Chapter 323 - 322: Asher Rear-Ended by a Genius Class Student

Chapter 323: Chapter 322: Asher Rear-Ended by a Genius Class Student

Stella Abbott’s kidnapping was kept under wraps, with the media barely reporting on it at all. Her manager publicly explained that she had been injured while resting during an outing and temporarily needed to recuperate at home, rendering her unable to participate in any programs.

As a public figure, news of her kidnapping would undoubtedly cause a panic if leaked. Thus, from the top down, very few people knew about the incident.

However, the police had already intervened swiftly, completely locking down the location mentioned by the kidnappers.

Leaving the hospital, I was distracted the whole way.

"Cece..." Asher was still playing pitiful, probably worried that I would be angry about him installing hidden cameras in the house. "Cece... I didn’t mean to install cameras to spy on you. I was just worried about what might happen when I’m not around..."

He was a bit tense. He was far too insecure, which was why he installed cameras at home, around me, and in the places he couldn’t reach. But was he too tense, afraid that I would be angry?

I had also thought I would be angry. After all, I hated being spied on, hated living under surveillance, and hated a life scrutinized by everyone.

But for some reason, because the person doing it was Asher, I felt that it was reasonable. Perfectly reasonable. Because he loved me and worried about me, he had placed those cameras.

"Cece, please don’t ignore me." Asher seemed truly insecure. He carefully held my hand, not even daring to embrace me.

He was always like this. In front of outsiders, he was forever calm and composed, navigating the most dangerous environments with absolute ease. But whenever he faced me, he was always the most insecure person in the world.

I looked at Asher and squeezed his hand back. "Why did you think I’d be mad?"

Asher lowered his head, stammering for a long time before speaking. "Before... I monitored Cece too, and Cece got mad."

I paused. It was true... the past Asher also had a somewhat morbid possessiveness. His love had bordered on the pathological. He would plant recording devices around me and hide cameras inside my teddy bears.

That was an invasion of privacy.

Feeling somewhat helpless, I smiled. "I got mad before because you took it a bit too far. Even lovers need space and their own privacy."

Asher nodded, wearing an expression that said he knew he was wrong.

"But right now, I’m not angry. I know your intention was to look out for me, so I won’t be mad at you." I knew that having cameras and constantly seeing my whereabouts would give Asher a sufficient sense of security.

As long as Asher felt secure, he could do whatever he wanted.

Asher stared at me blankly, then pulled me into his arms and hugged me for a long time.

I leaned against him, raising a hand to feel the sunlight streaming in from outside the window. "Asher, Stella’s going to be okay, right?"

Since when did I develop such empathy and guilt? My intuition told me that Isaac Sullivan being the CEO of Astraeus Group was not that simple... and Stella Abbott had been innocently dragged into the mess.

"She’ll be fine," Asher told me with absolute certainty.

I nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he said she’d be fine, she would be. I didn’t want any more innocent people to be dragged into this.

"Simon has a mental illness and no guardian. He’ll be staying in a psychiatric hospital for the rest of his life and won’t be able to come out and harm people anymore," Asher suddenly noted.

As a serial killer, death was not a torture or fear for Simon. Forever losing his freedom and not being able to kill as he pleased was his greatest torture. Every day thereafter, he would probably have to live in his own mental torment.

"He got what he deserved," I whispered.

Simon was a madman, a lunatic whose mental world was beyond his control. When he went crazy, he only wanted to kill, but the people he murdered were entirely innocent.

"Do you have any idea who the masked figure leading The Resistance is?" I asked softly.

When Asher was on the ship, his reaction had been a bit abnormal, leaving too many doubts in my mind. I wanted him to provide the answers. "And Owen Foster. Did you really not notice... that he was part of The Resistance?"

Asher glanced at me and carefully traced a few words into the palm of my hand.

I looked at Asher in surprise, saying nothing more. Owen Foster was actually his man. Asher had deliberately planted him in The Resistance. That explained everything.

But what about the masked figure? What was her true identity? She was a woman who hated me, who treated Asher a little differently... and who was bloodthirsty and prone to killing.

"To be able to create a death game in an abandoned building, and to manufacture a wealth gap on a cruise ship that led thousands to slaughter each other... this woman must be a genius," I murmured.

In my memory, there were no teenage girl geniuses around me. Although there were a few geniuses among those from the orphanage, they were all male.

Could I have guessed wrong? Was it not a woman, but a petite man? That didn’t seem right either.

"Someone’s following us," Lucas Grant announced from the driver’s seat, glancing vigilantly into the rearview mirror.

"To The Genetics Organization, I’m currently the most valuable test subject. They can’t protect me fast enough, so they won’t want me dead," I said quietly.

It all depended on whether the people tracking us from behind were aggressive. If they were, it meant they were funded by The Resistance.

BAM!

As soon as I finished speaking, the car behind us rammed into ours.

But this time, our pursuer couldn’t escape either. Zeke Shaw’s car had been following close by, and the moment we were in danger, Zeke drove over and pinned their car in the middle.

"Get out of the car!" Zeke demanded, stepping out and warily aiming his gun at the person inside.

The driver looked bewildered. "Come on... I just rear-ended you. It’s not a crime punishable by death, is it?"

"Get out!" Zeke shouted angrily.

The other party raised both hands and stepped out, looking at Zeke with an easy smile. "Don’t be so tense, buddy."

Asher, Lucas, and I also got out of the car and looked at the man.

"Oh, what a coincidence!" The man’s face lit up with surprise when he saw Asher. "It’s me, Sebastian Lancaster. Me."

Asher furrowed his brows and said nothing.

Lucas went up and delivered a swift kick. "Stop stammering."

Seeing Lucas, the man sneered. "Our great genius Lucas is really something now. You became a cop, and now you go around kicking people. Back when you were beaten so badly you didn’t dare make a peep, you weren’t this tough."

Lucas’s face darkened instantly. I could see him trembling, probably from anger.

In their former youth genius class, there had been no shortage of bullying. And Lucas, after Charlie’s accident, completely lost his protection. He had entered the genius class at a young age and later pursued his master’s and doctorate degrees alongside classmates who were much older than him. Being young, skinny, and weak, he was naturally the one targeted.

So, Lucas hated Charlie out of pure resentment. Back when Charlie was around, he was the only one in the whole class who dared to bully Lucas. Charlie was incredibly domineering; he only allowed himself to bully Lucas and forbade anyone else from doing the same.

After all, Lucas was a late bloomer back then—skinny, pale, and looking very much like a little girl.

But later, Charlie was gone.

"He’s a classmate from the genius class," Asher explained to me.

I nodded, having already guessed as much.

However, being rear-ended by a classmate from the genius class at this moment... was clearly no coincidence.