"Let's put a stop to this meeting for now," Jin Liwei suggested. "We can always continue this discussion another time, maybe tomorrow when you're feeling better. Your brother will be sleeping here at our home tonight anyway. He'll be here again tomorrow."

"I agree," Lu Zihao said. "You're pregnant, Evelinka. You better rest now."

Iris shook her head. "No, I want to get this meeting over and done with tonight. I'll sleep much better if this is all over. Also, I don't want you treating me like fragile glass just because I'm pregnant. I'm much sturdier than you all think."

The two men wanted to persuade her to change her mind but knew upon seeing her stubborn expression that she was already dead set in her decision to finish this meeting tonight. They both sighed at her stubbornness but still gave in to her. 

Jin Liwei sat beside her on the couch while Lu Zihao returned to his spot by the window. The atmosphere may have calmed down thanks to Ketchup and Bacon but there was still a palpable tension between the two men. 

Iris turned to Jin Liwei. "What other questions do you have, darling? Big Brother and I will answer anything."

He didn't speak right away. Instead, he took a few moments to gather his thoughts. The fury which he felt before his two AI children interrupted them returned to him once again. This time, however, he was able to control himself better. 

Finally, he asked, "What about your father? You mentioned to me before that your father protected and indulged you. Why am I not hearing him protecting you from being tortured? What kind of father would allow his children to be tortured like what you said? Not only you, Evelina." He glanced at Lu Zihao by the window. "But even your brother, Nikolai."

It was once again Lu Zihao who answered his question. "Because our father is...was a Vetrov, not to mention that he was also the head of the family and the organization. He indulged Evelinka, yes, but that's because she was his beautiful and sweet daughter. Even so, our father still expected her to undergo the family's training regimen, albeit only the basic level, like everybody else in the Vetrovs. It was the normal thing to do in our family. That's what you should understand first."

Jin Liwei frowned because it was indeed difficult for him to understand such a brutal treatment of one's own family members. The Vetrovs' way of doing things was on a whole different league compared to normal families. [This novel is a contracted work with W e b n o v e l . c o m (remove spaces). If you're not reading this chapter on W e b n o v e l, it has been stolen. It's very discouraging to see thieves profitting from my hard work. Please read this novel on W e b n o v e l. Thank you! Also follow me on Instagram @arriacross]

Rivalries between members of normal powerful families were quite common. These rivalries might lead to occasional crimes because of greed. For example, a wife poisoning her wealthy husband in order to inherit his wealth or an uncle stealing all of his niece's inheritance after her parents' passing. Situations like these were so common that they had become staples in drama plots. If Jin Liwei didn't manage the Jin clan with an iron fist after his father's passing, even he wouldn't be surprised if some of the more ambitious members of the branch families attempted to take over a bigger portion of Jin Corporation.

The Vetrovs' normal way of life, on the other hand, sounded like it was a literal world of survival of the fittest. There was no mercy at all, even to one's own children. Everything was brutal.

Lu Zihao continued explaining to Jin Liwei. "Our father didn't force Evelinka to undergo the more advanced and specialized training courses or to join the organization. He tried to persuade her, of course. Even I did, too, because we all believed that it was much safer for her to learn all the skills to protect herself and also to kill her enemies with her own hands. And of course, her hacking skills would've been an enormous boost to our organization's power. If she had created an AI like Ketchup or Bacon back then, perhaps we wouldn't have been annihilated like we did."

Both Iris and Jin Liwei stiffened at the mention of their AI children and felt instantly protective. However, Iris quickly became subdued upon remembering the hellish night of their annihilation. Jin Liwei sensed the change in her mood and pulled her closer to comfort her. She rested her head on his shoulder and took a deep inhale of his scent. 

Lu Zihao noticed their reactions but didn't comment about them. Instead, he continued what he was talking about. "We all tried to persuade Evelinka to join the organization because she had the greatest potential in contributing so much into making the Vetrovs more powerful. Just look at her. She's a genius. But we all failed. Despite that, we never forced her. Only our mother did. Evelinka and our mother never got along that well. And that's because our mother always failed to mould my sister into becoming someone like her."

Iris paled at the mention of their mother. Jin Liwei immediately noticed her reaction and frowned. He gave her a comforting squeeze and took a special mental note to pay more attention to any information about Madam Vetrova.

"Usually, if a member of our family refuses to join the organization, that person would either be banished, or in worse cases, 'sacrificed' because he or she is deemed as a useless existence to the Vetrovs."

Jin Liwei's eyebrows rose and he looked at Iris. He remembered her mentioning something like this before to him. She nodded at him. 

"Sacrificed?" Jin Liwei asked Lu Zihao for clarification.

Instead of answering him, Lu Zihao made a cutting motion on his neck with his hand as the simplest form of explanation.

"What the hell?" Jin Liwei pulled Iris in a protective move until she was almost lying on his lap.

Lu Zihao turned his head away and looked outside the window but he still continued speaking. "If it wasn't for our father, everyone especially our mother would've deemed Evelinka as a useless existence to our family. Not including me, of course. I would never do that to my sister."

"I know, Big Brother," Iris whispered. "I know."

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