Chapter 1409:


    What the base leader hadn’t yet discovered was that Kolton’s sins extended far beyond poisoning his father; he had also imprisoned and tormented his own son. Had he known the full scope of Kolton’s depravity, his entire understanding of human nature would have shattered into fragments.


    The truth was stark and simple: Kolton loved no one but himself. Paranoia coursed through his veins alongside ruthlessness and cunning. Trust was anguage he refused to speak.


    The elderly doctor paused, his difort visible in the way his shoulders sagged, and then pressed onward. “As for the third substance, the Idiot’s Vine, the name itself reveals its purpose. It dulls cognitive function catastrophically, causing the transmission of neural signals to degrade in progressive stages… In essence, it throttles the brain’s processing capacity, systematically reverting a person’s mental abilities back to those of early childhood.”


    The instant those words left his lips, every person in the room drew in a sharp, horrified breath.


    The base leader stumbled backward, nearly losing his footing entirely. Panic seized his voice. “Is there any method to purge these toxins from his body?”


    Around him, several others scowled with undisguised revulsion, their mutterings thick with rage. “Kolton Cooper is truly a demon wearing human skin. He’s nothing more than a savage beast.”


    In the CEO’s office of Cooper Group, Kiley pushed through the door, only to freeze as the leather swivel chair rotated slowly toward her.


    “Father?” The word escaped her lips in a startled whisper. “Why are you here?”


    Her mind raced immediately to the USB drive udius’s subordinate had pressed into her hand.


    Kolton upied the chair with predatory stillness, his eyes sharp as a hawk’s talons, studying Kiley with a coldness that stripped the warmth from the room—his face an unreadable mask.


    With practiced deliberation, he began tapping the desk in a slow, rhythmic pattern. Each tap resonated like a war drum striking directly against Kiley’s exposed nerves.


    gα?ησν????s．?оm takes you away


    Her pulse elerated violently. The blood drained from her lips, leaving them ghostly pale as the air itself seemed to crystallize around them, heavy and suffocating.


    After a fleeting exchange of nces with Kiley, Kolton stood, sping his hands behind his back, and advanced toward her with measured deliberation.


    The atmosphere thickened with each footfall he made. His shadow spilled across the carpet, elongated and threatening like an unsheathed de.


    “So this is the n you mentioned?” His voice emerged low and deliberate, every syble dripping with displeasure. The tone sliced through the space between them, sharp as a needle finding its mark in Kiley’s chest.


    Kiley flinched, caught off guard, yet beneath the surface a wave of relief washed through her—as though some crushing weight had finally rolled from her shoulders.


    Her father hadn’te for the USB drive—she’d spun herself into needless panic earlier. His concern fixated solely on tonight’s event and its aftermath.


    Kiley bowed her head. “Forgive me, Father… I never anticipated such a catastrophic fire.”


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