?Chapter 941:


    Whatever confidence Lucinda walked in with evaporated. Her fingers curled into fists as her temper spiraled out of control.


    N stepped forward, cool andposed, cing a hand on Lucinda’s arm. “Stop it. There’s no need to stoop to her level. We’re here for a party—remember that.”


    Grinding her teeth, Lucinda forced a breath into her lungs. She reminded herself that tonight wasn’t about petty insults. It was about celebrating N’s promotion. With her fury barely restrained, she tilted her head and smiled condescendingly. “You two make a lovely pair—loud, tasteless, andpletely ordinary. You belong together.” Lucinda’s eyes shifted to Elena with a calcted smirk. “Starting today, N bes the youngest Deputy Director in the Base Medical Center’s history. And soon, the Healer will officially name N as her disciple. Once that happens, she’ll be in line to take over the entire center. People like you? You won’t even be…


    Allowed near the door. Pride gleamed in Lucinda’s expression like polished steel. Being close to someone destined for greatness made her feel superior to everyone else in the room. She nced down her nose at Elena and Charlette as if they were little more than window dressing in a ce that demanded substance. Rumor had it—thanks to Webster—that Elena had no real merit. Word was she had wormed her way into the research institute by seducing Kason.


    To Lucinda, Elena had no business being anywhere near the Azure Dragon Unit Base. In her mind, only disgrace followed women like that.


    Without saying a word, Elena locked her eyes on N. Her gaze was calm, but there was something razor-sharp beneath the stillness. The Healer intended to officially take N as a disciple? That was news to her. Why had she never heard about this? By now, Avo was already en route to Tauledo. Once he tracked down Commander Rayne, the truth behind N’s connection—orck thereof—woulde to light. She didn’t intend to confront N just yet. Watching the lie unravel on its own seemed far more satisfying. Besides, she wasn’t sure where Commander Rayne truly stood when it came to N.


    Rumors had once floated from Lucinda’s mouth that N was Commander Rayne’s niece. If that part turned out to be true, and if Commander Rayne genuinely cared about N, Elena was willing to look the other way. For his sake, not N’s. But if that connection was another lie? Something dangerous flickered in Elena’s eyes, sharp enough to slice. Should the truth prove N a fraud, she wouldn’t bother holding back. There was no doubt in her mind that Avo would find Commander Rayne. It was only a matter of time.


    Cold and deliberate, Elena’s voice cut through the space like frost. “Is that so? Funny thing about lies—they always fall apart. And whatever’s built on deception never stays standing.”


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    Lucinda didn’t take kindly to that. She snapped at Elena, fury shing in her eyes, “What’s that supposed to mean? What lies? You’re just bitter that N’s better than you!”


    A subtle shift ran through N the moment Elena’s words were said. Her pulse stuttered, and her eyes darted briefly toward Elena. Uncertainty crept into her expression. She couldn’t tell if Elena was simply bluffing, or if she actually knew something.


    N’s hands curled into tight fists at her sides, struggling to mask the fury simmering beneath herposed exterior as she stared at Elena’s unreadable face. Those veiledments from Elena hadn’t been isted slips—they’d been repeated, deliberate. Was Elena hinting at something deeper?


    As far as N was concerned, every lie she’d crafted had been seamless, leaving no breadcrumbs for anyone within the base to follow. But Elena wasn’t one of them—she came from outside the base. A flicker of suspicion crept into N’s thoughts. Could Elena somehow be linked to the Healer?


    N quickly shut the idea down. The Healer operated in shadows, her identity buried deeper than any state secret. No one had everid eyes on her true self. Why would someone like Elena, who had used her allure to slither her way into the base, have any connection to someone as elusive and powerful as the Healer?


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