"I'm fine," Lauren said.
In contrast to Jonas's anxious concern, her expression was cool, retaining its usual air of detached pride.
But Jonas didn't mind. In his eyes, this was how the goddess he worshipped should be.
He sat down, his gaze focused and sympathetic. "You don't have to hide it from me. Just look at yourself in a mirror. You don't look fine at all."
Lauren suppressed a wave of irritation.
She was, in fact, not fine. After she returned from the hospital, the Brennans' attitude toward her had changed. It wasn't obvious, but she wasn't a fool; she could feel the distance. Anastasia's words had planted seeds of doubt, and the perfect image she had so carefully crafted was now half-shattered. They were no longer as warm or doting as before.
Only Winni, grateful for the time Lauren had "saved her life," had been swayed by a few placating words and was once again trusting and affectionate.
And then there was Benson… she was displeased with his coldness. Hadn't she "saved" him too? But knowing Benson's personality, she understood that if it weren't for that "debt," he wouldn't just be cold—he would have thrown her out of the Brennan family altogether.
In short, the last few days had been miserable, but she didn't want to discuss it with Jonas.
She looked up at him. "Are you really willing to help me?"
Jonas replied without hesitation, "You know why I came to Unison Pharma. Now that someone is bullying you, you don't expect me to work for them, do you? That Anastasia needs to learn her place."
"In any case, I've already shut down the entire research department. R&D isn't like other departments; you can't just find replacements. Anastasia has only two choices: either she begs you to come back, or she can watch Unison Pharma go under."
His words brought a sense of relief to Lauren. A small smile touched her lips. "Mr. Moore, thank you."
"Not all the employees in the department are loyal to Jonas and Lauren, but most of the veterans are gone. Those who remained were either marginalized or forced to side with them. Under their control, the new hires gradually became their people too… I'm sorry, Miss. We were negligent. We should have noticed this earlier."
"There's no point in talking about that now," Anastasia said, her pace quick and determined. "This isn't the time for regrets. We need to solve the problem at hand."
Ms. Evelyn nodded in shame.
They stopped. They had reached the research department.
Inside, the atmosphere was relaxed. People were on their phones, chatting idly. They saw Anastasia arrive, but no one stood up to greet her.
It was clear they had no respect for their new chairwoman.

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