Vanessa bit her lip so hard it almost bled. Eleanor''s words had left her with noeback.


    "But no matter what, he did it for me. Did he ever do that for you?" Vanessa persisted, desperate to provoke Eleanor.


    Eleanor sneered. "I wasn''t a research subject he needed to manipte. He didn''t have to do those things for me."


    The implication was clear: Vanessa had always been just a research subject, and everythingn did was merely a necessary means to ensure her cooperation.


    Vanessa''s eyes shed with frustration. When had Eleanor be so clear- headed? Shouldn''t she be provoked by all this?


    "If you want to walk away from this with any dignity, there''s only one path: cooperate and do what you''re supposed to do. It will be better for both of us," Eleanor warned her coldly.


    Vanessa grabbed her bag and red at Eleanor. "Eleanor, do you really think he''ll treat you sincerely just because you''re on his side now? The only people he''s ever loved are his family. You''re just an outsider."


    Eleanor watched her leave with an air of distaste. "Vanessa, save your breath. Your attempts to provoke me are useless."


    Vanessa''s chest heaved with frustration. Eleanor''s imperviousness was a major setback. Every carefully crafted barb she had thrown felt like it had been plunged into cotton.


    "Fine. Just make sure you don''t go crawling back to him. If you do, I''ll be the first to look down on you," Vanessa said, forcing a triumphant smile as she left.


    As the door mmed shut, Eleanor sat back down in her chair and took a sip of her lukewarm coffee. Vanessa''s words hadn''t been entirely without effect, but she was no longer the person who could be so easily swayed by her emotions.


    She knew exactly what kind of mann was—calm, rational, calcting, and willing to do whatever it took to achieve his goals.


    He might have never loved Vanessa, but it was equally likely he had never truly loved her either. From the very beginning, their rtionship had been entangled with too manyplex factors. She had naively walked into the situation back then, and getting hurt was the inevitable oue.


    Now, her focus was clear: to ensure her daughter had a healthy, worry-free future.


    In the blood collection room, Vanessa rolled up her sleeve and exposed her arm. When the nurse swabbed her skin with an alcoho wipe, @shiver ran through her. She watched the needle pierce her vein, and the crimson blood slowly fill the collection tube. It felt as if her dignity was being drawn out along with it.


    After the nurse skillfully finished, she handed Vanessa a packet of pills. "Miss Shannon, these are iron supplements Dr. Smith prescribed for you. Please take them as directed when you get home. They''ll help you get better."


    Vanessa took the packet and set it aside. With Eleanor here, she was wary of everything in this ce, unsure if Eleanor might try to get revenge.


    But she still put it in her bag. Pressing a cotton ball to the injection site, she wanted to flee this ce immediately. As she walked unsteadily out of the room, she saw someone at the corner of the hallway.


    He was standing there, as if waiting for someone. His figure was tall and straight, his profile sharp and cold Sunlight streamed in through the. hallway window, casting a halo around him, but it couldn''t prate the depths of his eyes.


    Vanessa''s heart skipped a beat. She subconsciously smoothed her hair. No matter how many times it happened, no matter how cruel he was, she was still drawn to this man.


    Just then, a slender figure in a whiteb coat emerged from another hallway. Eleanor walked over to him, holding aptop. She paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping coolly overn.


    A sharp pain pierced Vanessa''s


    chest. She watched asn immediately fell into step with Eleanor, reaching out to take theptop from her hands Eleanor said something, and he withdrew his hand. Then he asked her a question, and as she answered,fleaned in closer to listen-


    Vanessa stood frozen, the needle mark on her arm throbbing faintly. Watching them, she was overwhelmed by a wave of intense anger and resentment.


    Taking a deep breath, she pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Lawyer Brown? I have a stock agreement I''d like you to look at."


    Vanessa had to break free fromn''s control. She needed to see if there were any legal loopholes in that contract she could exploit. She couldn''t spend the rest of her life as amb waiting to be ughtered byn and Eleanor.