The Heiress Spoiled by Four Brothers and One Devilish CEO-Chapter 217 Your Turn to Take the Stage

Dreamscape Manor.

As soon as the car rolled past the ornate iron gates, Megan Shaw tightened her coat and stepped outside to wait.

Tristan Reid got out and strode over, scooping her into his arms. “You silly girl, aren’t you freezing?”

“Not when I see you,” Megan leaned against his chest with a smile. “Everything settled?”

Tristan gave a brief nod. “Let’s talk inside. It’s cold—you and the baby shouldn’t be out here long.”

Megan chuckled. “The baby’s in my belly. Not exactly catching a cold out here.”

Tristan pinched her cheek with a grin. “You’re my baby too.”

From beside them, the parrot squawked, “You’re my baby too!”

Tristan’s face instantly darkened. “She’s my girl, you dumb bird.”

The parrot called back mockingly, “She’s my girl, you dummy!”

Megan burst into laughter.

Tristan narrowed his eyes and pulled out his phone, dialing. “Samuel, come get your stupid parrot first thing tomorrow. Or I’m turning it into stew.”

The parrot flapped its wings and bolted.

Watching Megan laugh so freely, the tension on Tristan’s face melted a bit.

He lifted her into his arms and carried her inside, gently placing her on the bed.

“So, what’s the update?”

Hanging up his coat, he sat next to her. “James admitted everything. But there’s a parasite inside him. If Nathaniel Cooper finds out, he won’t let him live. I’ve got the video as proof, but still, having a live witness would be better.”

“But Karl’s not awake yet...”

“Huh?”

Megan blinked at the dangerously close, handsome face. That look in Tristan’s eyes screamed mischief. She instinctively pressed her hands against his chest. “What’s wrong?”

He nipped her lips lightly. “What did you just call him?”

Realization hit like a truck. Jealousy levels confirmed. “Freeman! I meant Freeman!”

“That’s better.” Tristan wrapped her in his arms. “I’ll head to the hospital tomorrow. Hopefully he wakes up soon. That thing in James is like a ticking time bomb—we don’t know when it’ll go off. Finally got a solid witness, and the elections are right around the corner. Can’t afford any slip-ups.”

Megan nodded. “I’ll go with you to see Freeman tomorrow, okay?”

Tristan shot her a look. “That’ll make me jealous.”

Megan smirked. “You were jealous of a parrot. Who wouldn’t make you jealous?”

Tristan: “...”

The next morning, they arrived at the hospital.

They were both caught off guard when they spotted Brandon Lewis with dark circles under his eyes.

“Did you not sleep at all?”

Tristan asked, raising a brow. Brandon nodded. “Emily figured out protease could weaken zombie functions, so I ran a bunch of tests last night.”

Megan asked tentatively, “Used Keith as the subject?”

“Yeah. Results were mostly in line with expectations, but full recovery’s still far off. James and his crew just wanted destruction—they never thought about a cure. So we keep working. What’s the latest from Luocheng?”

Tristan pulled a cigarette from his case and placed it between his lips. “Under control for now and we’ve handled bio-cleanup. But with time, there’s still a risk it spreads. One infection could spark another outbreak.”

Brandon hesitated. “You think James might turn on us?”Tristan Reid lowered his eyes. “I’m not worried he’ll turn on us—Nathaniel Cooper probably already suspects something. I’m just afraid we might not be able to keep James Evans alive. There’s a parasite in his body. I came to Karl Freeman to see if there’s any other way to get rid of it besides using the queen parasite or the Silverwing King in his system.”

Brandon Lewis nodded. “He just came to. Let’s go see him.”

The three of them entered the isolation room. Karl Freeman was already awake, sitting quietly against the headboard.

Seeing them, Karl gave a weak smile. “Still breathing, guess I’m not that easy to kill.”

He held up his shackled wrist. “Just annoyed with being chained up like some kind of criminal.”

Pushing up his gold-rimmed glasses, Brandon said, “Vitals are stable. We drew some of his serum this morning to run tests. Hopefully it’ll help crack the vaccine issue.”

Megan Shaw stepped closer. “Karl, how are you feeling really?”

“Don’t worry,” Karl smiled gently. “I’ve still got to help you guys deal with the parasite mess. I won’t die just yet.”

Tristan took the cigarette from his lips. “We don’t need you risking your life, Karl. If it costs you everything, we’d rather leave the parasite in.”

“So, is this what you call revolutionary friendship?” Karl joked.

Tristan grinned, “Dead people always take up more space in your heart than the living. I’m not giving you that dramatic ending.”

“You’re such a jerk, Tristan!” Karl shot him a glare.

Tristan laughed. “Karl, we found the lab’s origin—it’s Oceanic Biotech. The chairman, James Evans, has that bug in him. He’s our key witness. We do have video evidence, but it’s better if he stays alive. Can we remove it?”

“Only the queen parasite or the king one can do that,” Karl answered, looking up. “The queen’s with the culprit, but I’ve got the king. The fastest way? Use mine to lure his out.”

“You could die doing that,” Megan said bluntly.

Karl chuckled. “Unless it’s a love-bound parasite, I’ll be fine.”

Tristan’s eyes lit up. “Okay, I’ll have him brought here.”

He’d just reached for his phone when it rang.

“Boss, bad news—James Evans is dead. Bled out from all his orifices,” Cameron Brooks reported.

Tristan gave a dry chuckle. “Figured. We’ve got the video though. Bring Connor Collins in to deal with the parasite.”

After hanging up, he immediately called Charles Cooper. “Now’s the time to drop the news.”

“Got it.”

One hour later, a press conference was held at the Cabinet Office.

Standing at the podium, Charles laid everything bare—the parasite base in Luocheng and the zombie virus incident. He presented hard proof: data records and surveillance footage. As witness, there was Connor Collins.

He fired Nathaniel Cooper from his Defense Minister post and issued an arrest warrant for him, launching a full investigation.

By the time the SWAT team reached Nathaniel’s villa, it was already up in flames.

After putting out the blaze, a thorough search of the place revealed shelves of jars filled with creepy, squirmy bugs in the basement.

Nathaniel hadn’t seen Charles’s move coming at all. It caught him completely off guard.

By the time he noticed the warning signs, it was too late. All he managed to take were a few crucial documents—everything else was left behind.

The search was broadcasted live across the country. When the footage showed those jars of parasites, every citizen saw the truth with their own eyes.

Even though Nathaniel escaped for now, he completely lost the public’s trust.

So of course, all the candidates he backed in the election went down with him. No contest there.

In a dimly lit room, a woman crouched by a man’s legs, whispering, “Boss, don’t worry. We’ll rise again.”The man gently caressed the woman’s alluring face and said with a smirk, “Your turn to take the stage now.”