Chapter 101 Above the Law
Evelyn didn’t wait for the end of the workday.
The moment she stepped out of the office, she headed straight for her car and drove fast.
Her thoughts moved faster.
‘What had Lena found?’
—
By the time she reached Lena’s place, the sky had already begun to dim.
She didn’t knock properly—just pushed the door open and stepped in.
Lena was exactly where she expected her to be.
Curled up on the couch in an oversized sweatshirt, hair tied up messily, laptop balanced on her thighs. The glow from the screen lit her face as she typed.
She looked up the moment Evelyn entered.
Her eyes widened slightly.
“Did you bring me anything?”
Evelyn stared at her.
“No. I drove straight here.”
She crossed the room quickly and dropped onto the couch beside her.
Lena clicked her tongue. “Unbelievable.”
Evelyn didn’t indulge her.
“What did you find?”
Lena didn’t answer immediately.
Her gaze lingered on the laptop screen, her fingers tapping once against the edge.
Then she exhaled.
“I’ve been digging into the Hayes family for the past few days,” she said. “Finances, shell companies, partnerships—everything.”
Evelyn leaned forward slightly.
“And?”
“At first?” Lena gave a small, humorless laugh. “I found nothing. They were too clean.”
Evelyn frowned.
Lena shifted, pulling the laptop closer as she turned the screen slightly away, as if the walls could hear.
“I had to stop looking at them directly,” she continued. “So I went around them.”
Evelyn’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“What do you mean?”
“I tracked indirect movements,” Lena said. “Third-party funding channels. Anonymous donations. Research grants that don’t match declared outputs.”
She tapped the screen.
“Then I cross-referenced those with restricted access databases.”
Evelyn listened to her carefully.
“I rerouted through an old academic server tied to medical licensing boards,” she said. “Something no one would think to check.”
She paused.
“That’s when I found it.”
Evelyn felt her pulse pick up.
“Found what?”
Lena looked at her. This time there was no humor in her expression.
“A facility,” she said.
“A medical research facility.”
Evelyn’s heart thudded.
“What kind of research?”
“I couldn’t go deep enough to see full records,” Lena replied. “The system is layered. Heavily protected. I backed out before I got flagged.”
She went silent.
“But the fragments I saw…” Lena trailed off.
Evelyn’s fingers curled against her knees.
“Lena.”
Lena lifted her gaze fully.
“They’re not testing drugs, Evelyn.”
The words settled heavily.
“They’re testing people.”
For a moment, Evelyn didn’t react.
Then a sharp ringing filled her ears.
Her vision blurred slightly as something cold shot through her chest.
She reached up, pressing her fingers to her temple.
“Eve?”
Lena’s voice sounded distant.
“Hey—what’s wrong?”
The ringing faded slowly.
Evelyn drew in a breath and lowered her hand.
“I’m fine,” she said. Her voice came out strained than she intended.
Her mind moved quickly.
“Did you find where it is?” she asked.
“Or how Hayes is connected to it?”
Lena shook her head.
“No. And I don’t think we should try.”
Evelyn’s gaze snapped to her.
“What?”
“This isn’t something small,” Lena said. “The deeper I traced it, the worse it got.”
She hesitated.
“Evelyn… this isn’t just Hayes.”
Evelyn felt her stomach drop.
“What do you mean?”
Lena leaned back slightly.
“The funding trails don’t stop with them,” she said. “There are other names. Big ones.”
Evelyn’s breath caught.
“Multiple wealthy families are connected to that facility. Indirectly, but consistently.”
The room felt smaller.
“For something to be this hidden,”
Lena continued, “it either operates outside the law…”
Her voice lowered.
“…or above it.”
Evelyn’s fingers tightened.
“What do we do? How did Nathan and Roman connect to all this?” She asked.
The question came out quieter than she expected.
“The Hayes family, how did they even—”
Lena studied her.
“You said Nathan wasn’t normal,”
she said. “The way he was acting—”
Evelyn nodded quickly, recounting it again—the erratic behavior, the desperation and fear.
Lena’s expression darkened.
“Then he might have been used as a subject.”
Evelyn went cold.
Silence fell between them for a while.
“But Roman…”
Lena stopped mid-sentence.
Something shifted in her expression. Her eyes widened slightly.
“Eve…”
Evelyn felt the change immediately.
“What?”
Lena hesitated.
“Roman used to be a doctor, right?”
Evelyn stiffened as she stared at Lena.
“His specialty…”
“Experimental Medicine and Neuroscience…” Evelyn continued quietly, her hands trembling.
Lena swallowed.
“...And chemical toxicology.” She added
The words hung between them.
“Eve… if this is connected—”
Evelyn's heart skipped.
“No!”
Evelyn shook her head immediately.
