chapter1208

Carter had no clue what his mom was thinking. He barely had time to process

before jumping in his car and heading to the address Lydia had sent him. She'd told him exactly which private room to go to. After what happened last time, he figured Lydia wanted to avoid any awkward misunderstandings, so she picked somewhere discreet.

He never expected Nina to be there. The moment he opened the door and saw her, he was shocked. This was supposed to be a meeting about the cloning situation, still super hush-hush. Was it okay to discuss this with Nina around? It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but the whole project was need-to-know, and right now, hardly anyone knew.

Then a new worry crept in. Was something going on with the Powell family too?

Nina watched Carter walk in, half expecting him to be happy to see her. Instead, he just stared, looking genuinely shocked. She frowned, annoyed. Do I really look that scary? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Carter snapped out of it, forcing a smile. No, not at all. I just... wasn't expecting to see you here."

Nina scoffed. "What's wrong? Afraid I'll ruin your secret meeting with Lydia? Or are you worried I'll be the third wheel?"

She was mostly teasing. Lydia had already explained that she and Carter were just colleagues, and Nina believed her.

Carter shook his head quickly. "Don't be silly. Lydia and I are just here to talk about work."

Nina seemed satisfied with that answer and turned to Lydia. "Alright, he's here. Can you finally tell me how I'm supposed to help you two?"

Honestly, Nina was just as confused as anyone. She couldn't figure out how she could possibly help them. Was it a money thing? Did they need a loan from her family's bank? But with Lydia and Carter's backgrounds, that didn't seem right. Plus, she didn't really have any say over the bank anyway.

Before she could dwell on it, Lydia looked at her seriously. "Since you've been back, or even just recently, have you noticed anything strange about your parents?"

Nina frowned. "Strange? Like what?"

Carter was listening closely now, pretty sure his guess was right. Maybe the Powell family really was caught up in this.

Lydia didn't explain further. She just asked again, Just think about it. Are your parents acting any different than they used to?"

Nina started to think back. "Well, I've spent the last two years abroad, so I haven't been home much. But the staff at home mentioned that my parents have been acting weird for the past few months."

20

Lydia lifted an eyebrow. "How weird?"

Nina tried to remember the details. "They've been arguing a lot, about work or little things at home. In the past whenever I came back, they would bath pick me up at the airport. This time, they both said they were too busy, and honestly, they've been pretty cold to me lately."

She paused, thinking. "Oh, and they've started sleeping in separate rooms. I tried to

talk to them about it, but they just told me to stay out of it."

The more she talked, the more uneasy she felt. She turned to Lydia, looking for answers. "Is that a big deal?"

Before Lydia could say anything, Carter jumped in. "It's a really big deal."

Nina nearly jumped at his tone and looked at him, eyes wide. "Why? Is something wrong with my family?"

She couldn't help worrying that

maybe there was trouble at the

family bank: The whole thing felt too

complicated, and Carter

how to even begin wasn't sure

explaining.

Besides, they were still ima

restaurant. Even if it was a private room, someone could always be listening. If the wrong person overheard, things could get messy fast.