Andrew gritted his teeth and said, “Take her along too!”
The meal box was quickly cleared away, and within five minutes, the room was completely emptied of people and things.
Lillian didn’t have a chance to speak before the Brown family’s bodyguards gagged her, hoisted her over a shoulder, and carried her off like bandits, taking everything with them.
Because Conrad refused to let her go, once she was carried onto the plane, Lillian had no choice but to be secured next to him.
She was completely bewildered.
Before she could say anything, Andrew had already instructed the doctors accompanying them to examine Conrad.
“He’s been poisoned. We need to figure out what kind, but give him the antidote first!”
Andrew turned, glaring at her. “It’s from your cooking!”
Lillian shook her head. “I was alone at home. There was no one else when I was cooking…”
As she spoke, her voice suddenly faltered.
Andrew narrowed his eyes.
“Someone came to my house asking for ketchup.”
“Did you know them?”
“No, but it’s common for the town’s residents to do that, so I didn’t think much of it…”
She hadn’t expected Conrad’s situation to be so dangerous. In the three years she’d been with him, this was the first time she encountered something like this.
“Lillian, this isn’t your first year with him! Haven’t I told you to be extremely cautious with anything given to him?” Andrew’s voice was filled with anger.
He stopped listening to Lillian’s explanations. It was too late to find that person now; they had probably disappeared.
The priority was saving Mr. Conrad’s life.
Mr. Conrad never easily consumed anything from others. This time, because it was Lillian’s cooking, he ate it without a second thought.
Their enemies had counted on the special significance of Lillian.
Lillian watched the medical staff administer injections to Conrad. His skin took on a strange hue, but after the injection, his complexion began to improve.
She felt restless, not knowing what to do.
Her blood seemed to freeze in place, and her heartbeat quickened as if it would jump out of her throat.
She didn’t know how much time passed, but she could only confirm Conrad was alive by pressing her hand against his wrist.
She could feel his body temperature was abnormal, colder than usual.
Andrew kept talking to someone, but Lillian’s mind buzzed, unable to comprehend anything until the plane landed on a remote island. Then she was roughly pulled away from Conrad.
“Until we figure out what happened, you have to stay here.”
After saying this, Andrew accompanied the group taking Conrad to a white building by the shore, while Lillian was led to a small room.
It had only a bed and a toilet, nothing else, not even a window, just a skylight above.
“How’s Conrad?” she asked at the iron door, but the guards wouldn’t respond to her.
******
Time seemed to pass slowly for Lillian in that place.
All she could hear were the nearby waves and the sea breeze seeping through the skylight above. She didn’t want to get close to it, so she sat by the iron bars, waiting for any movement.
Whenever someone passed by, she couldn’t help but look up, but all she heard were footsteps.
Where was this place?
What would happen to Conrad?
Who had used her to kill him?
If Conrad…
She didn’t dare to think, regretting over and over again and worrying about what her grandma would do if she woke up and couldn’t find her.
Meanwhile, the operating room upstairs was brightly lit.
The medical team had arrived as quickly as possible.
On the hospital bed, Conrad’s veins bulged as he struggled. It took several bodyguards to hold him down, tightening the restraints around him.
“The hemostatic clamp, the wound, it’s burst open.”
“Conrad! Calm down!” George shouted.
Conrad’s lips had already started turning blue again, but there was at least a hint of clarity in his eyes.
George asked in a low voice, “How is it?”
“It’s a new type of poison. The previous antidotes mixed together triggered it again!”
George took a deep breath. “Is there a way?”
“We can either fight poison with poison or slowly detoxify it. But the worst part of this toxin is that it triggers new reactions, and we can’t even be sure which antidote to use-we have to try them one by one.”
George inhaled deeply; their opponents definitely wanted Conrad dead…
“No more hesitation. If we wait any longer, he’ll die!”
“But we don’t have time to test each one!”
George stared at the fluctuating data on the monitor, taking a deep breath. “Can you handle fighting poison with poison?”
Conrad gritted his teeth so hard they nearly bled. “Do it!”
“Are you sure?”
“George, stop hesitating like a damn coward! Can it be done or not?”
Conrad’s will had always been in place. A man who could be assassinated at any time had no fear of battling death.
“Fight poison with poison.”
Outside the operating room, the lights remained on.
On this isolated island, someone on the operating table had their veins bulging, eyes bloodshot, fingers clutching the bed sheets in pain, trembling all over. In a lower-level iron cell, someone quietly watched the moonlight, silently praying, waiting for dawn…
Lillian’s eyes felt dry. She could only estimate that it was daylight outside now.
Footsteps echoed, and Lillian snapped her head toward the door.
“Is someone there?”
A pair of boots stopped in front of her. She looked up and met the cold, elegant gaze of a woman.
The iron door was opened, and breakfast was rudely thrown onto the floor.
Lillian didn’t care about the woman’s attitude; she only wanted to know how Conrad was.
“Conrad…” Lillian barely got the word out before the woman grabbed her by the throat, slamming her against the wall.
“You dare mention him? This is all your fault!”
“If he doesn’t make it, I’ll kill you right now to accompany him in death! Since he can’t bear to part with you, you’ll die with him!”
The woman’s face was filled with malice. As she spoke, she was already reaching for her gun.
Lillian, gasping for air as the woman choked her, kicked her legs as they dangled off the ground, struggling for survival, but the air was getting thinner…
“Fox!” Andrew’s angry voice boomed as he pushed the woman away.
Lillian collapsed, gasping for the precious air, clutching her throat.
Andrew looked at Lillian, ensuring she was okay before speaking. “What are you doing here?”
Fox glared at Lillian. “What do you think I’m here for?”
Andrew grabbed her hand to drag her outside, Fox reluctantly following him out.
“Don’t interfere with my matters!”
“Sir is fine now. That woman inside is off-limits to you.”
Fox sneered. “Why is she off-limits? She almost got him killed. Why keep her? Just because she’s pretty? Are there no pretty women left in this world? She’s just a plaything. Three years and it’s still not enough?”
“If only it were that simple, but it’s not!” No one understood Lillian’s uniqueness better than Andrew.
“Sir is awake!” someone shouted.
Fox’s face lit up with joy, and she immediately rushed upstairs without hesitation.
When Conrad opened his eyes, he first noticed the familiar room and the salty sea breeze in the air.
George immediately ordered a thorough check-up.
“How are you?” George asked.
“I’ll survive,” Conrad rasped, his voice rough. “Where’s Lillian?”
The room fell silent.
George frowned. “Why would Lillian be here?”
Conrad struggled to sit up. “I remember she came. Where is she? Why isn’t she here?”
Before anyone could answer, someone burst in and nearly hugged him. “You’re finally awake!”
Conrad looked past them to see Andrew hurrying back. “Where’s Lillian?” he asked again.
Fox interjected, “Who knows if that woman was paid to set you up? This time, you should have seen it clearly. Be careful not to get played and not even know how you died!”