Chapter 307: Jane's Madness

Chapter 307: Jane's Madness

The Golden Spoon.

At six a.m., a knock sounded on Andrew's private lounge door.

"Mr. Smith, you need to see this." Victor handed over the gilt-edged folder.

Andrew flipped it open. His pupils contracted sharply.

Jane's handwriting was frantic and illegible, like the ravings of someone mentally unhinged: Through GX-9 medication combined with hypnotherapy, we can weaken subjects' autonomous consciousness—Phase One has been validated on seventeen targets... The ultimate goal is to establish an absolutely loyal inner circle...

At the end of the document was a list of names. Sophia's name stood out starkly, marked as "Special Experimental Target."

Even more chilling were the photos in the appendix—young men and women standing behind Jane with vacant stares, like puppets whose souls had been extracted.

A vein throbbed at Andrew's temple. Project White Dove wasn't some sci-fi conspiracy theory. It was a real crime carried out by a madwoman using actual drugs.

And Jane was planning to turn his only sister into a test subject.

"Mr. Smith, the Bogart Museum basement wasn't Jane's lab. Sophia already broke in there before. Why didn't Jane destroy or relocate those files? It's almost like—"

Victor paused mid-sentence, but Andrew instantly understood the unspoken half: It's almost like she deliberately left them for us to find.

What the hell was Jane playing at?

Andrew's fingers clenched the paper's edge before he flung it away in frustration. Documents scattered across the floor.

One page drifted to his feet. On it, Jane had scrawled in red ink: When the drug destroys the old personality, a new deity will descend.

"Get the car ready," he said, grabbing his suit jacket. "We're going to Applewood Estate."

 

Morning sunlight filtered through the windows into the living room as Sophia stared at her laptop screen, fingers tapping lightly against her thigh.

On-screen, the hashtag #VertexInnovationsGroupCEOForcedCousinIntoProstitution had climbed to the top of trending topics. Attached was a tearful video confession from her cousin, Carter Wilson.

Michael tossed his tablet onto the table, displaying sentiment monitoring data. "Over a hundred million views. Three major news outlets have already run feature stories."

Sophia clicked on the video. Carter's face—one she'd never bothered to remember—appeared on screen.

His moderately handsome features showed faint lines of age, his expression full of manufactured weariness. "My cousin Sophia used her power and influence to force my parents to repay debts, then orchestrated my five-year stint as a host at a nightclub..."

The video cut off. Sophia closed the laptop and turned toward the window. "Did you track it down?"

"Carter was fired from the club three months ago. Last month he suddenly moved into a luxury apartment in the East District." Michael pulled up a file. "Interesting detail—the apartment's owner is a former Smith Pharmaceuticals shareholder named Kurt Lowe."

Sophia's fingertips traced the rim of her coffee cup absently as she murmured, "Smith Pharmaceuticals... Kurt..."

Suddenly her pupils dilated. She whipped around to face Michael. "K!"

Michael's gaze flickered. If Kurt was K, everything made sense.

Back at Smith Pharmaceuticals, Kurt and Jane had been partners in illegal drug research. He'd joined Project White Dove under the codename "K." Now he was letting Carter use his luxury apartment—all part of Jane's plan to destroy Sophia's reputation.

"But I don't understand why Jane's targeting me." Sophia's brow furrowed deeply. She'd never had any conflict with Jane—not even competing business interests.

When she'd left the Smith family years ago, she and Jane could still exchange pleasant small talk when they crossed paths.

After years of no contact, Jane was suddenly coming after her repeatedly, targeting Vertex Innovations Group specifically.

It made no sense.

Was Jane blaming her for the Smith Group's bankruptcy?

But based on what Sophia knew of Jane, she definitely wasn't the type to care about the Smith Group's fate.

"People's hearts change in an instant," Michael said, settling beside Sophia and gently taking her hand. "Don't overthink it. Just handle the immediate crisis first."

The words had barely left his mouth when the security door swung open. Andrew strode in, his cold gaze sweeping toward Sophia.

Just as she expected him to interrogate her about the trending scandal, he spoke with detached calm: "There's new intel."

Not a single word about the news.

Only then did Sophia remember Andrew's operating style. He never questioned her methods, never cared what outrageous things she did or how much chaos she caused. He always stood back.

She used to think Andrew's attitude meant indifference, that he simply didn't care.

Now she realized—he trusted her ability to handle it herself.

The thought brought an involuntary smile to her lips, which she quickly suppressed. "What did you find?"

Andrew: "Jane's insane."

Sophia: "What?"

It was too complicated to explain in a few words. Andrew simply tossed the gilt folder over. "See for yourself. Have your doctor friend take a look too."

Sophia opened the folder with confusion. As she read, the furrow between her brows deepened. "Jane's truly lost her mind."

Michael leaned over to look. His eyes immediately caught Sophia's name on the list, and a chill ran through him. "Sophia was marked as 'failed' on another list. Why is she a priority experimental target in this document?"

Andrew settled into the armchair, crossing his legs as he lit a cigarette. Blue smoke obscured his ruthless expression as he exhaled slowly. "Check the dates."

Sophia flipped to the last page. She remembered the previous list had been at least a decade old.

But this document was pristine. The date at the bottom read: six months ago.

Six months ago—well before the Smith Group's bankruptcy, before Maggie's arrest. Jane had already been planning to turn her into one of the "White Doves."

Clearly, Jane's hostility toward her didn't stem from the Smith Group's collapse.

Michael pulled out a photo that had been partially visible in the file. His pupils dilated in shock.

He held the photo in front of Sophia, pointing to a blurry figure standing in the corner. "Is this Lynn?"

At those words, Sophia's attention snapped to the image. One glance was all she needed. "Call Nate. Now."