My Dad Is An SSS Lycan!

Chapter 18

“Take another look,” Diana shrugged, her voice light, as if explaining something to a slow child. “This ending was your choice. Don’t look at us as if we were the ones who pushed you off the cliff.”

Elena didn’t respond. She didn’t have the strength to. Her heart had been broken too many times, now it only beat as a mechanism for survival. Empty.

Reginald sat down, crossing his legs, hand slowly stroking the top of his cane like a wartime gentleman: “A man like him — silent as stone, poor as dirt — can only live by swallowing pride and clinging to women. But women should know how to judge a man. Too bad you weren’t smart enough to choose right.”

“No, Father,” Diana corrected, “she was smart. But it’s the half-smart ones that end up screwed. If she were completely stupid, maybe she’d be pampered like a lapdog in someone’s home by now.”

The words caught in Elena’s throat.

Not because of how cruel they were — but because in that moment, she knew: if she collapsed, no one would catch her. If she stopped breathing, no one would rush to save her.

They didn’t see her as a person.

And Zeyan… the only one still standing beside her… did nothing but stand there and watch.

“I really want to know,” Diana leaned on the table, tilting her head at Zeyan like observing a curious creature, “what made you think you could walk in here, say ‘three billion dollars’, then stand there like a statue and expect people to believe you?”

Zeyan didn’t look at her.

“You thought she needed a hero?” She laughed, eyes glinting with mock pity. “She doesn’t. Because if she did, then at the very least, you’d have to be able to stand in this room and do something other than stay silent.”

Reginald added, his tone as steady as if copying out a death sentence: “Her weakness was believing in someone who exists in no system. Your stupidity was thinking promises were worth as much as a signature. And the end of both of you is that girl — bought, sold, bargained like a product.”

Elena looked at her daughter. She couldn’t cry anymore. Every trace of resistance within her had died. Under the white lights, Lyra’s small face seemed blurred. As if she wasn’t even there.

Marven had set his pen back on the table. “I’m starting to feel like we’re wasting time. If no one has anything else to say, I’ll sign.”

Zeyan still didn’t react.

Elena closed her eyes.

In that moment, there were no voices in her mind, no screams, no cries. Just a void — so deep it felt like she was floating in a space without gravity.

Then suddenly, the sound of a door opening broke the silence.

Not loud. Not rushed. Just a soft creak of hinges, but enough to pull the whole room back down to earth.

The man who entered wore a pale blue shirt, jacket draped over one arm, silver-rimmed glasses, a folder tucked under his arm — calm and composed enough to halt every gaze.

Marven was the first to speak: “Excuse me, who let you in?”

The man flipped open an ID badge, voice not loud, but precise in every syllable: “Lucas Haynes. Independent Oversight Bureau, Department of Bioethics Regulation.”

Marven frowned. “What bureau?”

Lucas stepped forward, eyes not lingering on anyone for more than a second: “Regional Office for Biosafety and Coordination. I’ve been assigned to inspect the status of several research programs flagged for severe risk. This site is one of the targeted locations.”

Diana stood up, raising an eyebrow, still unsure what to make of it. “Who sent you?”

Lucas didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pulled a red-sealed envelope from the folder and placed it on the table before Marven: “Authorization documents. Inspection order. And an injunction to freeze all transfers of Alpha-grade gene specimens with unverified origin.”

Reginald’s expression changed. “What kind of game is this?”

Lucas’s face remained blank. “It’s not a game, sir. It’s a preliminary investigation under standard procedure. Based on reports from three bloodline data extraction facilities. Signs of uncontrolled mutation. The specimen in question has been identified as Lyra Ashbourne.”

Diana narrowed her eyes: “You think you have the authority to interrupt a contract worth hundreds of millions and freeze it?”

Lucas didn’t turn his head: “I’m not asking. I’m informing. The order was effective before I even arrived.”

Marven’s fingers tightened slightly on the pen. “Your agency doesn’t have the jurisdiction to interfere with special-grade clinical research. My paperwork was approved by the Alpha Technical Council six months ago.”

Lucas lightly tapped the envelope: “You should re-read Clause 3.2. It states that any specimen with ambiguous lineage — especially if showing gene leakage or transgenic anomalies — must undergo a temporary suspension of research rights. Regardless of prior approvals.”

Diana crossed her arms: “How interesting. A field inspector talking like a chief justice.”

Lucas didn’t smile. Didn’t reply.

And throughout the entire time, he hadn’t once looked at Zeyan. Not once. As if the man was just a faint shadow behind Elena. Someone unworthy of attention.

Zeyan didn’t look back at Lucas either.

There was no shared glance.

No nod.

No silent understanding.

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