Rising from the Ashes (Andrew) novel Chapter 980

Nyla lifted her tear-streaked face, eyes full of sorrow. She choked out, "Andy… my dad… he's forcing me… He wants your formulas. He's making me steal them and bring them back to him."

She broke down into sobs. "Andy, Dr. Aicker, you should fire me. I don't deserve to stay at Moonlit Apothecary anymore. I don't even have the face to show up here!"

The words poured out of her as the tears fell. She had finally revealed everything because her trust in Andrew and Francesca was unconditional.

Her loyalty to them ran deeper than blood, and when it came to Dominic, the man who was supposed to be her father, she felt nothing but heartbreak and betrayal.

She had come to see that the man who once called her his daughter had turned into someone cold, greedy, and unrecognizable. He wanted her to betray Andrew—to steal from someone who had only ever been kind to her.

Nyla realized she simply could not do it. She would rather tell the truth than live with that kind of guilt.

Francesca exploded with fury. "Dominic is out of his mind! That man's nothing but a monster! Even Hidden Dragons and Quinton wouldn't dare touch Andrew's miracle formulas—who the hell does Dominic think he is?"

Andrew's voice was calm. "Nyla, what if I gave you the formulas? Would you take them?"

Nyla gasped. "Andy, no! You absolutely mustn't do that! Even if you offered them to me, I'd never take them."

Andrew smiled. "Why not? If you gave them to your father, wouldn't he start treating you better? Wouldn't that solve everything?"

Nyla shook her head, tears pouring down again. "That's not how it works. You've been so good to me—I could never take advantage of you like that. And besides, my father's in the wrong. Going after your formulas is greedy, selfish… It's just wrong. The man he used to be is gone. I don't even recognize him anymore."

Francesca narrowed her eyes. "So that slap on your face—he was the one who did it, wasn't he?"