The seconds ticked by agonizingly slowly.


    Yet Emeric merely stared into Evadne''s beautiful, tear-filled eyes with empty confusion. There was surprise in his gaze, but the deep, bone-deep adoration he had always held for her was entirely gone.


    "Who... are you?"


    In a sh, Evadne''s vision went dark. The entire room seemed to violently spin around her.


    Refusing to believe that the father who loved her most had forgotten her, she lost control. She grabbed Emeric''s shoulders and gave him a hard shake, as if he were an old, glitching television set and she could physically jolt his memories of her back into ce.


    "Dad! I''m Evadne! I''m your darling Evadne! Look at my face... how could you possibly forget me?!"


    "Child... stop shaking me... I feel sick..." Emeric groaned, looking deeply ufortable.


    The family rushed forward to pull her back. Cassius wrapped his long arms securely around Evadne''s trembling shoulders, pulling her into a tight, protective embrace.


    He whispered soothing words in a rough, gentle tone, but the girl in his arms continued to shake violently.


    Bet stepped up, fighting back tears. "Evadne, we know how much it hurts, but Dad just woke up. His body can''t handle this right now!"


    "No... No!"


    Driven entirely by panic, Evadne''s tears broke free. They rolled down her cheeks like shattered pearls. "Emeric Ashbourne! I am your daughter! Your own flesh and blood! Look at me! You are not allowed to forget me! I won''t let you!"


    When Thaddeus had forgotten her, the heartbreak had been like a knife slowly twisting in her chest.


    If her father forgot her too, it would rip the very soul and life force right out of her body. If she lost the core motivations keeping her going, how was she supposed to survive?


    "Daughter... daughter... I can''t remember. My head hurts so much..." Emeric''s expression twisted in pain, and he squeezed his eyes shut.


    Myra stepped forward with red-rimmed eyes tofort her. "Evadne, don''t panic. Don''t force him right now. If we just let him rest for a while, maybe the memories will naturallye back?"


    Aviana had clearly been crying too, but she forced herself to stay strong for


    Evadne''s sake. "Your mother is right. Let him rest. A lot of patients wake up disoriented like this. Once the initial recovery phase passes, he might bepletely fine."


    They had stood by Emeric''s side for


    years. During the darkest, most difficult times of their lives, he had given them a safe harbor, supported their families and made sure they, never had to worry about the future. They owed him everything. Even if he forgot thempletely, they wouldn''t have a singleint.


    But Evadne was different.


    She was his absolute favorite child. The blood of the woman he loved most in the world flowed through her veins.


    She was practically his sole reason for living. How could he forget her? He couldn''t!


    Elvis took a deep, shuddering breath. He kept his expression tightly controlled, but his voice betrayed slight tremble Let''s get him a full brain scan immediately. We need to know exactly what''s going on. Even if it''s amnesia, we need a medical exnation."


    Arnold''s eyes zed with a terrifying mix of heartbreak and fury. He clenched his


    fists until his knuckles cracked, then suddenly roared out loud.


    "Get that bastard Chad Abernathy down here right now! What the hell did he feed


    our dad? Why did Dad suddenly lose his memory?!"


    A heavy, freezing murderous intent settled in both Cassius and Elvis''s eyes.


    Back on ROSE Ind, Thaddeus had


    taken Avery Chambers''s drug to save Evadne. That drug had ravaged his nervous system, stripping away his ability to feel emotions. Now, Emeric had taken Chad''s drug, and the side effect was a total wipe of his memories.


    It forced them to connect the dots. They heavily suspected this was Chad''s deliberate doing!


    Emeric was rapidly rushed to the neurology department for aprehensive scan. Evadne contacted Chad. Completely ignoring his own severe injuries, the man practically flew to the hospital.


    Half an hourter, Mr. Larry stepped out of the examination room.


    "How is he? Is it temporary amnesia? He''s going to recover, right?!" Evadne seized


    the hem of Mr. Larry''s coat, her red-rimmed eyes burning with desperate hope. "Chairman Emeric is..."


    At that moment, the rapid sound of footsteps echoed down the hall.


    From the other end of the corridor, Chad, Alexia, and several of their subordinates marched aggressively toward Evadne.