Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

When I left the basement, my lower back felt stiff... Glancing back at Dexter, he quickly averted his gaze with a tinge of guilt. He then explained softly, "Sophia, the mattress isn’t good. I’ll talk to Joel about getting it replaced."

"Why don’t I just get you replaced?" I said through gritted teeth.

Dexter grabbed my hand and rejected the idea. "No. We’re married now. I can’t be returned or replaced."

I lowered my head and observed Dexter’s hand, but I chose not to pull away. Instead, I allowed him to hold my hand as we walked out together.

Although it was raining outside, we were completely unaware of it in the basement. I found solace in the total seclusion, which provided a sense of security. It was unlike anything I had experienced before.

Being completely isolated from the outside world was strangely comforting. I had no way of knowing whether it was day or night, or even if it was raining or sunny.

Damien saw me coming out and anxiously ran over to me. "Sophia! Are you okay?"

"Are you expecting me to not be okay?" I stood in the rain while Dexter shielded me with an umbrella. Damien was drenched in the rain, and a tinge of sadness flickered in his eyes. "I apologize to you on behalf of Juliet..."

I sneered. "On behalf of Juliet? What right do you have?"

"Sophia, why do you constantly misunderstand my intentions? I admit that I failed to watch over her properly, and as a result, she almost caused you harm. I’m sorry." Damien appeared distraught, his expression filled with remorse.

I remained silent, my gaze fixed on the umbrella above me. Whenever Dexter held an umbrella for me, it was always tilted toward my direction.

However, when I thought of Damien, he never once offered to hold an umbrella for me. Not only did he fail to do so, but he went as far as tearing my umbrella into pieces.

He was aware of my fear of thunderstorms, yet he intentionally tried to punish me by exploiting this fear. It was his way of seeking revenge for something I had done as a child. Delayed affection was worth nothing. This was the undeniable truth.

In the car, Juliet lowered the window, her face already wet from the rain. She looked at me with a vicious gaze, her pale face seemingly filled with hatred toward me.

I gazed back at her with deep pity. It dawned on me that she would have to depend on Damien’s so-called " conscience" to live for the rest of her life.

"Damien, you might get sick if you stay out in the rain," Juliet warned, her voice hoarse with concern as she urged Damien to get in the car. However, she refused to leave the car herself.

Juliet’s selfish nature extended even to her love. She feared that falling ill would worsen her HIV infection, so she refused to leave the car. Although she was concerned about Damien, her primary worry was for herself.

"Sophia, something has happened to Peter, and my clues were cut off." Damien glanced at his car where a young teenage girl was sitting in the passenger seat. Her face was pallid and devoid of color, and her hair was damp. She had to be Peter’s daughter from his second marriage.

Damien’s hands tightened into fists. "Every time I’m on the verge of a breakthrough, someone always manages to sabotage it. Peter offered to share everything he knew, but it’s unfortunate..."

It was unfortunate that he was killed.

Although Peter was not dead yet, the chances of him waking up were very slim, which was essentially the same as being killed.

"What does his daughter know?" I asked, looking at the teenage girl in the passenger seat.

Even if she was unaware, she would be in grave danger as long as she was involved. If those with wealth and power behind this plot intended to eliminate everyone involved, she would surely be a target. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Linda." Damien opened the car door and held an umbrella for the teenager.

Linda was wearing a black dress, her skin unusually pale. As she stepped out of the car, her small leather shoes touched the water. She hastily withdrew them as if she were afraid. When she noticed Damien by her side, she carefully placed her feet on the ground once more.

Damien explained softly, "She’s in 12th grade this year, the same age as Joel. She’s about to take the college entrance exam. She has autism..."

I probably guessed correctly. The way she exited the car revealed her strong resistance to the outside world.

This condition typically occurred in infancy and early childhood.

In a solemn tone, I asked, "Peter’s first daughter was born with congenital cerebral palsy, and she passed away soon after. The second daughter has autism... Does he have a genetic defect?"

Damien nodded. "That’s why he works for Genome Society. He’s a victim of a genetic disease, and it’s difficult for his children to be born healthy, so he..."

I understood that Peter’s motivation for all his actions was driven by his desire to possess perfect genes to prevent any genetic defects.

After a long moment of silence, Linda finally said in a hushed voice and timidly looked up at me, "Dad is a good man. He’s helping you..."

I shifted my gaze at her with a frown.

She took out a photo album from the small schoolbag she was holding tightly. Inside the album, there was a photo of Peter and my parents when he was young.

"His classmates." Linda pointed at the people in the photo.

Sophia’s parents were classmates of Peter. They were talented individuals in the medical field and held important positions within Genome Society.

"They shared the same ambitions," Linda struggled to speak.

She pointed to "Sophia" in the photo. "Eventually, they developed an emotional connection with the experimental subject and yearned to help her escape..."

I knew that my parents were members of Genome Society and that I was merely an experimental subject. I realized that they did not love me from the beginning and were only using me for research purposes.

However, I didn’t hate them. Later on, it seemed like they cared about me too. They wanted to take me with them, but they died in a car accident.

The members of Genome Society would not tolerate any escape attempts of their experimental subjects. Any employees who refused to obey should be promptly removed too.

As Jimmy pointed out, I was an extremely valuable experimental subject. The wealthy behind Genome Society had invested hundreds of millions, if not tens of billions, in cultivating these experimental subjects. This had greatly advanced the fields of science and medicine.

Furthermore, as the subject of the experiment, my personal value far surpassed their initial investment. The wealthy were primarily interested in the rate of return. Once they witnessed my success, I had the potential to generate immeasurable wealth for them.

"They begged my dad to protect you and allow you to live a normal life," Linda continued, her eyes red as she pointed at Sophia. But she was looking at me.

Hence, Sophia’s amnesia was not a mere coincidence or an unfortunate accident. Rather, it was a deliberate act planned by Peter.

"My dad entrusted you with the Coleman family because he trusted them." Linda sobbed, struggling to articulate her words.

I knew she was making a great effort to convey that Peter was a good man, and he believed in the Coleman family.

Damien also gazed at me intensely. "Sophia... My mom was your mom’s best friend, someone Peter could trust. You can also trust me and believe me..."

Damien wanted me to trust him and Lisa, but Jimmy claimed that the Coleman family was completely untrustworthy. Hmm...

Linda suddenly lifted her head and gazed at Dexter behind me. Then, she recoiled in fear and sought refuge behind Damien. "Sofia, don’t believe him. Never... trust him."

She clutched Damien’s clothes tightly, her voice trembling. "Don’t trust him."

Her emotions appeared to be uncontrollable, and she continued to retreat in fear. "Sofia..."

Suddenly, Linda rushed up and firmly grabbed me. She was strong and pulled me aside. Then, she cast a wary glance at Dexter before whispering in my ear.

"I’ve seen him with the bad guys... I’ve seen him... with the researchers. They were studying... immortality and the connection between souls and genes. I really saw him..."

Linda didn’t appear to be lying. The fearful look in her eyes as she glanced at Dexter was unmistakable.

I glanced back at Dexter. He stood there with a solemn expression on his face. He was staring at the teenage girl named Linda, deep in contemplation.

"Sophia, don’t believe him. If he has no problem, why is he so certain you’re Sophia? The correlation experiment between the soul and genes, also known as reincarnation, is an experiment he began researching when he was in the advanced class."

Damien also grabbed my wrist and begged me to believe him.