Chapter 162

Chapter 162
Fiona's POV

"They're lying! That mother and son from the bakery!"

Raymond's head snapped up, a flash of ferocity gleaming in his impulsive eyes.

"Raymond, calm down!" I barked sharply. "Charging out there now will only tip them off!"

Raymond's breath came in heavy gasps, his chest heaving violently, but under my steady gaze, he finally unclenched his fists with visible reluctance.

"Follow me."

I led the two of them silently around to the front entrance of the bakery.

"Rasen," I approached quickly, my face carefully arranged into an expression of appropriate urgency and gravity. "The guard patrol just discovered what appears to be Diana's trail near the abandoned mine pit five kilometers outside the city—there are signs of a struggle. I need you to go with them to search. Perhaps only you can find her!"

"The mine pit? A struggle?"

Rasen shot to his feet, his face draining of color in an instant, the worry in his eyes genuine enough. "Why would she go there... I'll leave right now!"

"Raymond, go with him."

I shot Raymond a meaningful look, trusting he would understand. For the next stretch of time, he needed to find a way to keep Rasen occupied.

Watching their hurried figures disappear into the distance, the anxiety in my eyes dissolved instantly, replaced by an icy coldness.

I didn't leave. Instead, I pulled Kelly into a shadowed alley across from the bakery.

"You sent him away," Kelly said, leaning against the wall with one hand gently resting on her rounded belly. "You suspect Yulia?"

"It's intuition."

I fixed my gaze on the bakery's closed door like a hawk watching prey.

"I don't believe Rasen would actually harm Diana. That foolish boy's eyes can't lie—he truly loves her." I paused, a cold smile curling at the corner of my mouth. "And don't forget, all the evidence points to one fact: Yulia was the last person to see Diana."

"If Diana really didn't leave the city, then she must still be inside that building."

Kelly and I crouched in the shadows like two statues, barely breathing.

Finally, the bakery's sign light went dark.

The wooden door with its "Open" sign was pulled open from inside, and Yulia poked her head out, glancing left and right. The night concealed her expression, but I could sense something furtive and panicked in her movements, something absent from her usual demeanor.

She slipped out quickly, but instead of heading toward the route home, she pressed herself against the wall and moved rapidly toward the standalone flour warehouse several dozen meters away.

Rasen usually managed that warehouse; Yulia rarely went there alone, especially not late at night.

"Follow her."

I lowered my voice and gave Kelly a look.

Yulia pulled a key from her coat, her hand trembling slightly as she tried twice before managing to insert it into the lock.

With a soft click, the warehouse's heavy iron door was pushed open just wide enough for her to slip through like a mouse, then quickly pulled shut behind her.

But in that brief moment before the door closed, by the faint moonlight, I saw that she didn't head toward the shelves stacked with flour sacks. Instead, she walked straight toward the deepest corner of the warehouse—

There was what appeared to be an unremarkable patch of empty floor, but Yulia stopped there, bending down as if moving something heavy.

A hidden door?

Kelly and I exchanged glances, and she gave me a firm nod.

I understood her meaning. The scent here was unmistakable—

Diana was here.

"Aunt Yulia!"

Kelly's acting skills exploded into full force as she pounded on the bakery door.

"Aunt Yulia, are you there? Something's happened! Please open up!"

To my surprise, within minutes, Yulia actually opened the bakery's front door!

This meant the hidden passage from the warehouse must connect to the inside of the bakery!

"Thank goodness you haven't gone to bed yet! Rasen—Rasen's been injured. He got into a fight with some rogue wolf gang outside the city. You need to come to the hospital with me right away!"

Kelly effortlessly managed to draw Yulia away, giving me the chance to slip through that hidden door.

A bone-chilling cold rushed at me, accompanied by the sharp scent of disinfectant and some strange chemical odor.

Beyond the door lay a spacious, high-tech laboratory.

Various instruments whose names I didn't know flickered with an eerie blue light. In the center stood a surgical table, and beside it, inside a life-support pod, floated a familiar figure.

Pale. Still. Golden-haired.

My God!

That was my mother—Isabella!

My vision pierced through the icy white mist, and I finally saw clearly what lay on the surgical table.

In that moment, my blood seemed to freeze instantly.

Diana lay there quietly, eyes closed, her face as pale as paper.

Her wrists and ankles were locked in heavy silver shackles, a special alloy that emanated a ghostly cold light.

"Diana!"

I lunged forward, trying to pry open the restraints.

But the moment my fingertips touched the metal, a searing pain shot through my nerves straight to the top of my skull. This was the bane of werewolves, and for someone with Golden Wolf bloodline like myself, it possessed equally lethal corrosive power.

"It's useless, Fiona."

A cold voice emerged from the shadows of the laboratory.

Yulia stepped out slowly. She was no longer the gentle baker in an apron dusted with flour, but wore a deep purple robe, her face twisted and fanatical beneath the hood.

"Three days ago, I added specially prepared silver powder to that cup of coffee," Yulia said, stroking Diana's cheek with her eyes fixed on her like a perfect work of art. "Such pure Arctic Wolf bloodline—it's the rarest experimental material that God—no, that science—could possibly bestow."

"How are you here!" I stared at her in disbelief. "You were clearly—"

"You mean the 'me' that naive pregnant woman saw when she knocked on the door? Don't be ridiculous. Has she ever actually met me? All it took was a servant wearing my clothes and styled with my haircut, and that near-sighted fool naturally assumed it was Yulia, didn't she?"

Damn it!

I had completely overlooked that detail!

"Yulia, what exactly are you trying to do?!" I clutched my burned hand, glaring at her through clenched teeth. "So you're the one behind Laboratory Zero—you're the Holy Mother Marshal?"

"Holy Mother Marshal... such a sacred title." Yulia spread her arms as if embracing some kind of faith. "Yes, I am. But more than that, I'm a mother—a mother driven mad by this world!"

The viciousness in her eyes gradually transformed into deep sorrow.

"Do you know what happened the day Rasen was born? After being raped by that Black Wolf noble, I gave birth to this mixed-blood werewolf whose very cries were despised. I was an excellent nurse, but I was fired from the hospital for bearing a mongrel. For so many years, we lived like rats in the gutter!"

"Until I met my mentor—he was the true founder of Laboratory Zero. He rescued my son and me from hell itself and rebuilt my faith. Mixed-blood inferior breeds like these should never exist! What we must create are truly powerful warriors, a superior human race that will never have to fear werewolves!"

"Yes, my mentor passed away over a decade ago, but I've persevered in carrying on his legacy. I must see this work through to completion. For that, I need powerful allies and an endless stream of funding."

"You must be wondering why people like Arthur and Lucian would allow themselves to be manipulated by me? Of course, it's because they all have something they desire, vulnerabilities to exploit!"