Chapter 197 - 196: Asher is Hiding Too Many Things from Cecilia Caldwell

Chapter 197: Chapter 196: Asher is Hiding Too Many Things from Cecilia Caldwell

I’m pretty much caught up on what happened after that.

Asher’s genius suddenly blossomed. He got into a program for gifted students as a teenager and became famous overnight.

And it was at this time that the Lancaster Family gleefully came to take Asher back.

Heh...

How ironic.

Human nature... Just how ugly can it get?

"Then what about Charlie?" Lucas Grant asked nervously.

’Was that Charlie a gene-edited baby too?’

"Do you know why the rich want to edit genes? Because they want their children to be the next Einstein, the next Rockefeller." Asher’s voice was low as he looked at Lucas Grant. "But God’s creation of humanity is a miraculous thing. Every so often, a natural genius appears, driving the world’s development..."

"The invisible hand that edits human genes can only belong to God."

"But there are always those who madly believe they can replace God, or even that they can create God."

Asher’s words were crystal clear.

Charlie was a natural genius.

A one-in-a-billion prodigy, born that way.

But Asher, on the other hand, had been artificially engineered.

He possessed the best genes, which were then further modified and enhanced.

He was a person born to stand at the apex.

"The woman who gestated me was a quarter Jewish. You see... genes can be passed down and inherited. That’s the miracle of humanity, and the terror of genetics." Asher looked at the researchers. "Let me ask you: if the law didn’t forbid it, wouldn’t you want your child to be born at the apex?"

The thought was insane, but it laid human nature bare.

"Wouldn’t you want your child to be born a genius, naturally resistant to all kinds of diseases?"

The researchers fell silent.

"But it’s uncontrollable. Enjoying that kind of advantage comes with too great a risk of genetic mutation. I wouldn’t dare let my child take that chance," one of the researchers said, shaking his head.

Asher nodded. "So... this matter must be thoroughly investigated."

’It will be difficult, but it has to be investigated.’

’The web behind all this must be torn down and burned to ash.’

"I’ve been investigating this for six years... but I’ve never been able to get to their core. I underestimated human nature, and I underestimated the terrifying nature of power and influence."

And he had underestimated the intelligence of the person behind it all.

Asher had long since concluded that the person orchestrating all this was anything but simple.

They had to be a genius even more brilliant than him.

"Who do you suspect?" Lucas Grant looked at Asher, his voice tense.

"Victor Quinn." Asher gripped my hand, his gaze firm.

It was as if he was telling me that he would get to the bottom of everything with me.

That he would always stay by my side.

That he would always protect me.

"But Victor Quinn isn’t necessarily the true mastermind. My trip to the mental hospital wasn’t just to find his weakness; it was also to test him. The man is highly ambitious and clever, but not *that* clever." Victor Quinn was smart, but not smart enough to orchestrate everything, to weave such a massive web.

Lucas Grant nodded. "Then we’ll start with him."

"As for the serial killer case, none of the victims were innocent," Asher said, looking at Lucas Grant. "The reason this killer has drawn so much public attention is that his ultimate goal... must be to expose this whole gene-editing affair."

"He’s telling us to wait and see. He’s provoking the people behind this web," Asher said, his voice low and raspy.

My breath came out hot. From a certain angle, the person behind the serial killings seemed more like a dissident, an enemy of those behind the web.

’The enemy of my enemy is my friend. So, was that why Asher wasn’t trying his hardest to find the serial killer? Did he want to sit back and profit from their conflict, to watch them tear each other apart?’

"Then what about Cecilia Caldwell?" Lucas Grant asked the same question I had asked earlier.

’If none of them were innocent, then what about Cecilia Caldwell?’

"She..." Asher’s hand trembled as he held mine. "She was the key. A test subject for the gene-editing experiment. A piece of incriminating evidence that should have been put in a glass display case. So..."

’So the people behind this killed me.’

I smiled bitterly.

’My genes were edited. I was gestated and born. What did I do wrong?’

’Why... why did I deserve to be ruthlessly murdered by them, to be used by everyone?’

I struggled, trying to pull away from Asher, but he held on tightly, his voice hoarse, as if pleading. "Cece..."

’He’s always like this whenever I get angry with him.’

’But I was murdered!’

’Is he still going to let the people behind this get away with it?’

"I have to find the serial killer!" I said, my voice firm and my eyes welling up. "I don’t care what your reasons are for protecting him, I can’t possibly... let him kill everyone and then deliver a heavy blow to the supposed mastermind behind this! Those are innocent lives!"

Even if those people are guilty, the law should be the one to punish them, not this serial killer!

Asher lowered his head, his breathing unsteady.

He still didn’t explain anything.

Still so stubborn...

I looked away, no longer holding out hope that he would help me with the serial killer case.

’I’ll find them myself.’

"There are no leads or progress on the serial killer case. Erin Whittaker has been courting death for so long, yet the killer hasn’t made a move. We can’t figure them out," Lucas Grant said with a shake of his head. "On the other hand, the dismembered body case has led us to a human trafficking ring. We suspect those ’natural’ genius teenagers have been sold as genetic carriers. They might even be facing a fate worse than Hell. We have to find them as quickly as possible."

I nodded, a wave of fear washing over me.

’Yes, we have to find those innocent geniuses first.’

They could be being used as breeding tools, as genetic carriers, as living sperm and egg banks... or even have every last drop of value wrung out of them.

"Police frequently entering and exiting the Riverside Road demolition zone will put the sex workers on high alert. Too many people in that line of work live there. Police investigations are useless; they’re like rats in the sewers, masters of hide-and-seek. But the more of a mixed bag a place is, the more likely we are to find a valuable clue," Lucas Grant analyzed.

To find the missing abducted youths, we had to go back to Number 38 Riverside Road.

"I know someone. Her name is Peach. She’s Charlie’s sister." I suddenly remembered that Peach lived there. ’She has a mild intellectual disability. If we’re gentle with her, we should be able to get some information.’

But the moment I mentioned Peach, Asher’s expression changed. "Absolutely not!"

He seemed very resistant to the idea of me seeing Peach. "She’s intellectually disabled, you won’t get anything out of her. Besides... that place is too chaotic, it’s not safe. I won’t let you go."

I frowned at Asher. ’He’s definitely hiding more than one thing from me.’

’And... the things in my mom’s journal about him imprisoning, kidnapping, and abusing me...’

’I still can’t tell if they’re true or not.’

’Asher.’

’Just what kind of person are you, really?’

"I’m going," I insisted. "Those kids have been missing for so many years. If they’re still alive, imagine how desperate they must be... I have to save them!"

After all, the disappearance of those young geniuses was closely connected to "Cecilia Caldwell."

Whether out of guilt or a desire to know the truth, I have to investigate.

Asher slowly loosened his grip on my hand, his voice raspy. "I’ll go with you..."

No matter what, we had to find those missing geniuses first.