Lucian merely chuckled softly. Then, without hesitation, he revealed everything.

He told Conrad about how Lana had been swapped at birth years ago.

He revealed how she was actually the true daughter of the Peterson family.

And finally, he exposed the most horrifying truth of all.

"There is a very high possibility that Thessy already knows about Lana’s identity."

Lucian’s eyes darkened dangerously.

"And she has been intentionally suppressing the truth this entire time."

Again and again, as Lucian spoke about Lana, Conrad could hear the unmistakable worry hidden beneath his calm voice.

It was not the kind of concern someone would show toward an ordinary acquaintance.

There was guilt there, protectiveness, and even helplessness.

For a long moment, Conrad remained silent.

Finally, Conrad slowly spoke.

"I will investigate this matter personally."

Lucian looked up at him calmly.

At that moment, he genuinely admired Conrad a little.

Conrad was not blindly emotional, but he was not foolish either.

He already understood the seriousness of the situation.

If Thessy truly was not the real daughter of the Peterson family, and if Lana had indeed been suppressed for years by someone pretending to be family, then the matter needed to be handled carefully and quickly.

Because of that, Conrad did not instinctively take Thessy’s side.

Of course, he had always doted on Thessy deeply over the years.

She had grown up with them, laughed with them, celebrated birthdays with them, and acted affectionately toward the entire family.

However, if everything Lucian said was true, then it meant his fake sister had knowingly stolen another girl’s identity and suppressed his real sister for years.

Just imagining that possibility made disgust slowly rise inside Conrad’s chest.

With that thought, he stood up calmly and adjusted his coat.

"If this turns out to be true, then I will reward you handsomely."

Lucian merely shook his head. "You will understand much later why I decided to help Lana."

Hearing those words, Conrad arched one brow slightly, but he chose not to ask further questions. Instead, he simply nodded before turning around and leaving.

Once Conrad disappeared from sight, Lucian finally leaned back heavily against the chair and closed his eyes.

’Now everything depends on how far this investigation can go.’

Meanwhile, Conrad immediately began conducting the investigation in secret.

And unlike ordinary people, the Peterson family’s internal intelligence network was terrifyingly efficient.

A truth that had taken Lucian almost two weeks to uncover was completely investigated by Conrad within only a single week.

Part of the reason was because Conrad already knew Lana’s appearance and identity beforehand, which made tracing the past significantly easier.

The more evidence he uncovered, the uglier his expression became.

By the end of the investigation, rage was already surging violently through his veins.

All of them pointed toward the same horrifying truth.

Lana was indeed the real daughter of the Peterson family.

And Thessy had very likely known about it for a long time.

At first, Conrad almost lost control and wanted to directly confront Thessy immediately.

However, after taking several deep breaths, he forcefully calmed himself down.

If he recklessly exposed everything now, the situation could spiral completely out of control.

Especially because Lucian had specifically warned him about one terrifying thing.

"If Thessy dies, there is a possibility Lana may die as well."

That sentence alone was enough to suppress Conrad’s impulsiveness.

Thus, after carefully organizing his thoughts, Conrad decided to secretly arrange a meeting with Lana instead.

He wanted to meet his real sister personally.

Not to test her character. Not to judge her. But simply to know her better.

After all, if everything was true, then Lana would soon return to the Peterson family. He needed to prepare himself mentally for that reality.

Meanwhile, completely unaware that she was about to gain an entirely new family, Lana received compensation from Jones’s side.

The amount was not particularly shocking compared to her current wealth.

Only twenty million dollars.

Still, to Lana, it was more than enough.

After reinvesting ten million into several developing projects, she donated half of the remaining amount to charity just like she always did.

Once everything was settled, she quietly arrived outside Axel’s room.

Lana gently knocked on the door. Soon, footsteps approached from inside before the door slowly opened.

The moment Axel saw Lana standing there, a warm smile immediately appeared on his face.

"What are you doing here?"

His voice carried obvious affection. "Come inside first."

After entering the room, Lana calmly spoke. "I recently went on another adventure."

She paused briefly. "You were not here before, so I could not give this to you earlier."

With that, she carefully took out a ghost essence.

The moment Axel saw it, his pupils shrank violently.

This ghost essence was completely different from ordinary ones.

Dark mist swirled faintly around the crystal-like object while an ancient and oppressive aura leaked from it.

Axel immediately recognized what it was.

This essence belonged to an extremely ancient beast that had transformed into an evil spirit after death.

Even his own cultivation reacted violently upon sensing it.

His heartbeat accelerated instantly. However, despite the temptation, Axel did not immediately accept it.

Instead, he looked at Lana with a grim expression. "What are you planning to do with this?"

Lana answered calmly, "I am giving it to you."

Axel became stunned. Still, after a brief silence, he firmly shook his head. "There is no need."

His expression softened slightly.

"You should keep it for yourself. If you want, I can help refine it for you instead."

Axel genuinely could not bear the thought of taking such a precious item away from Lana. She had worked so hard, suffered through dangerous situations, and risked her life repeatedly.

How could he shamelessly take away something she earned with so much difficulty?

However, Lana stubbornly insisted.

"If you refuse to take it, then I will feel guilty again."

The moment she said that, Axel immediately understood what she meant.

Even though the incident at Spinebridge University had already passed long ago, Lana still had not truly forgotten it.

The guilt inside her heart still remained.