In Security Chapter 2

Having delivered her breathless monologue, Lily’s chest heaved with emotion.

Adrian pinched the bridge of his nose, looking like he wanted to say something but had no idea where to start.

Lily grabbed the front of his shirt. "Tell me! It's me or her!"

"Lily, for the love of God, stop reading those trashy romance novels! Burn my family's empire to the ground? I'm a scientist, not a ruthless billionaire. And what is this about a chat feed? You're not making any sense."

He shot me an apologetic look and tried to lead her away.

But my internal alarms were screaming. Something was wrong with her. I stepped in front of them, blocking their path.

"Apologies, Doctor. Miss Medak is not acting rationally. I'm going to need her to cooperate with an official assessment."

Adrian started to protest, but he met my unyielding gaze and let his hand fall from her arm. My credentials were unimpeachable; his own superiors had introduced me, and my file included protection details for world leaders. He knew better than to question my judgment.

"Adrian, help me!" Lily shrieked. "Don't let this evil woman take me! She'll kill me! I'll come back with a kidney missing!"

Adrian didn't move.

I escorted Lily to a small, soundproofed debriefing room. No matter what I asked, she stuck to her story: I was Adrian's mistress, and a stream of scrolling comments only she could see had told her so.

Based on my training, she wasn't lying. She genuinely believed it.

After a moment's thought, I called in a medic.

The diagnosis was… unexpected. Lily had cooked herself a lunch of wild mushrooms. Apparently, she hadn't cooked them thoroughly enough, inducing a hallucinogenic state where she believed she was seeing a live chat feed about her own life.

After treatment, she returned to normal. A background check I’d ordered also came back clean. She and Adrian were childhood sweethearts, her social circle was tiny, and her only hobby was reading romance novels. She had no connections to any foreign entities.

But even after the doctor explained that her "chat feed" was a mushroom-induced trip, she remained convinced I was Adrian's canary.

She took every opportunity to sneer at me, and one day, she even tried to shove me down the stairs.

She seemed to forget that I was a six-foot-one elite operative. There was no way a civilian like her could move me an inch.

After putting her entire body into the effort and failing to make me budge, she changed tactics, let out a yelp, and threw herself down the staircase.

By the time Adrian rushed over, she was a mess of red-rimmed eyes and crocodile tears. "Adrian, don't blame Riley! I'm sure she didn't mean to push me!"

After calling the medics, I projected the security footage onto the living room's main screen.

When the video showed the part where Lily was straining with all her might to push me, Mrs. Vance couldn't stifle a snort of laughter.

Lily shrieked, "You have cameras?!"

"Miss Medak," I stated calmly, "my sole purpose here is to protect Dr. Vance. This entire residence, excluding the bathrooms, is under 24/7 surveillance, monitored by a three-person team in real-time. I would advise you to choose your actions carefully."

Her face flushed crimson. She was speechless.

After that incident, I did my best to avoid her.

But today, a confrontation was unavoidable.

There was a critical issue during the testing phase of Adrian's project. I had to get him to the research institute immediately.

The moment we got in the car, Lily threw herself in front of it.

"Where are you two going? On a secret date behind my back?"

Adrian tried to explain the urgency of the situation.

Lily just covered her ears, chanting, "I'm not listening, I'm not listening!"

Finally, she lay down on the pavement in front of the tires. "If you insist on taking your mistress on a date, you'll have to run me over first!"