Chapter 317 - 316: Julian Fletcher Imprisoned by Mrs. Fletcher?

Chapter 317: Chapter 316: Julian Fletcher Imprisoned by Mrs. Fletcher?

Meridia.

We were finally back in Meridia. Asher and I had returned home... However, Adrian and Stella had been detained by the police.

"Adrian and Stella’s situation is special. They said the kids need to take a psychological evaluation, and we can only take them home once they pass," I said, feeling worried. I was afraid the two little ones would fail the test. In a normal society, psychological evaluations consisted of perfectly ordinary questions, like asking why rabbits love eating carrots. But to Adrian and Stella, these questions would probably seem completely idiotic.

"They should... probably pass, right?" Asher looked a bit guilty. He coughed softly and went to wash some fruit for me.

Without Assistant Foster around, the house felt a bit empty. Stella was still barking wildly in the yard. In the brief moment I took to comfort our dog, Asher came back out with a plate of fruit.

"Why do you look so guilty?" I looked at Asher suspiciously.

He was limping, though it didn’t detract from his handsome features at all. "I managed to coax the name of the evaluating psychologist out of Lucas Grant beforehand. Then, I gave the two little ones the doctor’s detailed profile. They probably won’t fail the test."

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Lucas Grant and Zeke Shaw dropped Adrian and Stella off, both men sporting dark expressions. The moment the car door opened, Adrian and Stella hopped out and ran happily straight toward Asher and me. Stella panted with her tongue out. Seeing that Adrian and Stella were also sticking their tongues out adorably, the dog trotted over and affectionately nuzzled the two little ones.

"These two kids of yours are cunning little devils," Lucas said sarcastically.

"What’s wrong? Did they fail the evaluation?" I asked anxiously.

"They were the ones who evaluated the doctor," Lucas replied, his mouth twitching. "The psychologist asked Adrian why rabbits love eating carrots. He replied that rabbits don’t actually like carrots. They’re herbivores with long digestive tracts designed to process crude fiber. Since carrots don’t contain enough crude fiber, eating too many of them will cause diarrhea and even death." Lucas recounted Adrian’s exact answer with a dry, exasperated tone.

"Then, the doctor asked Stella: ’If a little kitten falls into the water and you don’t know how to swim, how would you save it?’" Lucas looked at me.

I inexplicably felt a bit nervous. I really wanted to know what Stella had answered.

"Stella said, ’I’d let my brother save it. He knows how to swim.’"

I breathed a sigh of relief. That sounded like an answer a normal child would give. Could Asher have taught her this too? I subconsciously turned to look at him. He had a terribly guilty look on his face. It was obvious that Asher was the one who had fed her that answer.

"Then the doctor asked, ’What if your brother doesn’t know how to swim either?’" Lucas kept his eyes on me. "And she replied, ’Then my brother is too stupid for not knowing how to swim.’"

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. This was exactly how a child’s innocence should be. But as I laughed, a wave of bitterness washed over me. I knew that Adrian and Stella’s innocence was something they had just learned to mimic.

"You all should get some good rest," Zeke chimed in. "Isaac Sullivan is back too and is currently receiving treatment at a private hospital. We’ll be following up on this case."

I nodded.

After Lucas and Zeke left, I crouched down in front of Adrian and Stella. "What would your real answers to the doctor’s questions have been? If a kitten fell into the water and neither of you knew how to swim, would you save it?"

Adrian and Stella exchanged a glance. "No."

Survival of the fittest. They would never waste their own lives just to save a cat. There was technically nothing wrong with that answer, but what scared me was the innate coldness they possessed—their utter disregard for life. "What if you did know how to swim? Would you save the kitten then?"

Adrian and Stella nodded. "If we knew how to swim, we would save it. Daddy said that the strong have an inherent responsibility and duty to protect the weak, but only within the limits of their own capabilities. If we can’t do it, we shouldn’t make meaningless sacrifices, because Mommy and Daddy would be worried."

I froze for a moment, then looked up at Asher. In that instant, I truly understood the meaning of education. I had never agreed with the belief that people were born inherently good. Some people were just born evil. But education was the only way to change all of that. And Asher... he truly was like a beam of light, constantly illuminating the path ahead of me.

"My Asher really is a wonderful, wonderful person," I murmured. He was someone who had always been good to his core.

"Welcome home," Asher said, opening his arms wide. He pulled Adrian and Stella into a hug again, scooping me and our dog, Stella, up into his embrace at the same time.

I smiled helplessly. This was so nice. This kind of happiness was something to be envied.

***

Over the course of a month’s recovery, we didn’t hear a single word leaked to the public about what had happened on the cruise ship. The authorities had likely investigated and spoken to everyone involved one by one. Now wasn’t the time to release the evidence and cause a mass panic.

The cruise ship belonged to a wealthy foreign tycoon. When the Meridia police collaborated with international forces to make an arrest, they discovered that the suspect had already committed suicide in his home. The clues seemed to hit a dead end right there. All the evidence pointed overseas.

Yet, there were absolutely no leads or evidence regarding the organizers of The Genetics Organization’s laboratory in Meridia. This was despite the fact that everyone already knew Julian Fletcher’s mother was the head of one of The Genetics Organization’s labs. As for where this laboratory was located, no one had been able to find out.

"Julian has most likely been imprisoned by his mother. Ever since he came back from the sea, the Fletcher family has been using the excuse that he was traumatized to prevent anyone from seeing him," Madeline Quinn said. She had come over alongside Zeke.

"We need Julian to cooperate with our investigation right now, but his mother refuses to play ball. We suspect he’s under house arrest," Zeke said with a sigh. Since the opposing party was Julian’s mother, they didn’t dare to take any drastic measures without solid evidence.

"You want me to make a trip there?" I looked at Zeke.

Asher instinctively grabbed my hand. He didn’t want me getting involved with that family again.

"We want you to give it a try," Madeline said, holding my hand. "Cece, you know Julian best."

Did they expect me to convince Julian to go against his own mother, find evidence, and send her to prison? "Hah... You guys are overestimating me, and you’re definitely overestimating Julian. He’s actually a bit of a mama’s boy."

Based on my understanding of Julian, all of his achievements today were solely due to his mother’s meticulous upbringing. Julian was someone who grew up lacking a father’s love. His father was nothing more than a mere decoration in the Fletcher family who never came home. In the past, I used to think Mrs. Fletcher and Julian were pitiful. But looking at it now, pitiful people always had their detestable traits.

"The chain of evidence is broken now, and Isaac Sullivan is still under observation for his injuries. If we want a breakthrough, we have to start with Julian," Zeke explained. They needed to find the next laboratory and save the people trapped inside. Perhaps they were all just waiting to be rescued.

"Alright, I’ll pay a visit to the Fletchers’," I nodded.

Asher’s grip on my fingers tightened. "Cece... she’s very dangerous."

He was referring to Mrs. Fletcher.

She was indeed very dangerous. She had managed to make Cecilia Caldwell lose her memory and turn into a completely different person. Cecilia’s amnesia wasn’t just caused by the car accident and Victor Quinn’s hypnosis; it undoubtedly had something to do with Mrs. Fletcher as well. Just thinking about that woman was truly enough to send shivers down my spine.

"Since we’re going to destroy the organization, we have to dismantle their laboratories one by one," I reasoned. With Nathan Lawson’s lab and the cruise ship lab destroyed, The Genetics Organization had already lost two major facilities. Our next step was to figure out exactly where the laboratory managed by Mrs. Fletcher was hidden.