Emilia's instincts screamed at her to give the criminal organization what they wanted immediately, as long as they spared Lauren. However, that was exactly why she couldn't surrender her work.
The moment she handed over her research data, there was no chance her grandmother would survive.
No matter how terrified she felt or how desperately she wanted to save Lauren right now, Emilia gritted her teeth and said, "If you insist on taking my grandmother's life, then we'll all go down together!"
Emilia had hidden a knife in her sleeve just in case. As she spoke, she pulled it out and held it against her throat.
"The research only exists in my head. If anything happens to my grandmother, I'll make sure you never get your hands on it—ever!" she threatened.
The masked man's expression darkened at a frightening rate. He glared coldly at Emilia and was about to say something.
However, Emilia cut him off, "I'm not even asking you to let her go home. Just bring her out here. As long as she's standing next to me, I'll give you the research data immediately.
"You already know that I really did come here alone. Given this, and the fact that I'm also right here in front of you, you have no reason to worry that I'll pull something once you release my grandmother.
"There's no way I'll be able to pull any tricks. All you have to do is have your men release my grandmother, and I'll immediately give you what you want," she argued.
The masked man stared at Emilia. In the end, whether it was because she had successfully reasoned with him or something else, he gave in and had Lauren brought out.
Emilia mentally calculated the time as she watched the man walk toward her. Earlier, she had been shocked by the change of plans. The moment she had recovered, she had swiftly notified William to move to Plan B.
According to Plan B, William would need at most 20 minutes to infiltrate the building with his team. So, all she had to do was buy 20 more minutes.
Just as Emilia was thinking this, the masked man spoke. "No matter how good your memory is, Ms. Quill, I don't believe you've memorized all the data without storing it somewhere else. So, please stop testing my patience, and stop stalling to wait for your rescue.
"Ten minutes—that's all I'll give you. If you don't hand over all the experimental data in ten minutes, I'll send your grandmother to the afterlife first. Then, you."
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