She Was the Treasure All Along novel Chapter 235

Jasmine, sensing an opening, pressed her advantage. “As you know, my father has always hoped to see a marriage alliance between the Hampton and Shapiro families. If I were to become Lucian’s girlfriend, my father’s perspective might change.”

Zeke shook his head. “I can’t agree to that proposal. I’ve watched you grow up, Jasmine. You and Lucian are not a match. You can’t handle him.”

A coldness entered Jasmine’s eyes. “Then I have no choice. My soldiers will have to forcibly retrieve the machine. And Lucian will likely be stripped of his commission and forced into early retirement.”

Zeke remained utterly unruffled. “Lucian never regrets his decisions. And I’m too old to control him anymore. Let him do as he pleases.”

As for Loyce, he wouldn’t interfere with her either. She was, after all, Lucian’s lifeline.

“Then please have someone show me the way,” Jasmine said stiffly. “I’ll get the machine myself.”

Aside from tutoring Giselle, Loyce had been spending every waking moment in the research lab, surviving on just three or four hours of sleep. So when Zeke personally led Jasmine and her soldiers to the lab door, the corridor was silent. There was no sound from within.

Jasmine reached for the handle but found the door secured with a fingerprint scanner. She looked to the butler.

But he shook his head. “I don’t have the clearance to open this door. Only Lucian and Loyce have access. It’s also reinforced, soundproof, and bulletproof. It would be extremely difficult to open by force.”

Jasmine’s brow furrowed. “Don’t make me force the issue. It will be embarrassing for everyone.”

The initially cordial expression on Zeke’s face vanished. He slowly turned, and his weathered eyes, once mild, became as sharp as daggers. Though elderly, he stood with the straight spine of a drawn sword, radiating the iron-clad aura of a seasoned warrior.

“Jasmine,” the old man’s voice was measured, yet it sent a chill down the hallway, “did your father not teach you to respect the rules when you’re in someone else’s home?”

Jasmine’s lips trembled, all her earlier bravado in front of Zeke completely gone. The soldiers behind her instinctively snapped to attention—an ingrained, reflexive response to a higher-ranking officer.

Lucian paid them no further mind, walking directly to the lab door. At the touch of his finger, the scanner beeped, and the bulletproof door slid open without a sound, revealing a faint blue glow from within.

Everyone froze.

Loyce was slumped over the console, fast asleep. Her long hair was fanned out across the keyboard, and she was still clutching a USB drive that pulsed with a soft blue light. On the screen behind her, cascading streams of dense data flowed like a river of green stars, illuminating her exhausted but peaceful face.

Lucian’s gaze softened instantly. He shrugged off his suit jacket, walked quietly into the lab, and gently draped it over her shoulders. The same man whose name struck fear into the hearts of enemies on the battlefield now moved with the delicate precision of someone disarming a bomb.