Chapter 662

Evelyn's lips curled into a cold smile.

"You'll tell me the truth?"

Natalie tossed another sunflower seed into her mouth.

She bit down with a crisp crack.

"This truth isn't even a secret within the Sterling Family. Telling you is no big deal."

Evelyn's jaw tightened.

"What's the condition?"

"The condition…" Natalie spat out the seed shell and tilted her head, looking at her.

"You go spit in front of Old Mr. Wright. Then say you were bewitched by him. How about that? Hee hee."

Evelyn immediately fixed her gaze on her.

"Natalie Castillo, did my sister really pledge loyalty to you?"

Natalie was taken aback.

"Yes, why?"

Evelyn scoffed.

"Your current actions make it seem like you're the one loyal to my sister. Me being misunderstood by everyone should suit your purposes just fine, shouldn't it? Why are you so insistent on forcing me to make the 'right' choice?"

After speaking, her gaze locked onto Natalie's face like a torch.

There wasn't a trace of panic on Natalie's face.

She tossed another seed into her mouth.

"You think I'm helping you?"

"Exactly." Evelyn's voice was calm.

"Nathan's suicide, Jane returning home, the fire at Mina's place… Every time it seems like my friends are about to suffer, like I'm about to lose. But what's the result? Nathan's mother wanted to kill Jane. Justin took the knife, which actually resolved the siblings' estrangement. Mina seemed destined to perish in the flames, but my eldest brother saved her, and their misunderstanding was cleared up."

She stared at Natalie.

"Once is a coincidence. What about twice, three times? Like now, I'm being rejected by everyone. The Vance family and the five major families of New York are all shunning me. Yet you're telling me to make the 'right' choice, even tempting me with the Sterling Family's secrets—isn't this helping me?"

Natalie blinked.

"You make a very good point~ Crack! But I am helping you!"

Evelyn was stunned.

Natalie continued.

"Because you've already submitted to me. Helping you win over the five major families of New York is just helping myself win them over, isn't it? So what are you thinking? Like right now, you clearly hold the advantage, but you're making the wrong choice here because of personal feelings. I'm just steering you back onto the right path, making you learn the first lesson of the Sterling Family. Crack."

She bit open another seed, her innocent eyes fixed on Evelyn.

"Sometimes to win, you have to make sacrifices. You can't base your judgments on personal feelings. The first lesson we children learn in the Sterling Family is to abandon emotions, to become rational machines. Do you know why the Sterling Family is like this?"

Evelyn shook her head.

Natalie let out a derisive laugh.

"Because the Sterling Family believes that only by viewing things without any emotion can you lead the family to a more glorious future. If artificial intelligence had bloodline inheritance, they'd even want to develop AI to lead the Sterling Family."

At this point, Natalie stopped eating seeds.

Her expression turned serious, as if pondering.

"So the first lesson we children learn from a young age is to give up emotions. Do you know why many people can choose not to marry, or even find useful people to have children with for the sake of descendants? Because we have no emotions. If we don't pass the Sterling Family's emotional desensitization test, we undergo a surgery."

Evelyn felt a chill.

"What surgery?"

"A surgery to remove the neural tissue in the brain that processes emotions." Natalie chuckled softly, tossing another seed into her mouth.

"After this surgery, a person is just a person. They will never have any emotions again."

She paused, then continued.

"You haven't completed this training. You can't even pass the most basic test. When we enter the final round, you'll be directly eliminated!"

Evelyn frowned.

"Do you truly agree with the Sterling Family's methods?"

Natalie didn't speak.

Evelyn pressed.

"Do you really have no emotions left? What you feel for Spencer, isn't that love?"

Natalie, however, opened her mouth and smiled slightly.

"You guess? Hee hee."

Evelyn was speechless.

This 'hee hee' weirdo!

She frowned and suddenly stepped forward.

She directly pressed Natalie's head down.

"Then let me see if you've had that brainstem removal surgery."

Natalie immediately retreated, trying to avoid her grasp.

"I won't let you see."

Unfortunately, the next second, Evelyn had already pinned her shoulders.

Natalie's combat ability didn't seem high, at least weaker than Nicole's.

Evelyn controlled her effortlessly.

She undid Natalie's bun with one hand and looked at the back of her head.

It was smooth and even, without any surgical scars.

Evelyn released her.

