"I didn’t burn out..."

Owen Lancaster seemed displeased with her words, frowning slightly as he rebutted.

Before he could finish speaking, a series of coughs erupted from his throat. His back hunched, and he trembled violently, his eyes becoming moist as they looked increasingly unfocused.

"Didn't burn out? Next time, remember to call 911, not come to me, Serena."

Serena remained expressionless as she dialed 911.

The man opened his mouth to say something, but was suddenly blocked by Emma, who squatted in front of him.

"Bro Owen, I’m here." She softened her voice, "Don’t worry, once the ambulance arrives, we’ll go to the hospital."

Owen stared at the clear face blocking his view, as if trying to recognize it. After a while, he finally seemed to become a little more alert.

"Emma..."

"Bro Owen, you finally recognized me."

He grasped Emma’s hand, his knuckles turning white. After a long silence, he suddenly let out a quiet laugh, his voice low and hoarse, "Yeah, it’s good that you stayed by my side. You’re all I have."

The voice wasn’t loud, but in the narrow basement, it was clearly audible.

Serena paused briefly as her fingers hovered over her phone but didn’t turn around. She just stiffened her back and prepared to leave.

When Emma heard she was about to leave, she hurriedly said, "Let me see you out."

At the door, Emma looked down, twisting her fingers nervously, and softly spoke, "You... you don’t plan to stay?"

Serena found it somewhat amusing. "Stay for what? To record a video when the doctor arrives and make a documentary?"

Then add a banner, highlighting the 'true love' between people.

Her smile was faint, and her voice was soft.

"I don’t care what you’re thinking, Miss Hayes. Your issues have nothing to do with me. This love drama doesn’t require me, the audience, to keep playing along."

These words hit Emma like a thunderclap. Her face went pale, and she bit her lip tightly, not speaking another word.

Serena turned and left.

Her back was thin and desolate, like a leaf falling in the wind.

She had drunk too much. When she got home and lay down on the bed, she lost all awareness. By the time she opened her eyes again, it was already morning.

There were several missed voice messages on her phone—

"Sis Serena, SylvanEdge Technology called. They want to renegotiate and meet with Mr. Lancaster."

Serena, ignoring the headache, sat up and replied, "Hold them off, I’m coming over immediately."

LancasterCare mainly dealt with medical equipment. Last month, they had reached a cooperation with SylvanEdge Technology to jointly develop an exoskeleton device to help patients with high-level paraplegia walk.

If the research succeeded, it would definitely create a market sensation.

This cooperation should have been handled by Owen.

"Miss Harper, is LancasterCare handling this so carelessly?"

Serena hurriedly pushed open the conference room door, still out of breath, a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, and apologized to the partner.

"Sorry, Mr. Grey, this is entirely our mistake. We will make immediate adjustments."

In addition to this collaboration, Mr. Grey had privately discussed a batch of goods with Owen. As a favor for this cooperation, the price LancasterCare was offering for these goods was 10% less than the standard price, though it hadn’t been publicly acknowledged. Mr. Grey had now seen the regular price invoice and was greatly upset, thinking LancasterCare was being dishonest. Serena had no choice but to smooth things over.

She brought tea and spoke kindly, but the man took a sip, clearly not taking her seriously.

"I’ve been at LancasterCare for so long, but I haven’t seen Owen once. I wonder if it’s because I’m not important enough, or if LancasterCare has too much on its plate?"

Owen hadn’t shown up at LancasterCare for several days, which had sparked rumors among the staff. Mr. Grey had heard some of them and wasn’t surprised. There were even rumors that Owen had been kicked out of the Lancaster Family.

Serena suddenly understood—Mr. Grey was purposely making a scene today to test the truth of these rumors.

Her expression remained calm as she smiled faintly.

"Owen is on a business trip overseas and won’t be back for a while."

Mr. Grey raised an eyebrow, puzzled, "Really on a business trip? It’s not like something happened to him?"

"Mr. Grey, you’re overthinking it."

Just then, a phone rang abruptly.

Outside, in the hallway where the morning meeting was taking place, a hoarse yet familiar male voice suddenly sounded from someone’s phone, “Emmy, where did you go? The nurse said she didn’t see you.”

The room fell silent, so still that even the sound of a needle dropping could be clearly heard.

The door to the meeting room wasn’t closed, and Serena paused for a moment.

Even Mr. Grey, who usually remained composed, coughed slightly while holding his teacup, his gaze growing strange.

It was said that Owen Lancaster had broken ties with the Lancaster Family for a young girl and left LancasterCare. It turned out to be true.

After hanging up the phone, Emma suddenly stood up from the queue and bowed apologetically to the leader, “Sorry, may I take a leave? My boyfriend is unwell...”

The leader was in a difficult position. He clearly knew who Emma was referring to as her “boyfriend.”

Granting the leave would break the rules, but refusing was difficult since she was their boss...

The leader turned to Serena for help, his eyes pleading, “Sis Serena, can this leave be approved?”

Serena, flipping through the two printed contracts on the desk, didn’t reveal her thoughts. Her tone remained calm and professional, without any change.

“Have you been with LancasterCare for so many years and still don’t know the rules? Tardiness and early leave will be marked, and the salary will be deducted.”

Emma hesitated for a moment. Her internship salary was already very low, making it hard for her to even support herself, let alone two people. And now, with Bro Owen sick...

Her legs seemed rooted to the ground, and she didn’t move.

Serena turned her head to look at her. “Is there a problem?”

Seeing things weren’t going well, the leader nudged Emma. “Sis Serena’s meaning is clear—she’s letting it go. You should thank her.”

Someone else sneered, “Yeah, look at the situation. Sis Serena is being very generous by not holding this against you. Aren’t you leaving?”

“But...”

Emma clenched her fists, feeling confused.

But Bro Owen’s last name is Lancaster. Doesn’t that mean she should be given some leniency by default?

Serena expressionlessly placed the proposal down. “Three seconds. If you’re still standing here, just go straight to HR for your termination letter.”

Emma closed her eyes, gripped her phone tightly, and quickly ran out.

In the afternoon, someone came to settle the score for her.

Serena had finally managed to keep Mr. Grey for a meal, and after some negotiation, he agreed to look at the proposal later in the afternoon.

“Mr. Lancaster?”

“Mr. Lancaster, what brings you here?”

“Mr. Lancaster... What happened?”

Just then, a few surprised exclamations were heard from outside the door.

A hoarse male voice suddenly sounded outside the meeting room, with a chilling edge to it.

“Where is Serena Harper?”