Chapter 79

"Fine, change it back for me."

It made my skin crawl hearing Leo call that bastard "Papa," especially with our strained history.

Evelyn Sinclair sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration.

Emily Whitaker twisted her fingers together, at a loss for words.

"Is it really irreversible?"

Evelyn frowned. "If it was programmed by humans, there has to be a way to override it, right?"

Emily shook her head. "Not exactly. The issue is that Leo's neural imprint of Nathan Blackwood's aesthetic preferences has been reinforced too deeply. To alter it, we'd need to overwrite his core associations—find someone else to replace Nathan in his perception."

Silence settled between them, heavy and uncomfortable.

Guilt gnawed at Evelyn. Maybe she shouldn’t have designed Leo to be so stubbornly opinionated.

Noticing Evelyn’s darkening expression, Emily cleared her throat. "What about Lucas?"

Evelyn blinked. "Why him?"

Emily pulled out her phone. "Look, the internet is flooded with photos and rumors about you two. People are practically begging for an official announcement. And let’s be honest—he’s just as good-looking as Nathan. What do you think?"

The mere thought of Leo calling Lucas "Papa" sent a shudder down Evelyn’s spine. "Absolutely not."

But then, who else in her life could possibly rival Nathan’s appearance?

The two women fell into deep thought.

Evelyn tapped her fingers against the table. "What if we make Leo hate Nathan instead?"

Emily’s eyes lit up. "Or at least like someone else more than him."

"That’s the goal."

Emily rested her chin on her palm. "It’s not impossible. I could introduce some conditional blocks in his cognitive processing."

Evelyn smirked. "Perfect. Let’s do that. Should I bring Leo here?"

"No need." Emily reached into her bag and pulled out a sleek, unmarked laptop. "I can access his system remotely."

Evelyn studied the device—unbranded, unlike anything on the market. She vaguely recalled Donovan owning something similar.

Emily’s fingers flew across the keyboard. A few seconds later, she clapped her hands together.

"Done!"

Evelyn arched a brow. "That fast? No rewiring? No hardware adjustments?"

Emily grinned. "He’s an AI, not a real tiger. But seriously—keep him out of the public eye. The last thing we need is mass panic over a sentient robotic predator."

Evelyn rolled her eyes as Emily excitedly grabbed her phone again. "I have to tell Donovan about this!"

Before Evelyn could respond, her own phone buzzed relentlessly—Bennett had left a dozen missed calls.

She couldn’t avoid him any longer.

The moment Evelyn stepped into Sterling Corp’s headquarters, Bennett was already waiting.

"Vice President Sinclair, should we have PR address the rumors about you and Lucas?"

Evelyn skimmed the headlines. The tabloids had spun wild theories, but she couldn’t care less.

Still, unchecked gossip could damage the company’s image.

"I’ll handle Dominic Young. No need for corporate intervention."

Bennett exhaled in relief. "There’s… something else."

His hesitation was unusual.

Evelyn shot him a sharp look. "Spit it out."

He pressed his lips together before speaking. "There’s been… unpleasant office gossip circulating lately. It’s spreading fast."

"About me?" She already knew the answer.

Bennett nodded grimly.

"They’re saying you were exiled from the Blackwood family because you were involved with Sebastian Hart and Alexander Sterling while also seeing other men."

Evelyn let out a dry laugh. "Let me guess—Reginald Blackwood?"

Bennett shook his head. "Olivia Kensington."

The air in the elevator turned icy.

Evelyn’s expression darkened, her voice dangerously calm.

"Seems she still hasn’t learned her lesson."