Chapter 127 Chapter 127
Therefore, the project was steeped in blood and secrets.
As she read the cold reports on cell degradation, Katherine felt her stomach churn. She couldn't help but remember the “poor wretches” that her mother, in her rare moments of delirium before she died, had mentioned as the human guinea pigs forced to participate in the tests.
According to the fragments of her mother's agonizing account, the scene in the underground laboratory that year could only be described as hell on earth.
The amount of technical material was massive. It took Katherine over an hour to finish reading, analyzing, and decoding everything.
With a calculating gleam in her eyes, she circled the main parts, compressed the file with new encryption, and quickly sent it to Antonio Malvares' secure server.
After all, at the heart of the deadly BRD-2 project, Daniela Arbex was the main developer and brilliant mind. It could be said with certainty that without Daniela's intellect, the hell of BRD-2 would never have existed.
When Antonio received the material from across town, his response was immediate. He was in absolute shock at Katherine's frightening competence in hacking into the Arbex family's digital fortress.
\[Mr. Malvares: My God, Kath. I took a quick look at the molecular structure. Our current line of research for the cure is exactly the same basis as this set of materials from 2003. That's a ten-year leap in our research! I'll show the chemistry team leaders first thing tomorrow morning.\]
\[Katherine: What about the biological materials from other years? Is there anything else on your end?\]
\[Mr. Malvares: Nothing. It's been a long time since 2003. They've covered their physical tracks perfectly. If you haven't found any material from later years on that computer, we'll have to keep searching in the dark.\]
The screen flashed with a new message from Antonio. A message that made her catch her breath.
\[Mr. Malvares: Katherine... since you found this top-secret information on João Arbex's personal server, he must know something about his aunt. Maybe he has the physical files locked away somewhere else. Have you thought about being honest with him? He... he likes you in a way I've never seen that man like anyone else. With his influence and power, he certainly wouldn't want to see the woman he loves die because of a poison from his own family.\]
Katherine stared at the cold light of the screen in the dark room. She didn't answer for a long moment.
Antonio had already mentioned and pushed this idea on her several times.
She even considered the possibility: sitting in João's office chair, looking him in the eye and negotiating directly, revealing who she was and what she was looking for.
But... doing so would make her feel like she was giving up her own soul. It would mean that she owed João a favor of vital proportions, a favor too heavy that she could never repay in the business world for the rest of her life.
And Katherine Lutz hated owing favors. It was the golden rule of her survival. If she could solve the problem by breaking down walls on her own and bleeding in the process, she would. Otherwise, she would negotiate fairly, as equals.
Just like when she negotiated with Jessica and Antonio Malvares: equivalent exchanges. One gave rare pharmaceutical materials, the other helped resolve a dangerous family dispute with her fists. Clean transactions.
But what about João?
When she thought of him—the warm touch of his hand on the back of her neck, the smell of sandalwood, the way his dark eyes devoured her—Katherine's sharp mind seemed to freeze in a short circuit.
What condition would the predator João Arbex demand in exchange for saving her life?
His heart?
Her freedom? Her body? And worse... would she be willing to surrender herself to him?
If she came clean and he refused to help out of loyalty to her late aunt, or if she couldn't pay the price he demanded, the breach of trust would be irreparable. She knew with painful certainty that she could no longer live under the same roof as the Arbex family.
The day she proposed this “exchange of lives” to João would inevitably be the day she would pack her bags and leave the Arbex Mansion forever, disappearing into thin air. Regardless of whether João agreed to hand over the documents, the dynamic between the two would change forever.
This was one of the very rare cases in the “Boss's” lethal and ruthless life in which she showed true indecision.
And, once again, the reason for her vulnerability had a first and last name: João Arbex.
The last time she had been so “indecisive,” unable to deliver a fatal blow or flee, was also because of his approach. The man was her only dangerous weakness.
She frowned in frustration. She closed her eyes tightly, smoothed her unruly bangs, and pinched her own arm to dispel the heat from her face and romantic thoughts before typing a cold and resolute response to Antonio.
\[Katherine: I'll take care of it myself. Continue synthesizing the antidote with what I sent you. Good night.\]
She closed her laptop, laid her head on the carpet next to Eros, and stared at the shadow-drenched ceiling, knowing that the countdown to João Arbex's return had begun.