Forbidden Heat novel Chapter 188

I felt my heart sink when I saw him like this. I wasn’t sure exactly what happened back then but it was clear that Edward fully blamed himself for it.

“Edward…” I whispered his name.

“Back then, I could sense that something was wrong and that your father was hiding something. But the young teenager that I was back then couldn’t do anything to help him. He wouldn’t even tell me what was going on. Even when he gave me the black envelop, he still didn’t tell me,” Edward said with frustration.

“Edward…it’s not your fault,” I said, meaning every word.

“No, Natalia. It was my fault…” Edward voice cracked, and I realized for the first time that he was silently crying.

His hand squeezed mine tightly as tears threatened to fall from his eyes. His green eyes felt like they were shades darker than they normally were. At first, I thought Edward was just sad but when his eyes met mine, I knew I was wrong.

He wasn’t just sad; he was very furious.

“It wasn’t long after that your father died. To be precise, he was erased. He was killed…murdered,” Edward stated factually.

“My father was murdered…” I repeated in shock. I was already quite certain that he was probably killed but to hear it confirmed made me feel sick.

“Back then, I just lost it. I felt helpless and I felt responsible,” Edward said with a troubled sigh.

“Edward, it’s not your fault…” I repeated.

“It was my fault. I didn’t even know why my friend had to die. I wanted to know…and the only way to find out was to return to the Rosenhall family and that was exactly what I did. When I had enough achievements and influence, I returned to that goddamned family. Just so I could find out why my friend had to die…” Edward spat; his voice so malicious that he was scaring me.

“After I had disappeared from the family and went into hiding, this place was transformed into a lab that did all the dirty work for the company to get ahead,” Edward said passively.

“What do you mean?” I asked, my eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“What’s one of the biggest factors that determine a pharmaceutical company’s competitiveness? Time to market. You have to be the first to launch a drug. So, how do you do that?” Edward asked rhetorically.

“You must have large teams of R&D and a streamlined process,” I replied based on what Edward had taught me.

“Correct. That, or you just cut corners,” Edward said as he squeezed my hand.

“What do you mean?” I found myself asking this same question repeatedly as I struggled to keep up.

“Illegal human trials, Natalia. That was what this lab was used for, and your father was forced to shoulder the burden of all of it,” Edward said emotionlessly as he revealed the truth.

“It can’t be…” I gasped in shock. Human trials…illegal human trials.

“This building always had an underground laboratory; however, after it was decided that illegal human trials would be conducted here, the whole building was shut down and abandoned so that no one would ever come here ever again. While the underground lab continued to function, well-hidden underground,” Edward said with narrowed eyes.

I felt like I was going to faint. My father was forced to lead studies involving illegal human clinical trials. Was that why the company was so successful?

“It can’t be…why would he do that?” I asked as I still found it hard to believe.

“I don’t know the whole truth, but I am at least partly to blame. I found out later that the family had figured out that he was hiding me and used that against him,” Edward said regretfully.

So, Edward returned to the Rosenhall family to find out the truth behind my father’s death. What about the illegal trials and this lab?

“I don’t think so. Please sit back down and rest…we don’t need to rush,” I said as I clutched tighter on his arm.

“You sit down first,” Edward said gesturing to where he wanted me to sit with his hand.

I looked at him in confusion but decided to do as he said before he might faint right in front of my eyes. I quickly sat down on the sofa. Edward slowly walked back to the sofa before sitting down a little away from me.

Suddenly, Edward’s head was on my lap as he lay down on the sofa.

“Edward?” I called out his name softly as I blinked rapidly in slight confusion.

“Let me rest here for a while…” Edward said against my lap as he buried his face into the flesh of my thighs. His arms circled my waist to hug me closer to him.

I smiled a little as I looked down at him from above. I have never seen Edward act so clingy, and it was a cute and refreshing change.

“You must be so tired…” I said as I stroked his hair softly.

“No, I’m not…” Edward retorted stubbornly but with a smile.

I watched silently until he fell into a sleep that I hoped was peaceful.

--To be continued…

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