“No,” she repeated, her voice unsteady now. “We’re not doing this.”
She reached forward and shut the laptop.
The screen went dark.
“I don’t want us involved in this,” she said. “At all.”
Her grip tightened around Lena’s hand.
“Please.”
Her eyes glistened slightly.
“I can’t help Nathan,” she added quietly. “And I don’t want Roman in all of this.”
Lena watched her for a moment.
Then nodded.
“Alright,” she said. “I’ll delete everything.”
Evelyn exhaled slowly.
“Thank you.”
But she didn’t let go.
“There’s something else,” she said.
Lena raised a brow.
Evelyn leaned in slightly, lowering her voice.
“I still need you to help with one thing.”
Lena’s eyes sharpened.
“But I don't want you to do it directly,” Evelyn added. “I don’t want anything traced back to you.”
She leaned closer and whispered something in Lena's ear.
Lena’s lips slowly curved.
When Evelyn pulled back, Lena was already smiling.
“Well,” Lena said, her voice laced with amusement, “look at you.”
Evelyn frowned slightly. “What?”
“You’ve changed.”
Evelyn shifted uncomfortably.
"What's that supposed to mean?”
Lena leaned back, studying her.
“You’re not pretending to be nice anymore,” she said. “Look at you. Scheming. Plotting. Being actually shrewd for once.”
Her smile widened.
“What has Roman been teaching you?”
Evelyn pressed her lips together.
Lena wasn't wrong. She had changed.
A knock sounded at the door startling them.
“Who’s that?” they said at the same time.
Evelyn turned her head slowly and gave Lena a look.
“It’s your house. You don’t know who’s visiting?”
Lena didn’t even lift her head from the couch. “And how many people do you think I know well enough to visit me at home?”
Another knock followed. More insistent this time.
Evelyn raised a brow. “Are you going to get that?”
Lena waved a hand lazily and pulled the blanket closer around herself. “If I ignore it long enough, they’ll go away.”
Evelyn stared at her.
Then reached over and yanked the blanket off on her.
“Hey—!”
“What kind of person are you?” Evelyn said, already standing. “I still can’t tell if you’re an introvert or just antisocial.”
Lena grabbed the blanket back and dragged it over her head. “Go away.”
Evelyn sighed.
“Fine. I’ll get it.”
She walked to the door and pulled it open.
A faint, clean masculine scent reached her first.
Then she looked up.
Her lips curved instantly.
“Lena,” she called out, her voice carrying easily into the room, “your husband is here.”
There was a sudden rustle behind her.
Evelyn didn’t need to turn to know Lena had shot up from the couch.
Footsteps followed
Evelyn stepped aside slightly as Rhys walked in, a bouquet of deep red roses in his hand, his appearance as neat and composed as ever.
Lena had already halfway retreated toward her room.
Evelyn moved faster.
She caught her by the wrist and pulled her back.
“Where are you going?” she asked lightly, her grip firm.
Lena lowered her voice immediately. “Let me go wash my face.”
Evelyn tilted her head. “He’s already inside.”
Lena froze.
Slowly, she turned.
“Hi,” she said, forcing a smile as she stepped forward.
Rhys looked at her steadily, then held out the bouquet.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said. “So I came to ask why.”
Lena let out a small, awkward laugh as she took the flowers from him.
“Have I?”
Evelyn stood to the side, watching, her amusement barely concealed.
Her friend, the one who never got flustered by anything, was blushing.
“Next time,” Lena said suddenly, looking down at the flowers, “you should bring food instead.”
Evelyn closed her eyes briefly.
‘Of course.’
Rhys didn’t miss a beat.
“I considered that,” he said. “That’s why I’m taking you out.”
Lena looked up.
“A date?” she repeated.
Then shook her head instinctively. “I don’t—”
She didn’t finish.
Evelyn had already stepped in, her hand clamping over Lena’s mouth.
“She’ll get ready,” Evelyn said smoothly.
Before Lena could struggle, Evelyn dragged her toward the bedroom.
“Get dressed,” she muttered under her breath. “Or you’ll die alone one day.”
She pushed her inside and shut the door behind her.
Evelyn stood there for a while, then turned back toward the living room.
Rhys was still standing where she had left him.
She gave him a small, approving nod.
“Good luck.”
Then she grabbed her bag.
“Enjoy your evening.”
She didn’t wait for a reply before stepping out.
—
By the time she reached her car, the night had settled fully.
The air was cooler now.
She slipped into the driver’s seat and fastened her seatbelt.
Her phone rang just as she started the engine.
Evelyn glanced at the screen.
Roman.
Her fingers paused before she answered.
“Hello—”
“Where are you?” His voice came in calmly, but there was an edge beneath it.