A knock sounded at the door, but before anyone could respond, it swung open slightly and Rafael’s face peeked through. He t Zhane’s eyes, received a subtle nod, and disappeared again. Monts later, the door opened fully, and Rafael nudged Hera into the room.
The sudden entrance caught the Sullivan brothers off guard, and questions imdiately began to gnaw at their minds.
’Didn’t the doctor say only family mbers or the attending physician could be here with us? Who are these two?’ the eldest Sullivan brother thought, his eyes narrowing slightly at Zhane’s back. Still, he held his tongue, watching silently instead.
Rafael casually wheeled Hera to the coffee table and took a seat beside her. A mont later, Zhane returned, setting a teapot on the table and arranging a plate of snacks directly in front of Hera.
It wasn’t the first ti Hera has been in Zhane’s office. Ever since her very first visit to his office, Zhane had made a habit of stocking her favorite tea leaves and keeping the kind of snacks she liked within reach. He was always prepared for her unannounced visits.
When Zhane poured Hera a cup of tea, the Sullivan brothers stared at her as if she were so rare creature on display at a zoo. Hera, however, maintained her composure, pretending not to notice their pointed gazes.
Rafael, on the other hand, sat there with the thick skin of a shaless gossiper, looking as if he had secured the best seat in the house to watch the drama unfold.
It didn’t take long before the second Sullivan brother lost his patience. His voice broke the tense silence.
"Dr. Everett, you said only family mbers and my sister’s attending physician were allowed to be here. These two don’t look like doctors, and they’re certainly not part of our family. So what’s really going on?"
After making sure Hera was comfortable, Zhane finally took his seat and faced the Sullivan brothers.
"I owe you an apology," he began.
At once, the brothers’ expressions darkened, their faces hardening as if they were bracing for the worst. But before they could speak, Zhane continued.
"I only said that earlier to ensure you’d follow here. As I ntioned, this concerns your sister’s condition. And as for why I brought them..." Zhane gestured toward Hera and Rafael. "They’re with , and they have an extensive network that can help us, far beyond what the three of you alone could manage."
The brothers’ expressions shifted several tis, like masks changing one after another, before finally settling into deep frowns, their confusion plain. Seeing this, Zhane didn’t hold back any longer and decided to dive straight into the heart of the matter.
"So here’s the thing. The people with and I actually ran into Miss Cherry and Miss Sophia in the garden earlier. From what we saw, it was obvious that Miss Cherry had been waiting there for quite so ti. The cold wind must have worsened her condition and triggered the poison already in her body."
"What?! Poison? What are you talking about? Are you sure about this diagnosis? My sister is suffering from leukemia, not poisoning!"
The second Sullivan brother exploded, nearly vaulting over the coffee table to grab Zhane. But Zhane only leaned back casually against the couch, effortlessly dodging his hand.
"Be mindful of your actions, Mr. Sullivan. And yes, we are absolutely certain of the diagnosis, I personally conducted it three tis to eliminate any doubt. What your sister has been suffering from is a slow-acting poison: odorless, tasteless, and colorless, nearly impossible to detect with modern dical devices."
"It just so happens that I also practice ancient dicine. I won’t claim the title of a divine doctor, but I’ve studied herbs extensively and dabbled in poisons precisely to prepare for cases like this."
"Admittedly, this is the first ti I’ve had to apply that knowledge directly, but I’ve already contacted my ntor to confirm my findings and ensure all your doubts are addressed."
"As for the culprit, we can narrow it down to those with close access to your sister, the kind of people who could easily slip sothing into her food or drink without raising suspicion. Judging by the dosage, however, it’s clear the person behind this was malicious enough to exploit her leukemia, deliberately worsening her condition each ti."
Zhane laid out everything without pretense, though he carefully refrained from naming any suspect.
After all, if he nad a suspect now, it would only look like he was trying to pin the bla on soone, especially since this incident happened in his own hospital, which automatically placed him under suspicion as well.
It was better to let the Sullivans draw their own conclusions about who might be responsible.
"As for the hospital, I’ll be conducting a thorough internal investigation to determine whether any negligence occurred on our staff’s part," Zhane added, making it clear he wasn’t trying to wash his hands of the matter but was willing to take responsibility where it was due.
For now, Zhane’s suspicions leaned heavily toward Sophia. That was why he allowed Hera and Rafael to accompany him to the office. After all, too many coincidences were never just coincidences, especially when Sophia was already suspected of leaking information about Leo’s whereabouts.
From what they knew, Sophia didn’t appear to co from a prominent family, yet she had been sent to Leo before to Zhane’s hospital under Leo’s recomndation. That alone suggested she might have her own hidden motives for getting close to Cherry.
What made her even more suspicious was the fact that she had left Cherry waiting in the garden despite knowing her condition. As a doctor, Sophia should never have permitted Cherry to be exposed to the cold wind, unless she had done it deliberately.
Because of the subtle hints Zhane dropped, without ever naming anyone, the Sullivans also began to draw the sa conclusion. Still, they couldn’t understand why Sophia would ever try to harm their sister.
After all, she had been the one to approach them so kindly, offering to donate her bone marrow for Cherry. And considering the Sullivans ca from a prominent family, why would an ordinary doctor dare offend them?
It simply didn’t make sense, which left them skeptical about suspecting Sophia.
Hera, however, thought differently. She knew they were living in the world of a novel, where logic often doesn’t make sense. In this world, what was truly abundant were unreasonable, envious vipers, people who would rather curse fate for their inadequacies than reflect on their own flaws or acknowledge what they lacked.
So, from Hera’s perspective, there could be countless reasons why Sophia might target Cherry. Not only was Hera an overthinker who loved to explore every possible scenario, but she also had a best friend who was a novel enthusiast, soone who devoured even the most absurd stories.
Inevitably, Hera had absorbed so of that knowledge herself, giving her a broader lens through which to imagine motives others might overlook.
So when Zhane revealed that Cherry had been poisoned, Hera was almost certain Sophia was behind it. Even if Sophia had offered to donate her bone marrow, kindness from a stranger was not always genuine.
The hardest debt to repay was the debt of life itself. In most novels, such a favor often beca a tool for leverage, sothing villainous characters used to exploit others, twisting gratitude into a weapon to gain power and influence.
That possibility didn’t seem far-fetched. Sophia didn’t strike Hera as the type to act kindly without an agenda. Following that logic, Hera could easily surmise that Sophia’s true aim was to establish herself as the Sullivans’ savior.
But with Cherry around, that plan would be hard to achieve. Cherry’s family adored her, and no matter what Sophia did, she would always remain secondary, forced to compete for attention and influence. For soone like Sophia, that position was intolerable.
And so, it wasn’t surprising at all to Hera that Sophia might want Cherry out of the picture, even after making the grand gesture of offering her own bone marrow.
But Hera kept her thoughts to herself. She couldn’t voice them in front of the Sullivan brothers, not yet. For now, everything in her mind was still speculation, and if she spoke without evidence, she risked being accused of slandering Sophia.
Worse, she might end up alerting the snake, giving Sophia the chance to hide her tracks and beco more guarded. Patience was the better move.
Ding!
Just then, her phone chid with a notification. Then another. And another. The device dinged several tis in quick succession, and a slow smile curved Hera’s lips.
’It’s finally here. Sasha took a little longer than usual to gather what I asked for. The target was careful this ti, ticulous in covering their tracks. But unfortunately for them, Sasha is just as ticulous in his work. It took so ti, but he still managed to dig sothing up,’ Hera thought as she discreetly pulled out her phone to check.
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