara understood—no need to give their opponents any warning.

Just as she stepped outside the testing center, her phone rang. Summer was calling.