Natalie fixed her hair, grinning.

"Satisfied after looking?"

Evelyn stared at her.

"You didn't have the surgery."

"Of course not." Natalie re-tied her bun.

"I'm a genius who passed the emotional desensitization test. But…"

She suddenly leaned close to Evelyn, lowering her voice.

"I'll tell you a secret. The emotional desensitization test isn't about making you lose your emotions. It's about teaching you to control them. Those old fossils in the Sterling Family don't understand what true emotion is at all."

Evelyn's pupils contracted slightly.

Natalie took a step back, resuming her playful demeanor.

"So, are you going to go spit at Old Mr. Wright now?"

Evelyn was silent for a moment, then suddenly turned.

"No."

Natalie raised an eyebrow.

"Why? This is a great chance to learn the Sterling Family's secrets."

Evelyn didn't look back.

"Because I don't need to prove anything by insulting an old man. And…"

She stopped walking and glanced sideways at Natalie.

"What you just said, I've already guessed seventy or eighty percent of it. I'll investigate the Sterling Family's secrets myself."

Natalie smiled.

This time, it wasn't that 'hee hee' laugh.

It was a genuine, appreciative smile.

"Evelyn Ross, you really are interesting." she said.

"But be careful. The Sterling Family won't let go of any disobedient child. Especially… a child like you, who acts on emotion."

Evelyn didn't answer and walked straight away.

When she reached the door, she suddenly turned back.

"Natalie Castillo, why are you really helping me?"

Natalie tilted her head in thought, then gave a brilliant smile.

"Because it's fun! This world is too boring. Gotta find some amusement, right?"

Evelyn gave her a deep look and turned to leave.

After the door closed, the smile on Natalie's face gradually faded.

She walked to the window, watching Evelyn's retreating figure, and murmured softly.

"Acting on emotion… Perhaps that's exactly what the Sterling Family lacks the most."

She took her phone from her pocket and dialed a number.

"Hey, it's me." she said.

"Evelyn didn't take the bait. But it's fine. Proceed with the plan as scheduled."

A low voice came from the other end.

"Are you sure about this? She might become the biggest variable."

Natalie smiled.

"Variables are interesting. What's the point of a chess game that never changes?"

She hung up the phone and tossed another seed into her mouth.

Crack.

The crisp sound echoed in the silent room.

Outside the window, the night grew darker.

Evelyn walked on the road back to the Vance residence.

Natalie's words kept echoing in her mind.

Emotional desensitization test.

Brainstem removal surgery.

The Sterling Family's secrets.

It all felt like a huge net, trapping her tightly.

But she wouldn't yield.

No matter what conspiracies the Sterling Family had, no matter how many difficulties lay ahead, she would break through them all.

Because she was Evelyn Ross.

Because she had people to protect.

Because she… believed in emotions.

Her phone suddenly vibrated.

Evelyn took it out. It was a message from Alexander.

"Where are you? I'll come pick you up."

A few short words, but they warmed her heart.

She replied.

"No need. I'm almost there."

Putting away her phone, she quickened her pace.

In the night, the lights of the Vance mansion grew closer.

The lights were warm and bright, like a lighthouse guiding her home.

Evelyn took a deep breath and pushed open the main gate.

In the living room, Alexander was sitting on the sofa waiting for her.

Seeing her return, he immediately stood up.

"How did it go?"

Evelyn shook her head.

"Natalie didn't tell the whole truth. Or rather, she only told half."

Alexander frowned.

"What do you need me to do?"

Evelyn looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Do you believe in me?"

"Of course." Alexander answered without hesitation.

"That's enough." Evelyn said.

"No matter what happens, as long as you believe in me, that's enough."

Alexander took her hand.

"I've always believed in you."

They looked at each other and smiled.

Outside the window, moonlight spilled in, stretching their shadows long.

In another part of the city, Natalie stood atop a high-rise, overlooking the bustling metropolis.

The night wind lifted her long hair.

She played with a coin in her hand, tossing it lightly and catching it.

"The game has begun." she whispered.

"Evelyn Ross, don't disappoint me."

The coin reflected a cold glint under the moonlight.

Like the coming storm, cold and cruel.

But within the storm, there will always be those who hold onto their true selves.

There will always be those who fight for their emotions.

Evelyn was one of those people.

And this battle had only just begun.