Chapter 1368

[ 675 words ]

“The person in the video wasn’t Juniper Payne?”

The crowd immediately erupted into furious whispering.

“She used to work with Silas and Theia! She’s obviously one of them, of course she’s covering for them!”

“Exactly! Anyone involved in gene modification is pure scum.”

“If you ask me, she should be locked up!”

“Professor Moira, you need proof to back up a claim like that,” a reporter shouted

out. “If you’re saying the test subject in the video wasn’t Juniper Payne, how can you prove it?”

The “truth” they had all seen with their own eyes was Juniper strapped to that operating table.

Juniper’s face went slightly pale as she stared quietly at Professor Moira. Her lips parted, but she didn’t know what to say.

This was the exact question she had been dying to know the answer to.

“Of course I can prove it.”

Professor Moira slowly turned to face the demanding reporter, delivering every word with agonizing clarity: “Because the person who underwent that experiment… was my biological daughter.”

What?

The moment those words left her mouth, every single whisper in the crowd died instantly.

People stared at her in utter bewilderment and shock.

At the mention of her daughter, Moira’s eyes filled with tears, her profound grief impossible to hide.

“Years ago, I was a researcher at the Albia Genetics and Biology Research Institute.”

Moira’s pale lips trembled as she spoke softly. “The institute claimed the research was meant to cure genetic diseases and would be a monumental leap forward for humanity.”

“Dr. Blackwood, Dr. Sommers, and I… we all believed them.”

“It wasn’t until we were inside that we realized the institute was using us to develop illegal gene modification purely for their own greed.”

“Because Dr. Blackwood and Dr. Sommers had such extraordinary genetics, their DNA was forcefully extracted and used to cultivate six children. The institute planned to use those six children for various horrific genetic experiments.”

“When they discovered this, they planned to escape with the six children.”

“But right then, their youngest

In

daughter was born. When Juniper was tested, her genetic makeup was even more exceptional than her parents. This thrilled the institute, and they decided to make her the prime subject for their newly, perfected gene modification program.”

The crowd listened in dead silence, feeling as if they were hearing some dark, twisted sci-fi nightmare.

“And the one ordered to perform that surgery… was me.” Moira’s lips twitched into a desperately bitter smile. “As to why she wasn’t used as the test subject, and why I swapped her with my own daughter…”

Moira choked on a sob.

“Because I truly believed the gene modification technology was perfected. I believed it was safe enough to use on a child.”

“So, I secretly smuggled my daughter-who was the same age—into the lab and swapped her with Juniper.”

“The lab had to maintain a strict sterile environment, so the cameras were only angled on me and Juniper’s face. In reality, the IV lines and needles were connected directly to my daughter’s veins.”

Silas and Theia exchanged a look of pure, unadulterated shock.

“When my daughter was born, she suffered severe oxygen deprivation. She was diagnosed with severe cerebral palsy.” Moira wiped the tears spilling from the corners of her eyes and continued her tragic confession. “I wanted to use the gene modification to make her normal.”

“But her genetic baseline was too weak; she wasn’t qualified for the procedure. So I

came up with that plan. I thought it was foolproof…”

At this, Moira’s tears fell uncontrollably. “I overestimated the technology.”

“After my daughter underwent the modification, her blood suffered a massive infection that led to complete cellular necrosis. She died in less than a month.”

After that final sentence, the entire plaza plunged into a heavy, suffocating silence. Juniper’s brows knit together fiercely.

So this was why Moira had refused to step forward. She had been carrying this horrific secret the entire time.

“The gene modification project has been in development for over forty years, and it has never once been successful.”

Moira let out a long, trembling sigh, her voice hollow and broken. “If Juniper Payne had been the one on that table back then… she would have been dead a long time ago.”

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