Chapter 290

In the hospital room, Gloria was chatting with Brooke.

“Ugh, when can I get out of here? It’s so boring staying here every day!” Gloria complained.

“Gloria, you have to wait until after your surgery,” Brooke replied.

“But I miss Kimsey and Landen…” Gloria said, her voice tinged with longing.

“Just a little longer. You’ll be out soon,” Brooke reassured her.

Staying in the hospital day after day for a long period would wear down even the most optimistic person.

These days, Gloria had been alternating between agitation and depression. All she wanted was to go home.

But she was still sick, and she was afraid that bringing her illness home might bring bad luck or germs to her grandchildren.

When she saw Amelia and the others crowd into the hospital room, Gloria’s emotions finally hit their peak. “Amy, tell me the truth. Do I have a terminal illness?”

“No,” Amelia replied with a gentle smile, signaling for someone to untie Marvin and set him down.

“Marvin?” Gloria stared at him in shock. “Why did you bring him here all tied up?”

“Mom, you’ve been poisoned, and we need Marvin to cure you,” Amelia said lightly, as if she were just talking about the weather.

Gloria thought she must have misheard. “Me? Poisoned?”

“Yes. Last time, when Lucia broke in during the night, it was to poison you,” Amelia explained.

At this point, Amelia didn’t feel the need to hide the truth anymore.

Only by recognizing how dangerous close relatives could be, could they prevent it from happening again.

“Lucia? She… she…” Gloria’s eyes brimmed with tears, the shock hitting her hard.

Her own sister, nephew, and niece had not only bullied her husband and kids, but now they even wanted her dead.

They’re nothing but enemies.

“Mom, this is why your surgery kept getting delayed. But now, Marvin can get rid of the poison for you. You’re going to be alright,” Amelia said, hugging Gloria to comfort her.

Gloria got out of bed and walked over to Marvin. While he was still tied up, she kicked him a couple of times to vent her anger. “Why would you do this to me? What did I ever do to you?”

“Aunt Gloria, I’m sorry. It was all my fault. Please, don’t kill me, I’m begging you!” Marvin pleaded pitifully.

“You almost killed me! Get rid of the poison now, then I’ll think about whether to let you live,” Gloria said through gritted teeth, still considering sparing Marvin.

Amelia added, “Mom, the poison you were given was made using some kind of dark magic. No one else can cure it except him.”

“How impressive,” Gloria sneered and gave Marvin another kick.

Chapter 300

“This poison can only be cured with life,” Marvin said, his voice trembling.

“Life?” Gloria was terrified, her voice barely above a whisper.

“From the moment they decided to poison you, they never meant for you to survive,” Joanna explained calmly.

Gloria slumped heavily onto the bed, her breath catching in her throat.

‘Poisoning me with a life as the price? Is Marvin even human?’ she thought, her mind spinning.

“Marvin, this is your chance to say your last words,” Amelia said, pulling out a recorder and holding it up to his lips.

Marvin said nothing. His eyes drooped in despair.

He was going to die, and no one could save him now. He didn’t know what he could say.

“Guess you don’t even have any last words,” Amelia said, putting the recorder away.

Joanna loosened one of the ropes around Marvin, letting him move one hand. “Go on, cure the poison!”

“And what if I refuse? Either way, I’m dead,” Marvin said, his voice flat.

“Then your wife and son will die before you do,” Joanna replied coldly.

Marvin blinked, as if only now remembering that he had a wife and son.

His expression, once filled with despair, suddenly showed faint traces of hope breaking through the cracks.

Amelia looked at his face, twisted between utter hopelessness and a strange hope, and the extreme contradiction made her uneasy.

“Hurry up!” Amelia urged.

Marvin walked toward Gloria in a daze, then just stood there, unmoving.

“He doesn’t want to cure the poison? Fine, I’ll help him!” Joanna said, suddenly producing a dagger from who knows where.

With one swift motion, she stabbed Marvin in the chest.

“Ah!” Gloria let out a terrified scream.

Amelia and Maisie were both stunned by how ruthless Joanna was.

All they wanted was to cure the poison, not to kill anyone.

Joanna strode forward without hesitation and started digging into Marvin’s wound with practiced hands.

The pain was so raw and obvious that Gloria went completely pale. “Don’t do this…”

“It’s fine,” Joanna said, digging a pill out of the wound, wiping it clean, and laying it in her palm. “This is the antidote–nurtured with a life.”

The pill was reddish-brown in color, giving off a strange, flowery fragrance.

And the moment the pill was pulled out, Marvin crashed to the floor, dead as a doornail.

Everyone stood frozen in silence.

They couldn’t believe a poison that was nurtured by life even existed.

“Eat it,” Joanna said, handing the pill to Gloria.

Even though the pill had a strong floral scent, just knowing it had been grown inside Marvin’s flesh made Gloria want to gag. There was no way she could swallow it.

“You can mix it into some milk if you want,” Joanna said, placing the pill on the nightstand, “I’m done here. I’m leaving.”

She picked up her gun and chambered a round.

If anyone tried to stop her, she’d shoot.

But no one moved.

It was as if she were invisible. Everyone was anxiously gathered around Gloria.

After Joanna walked out of the hospital room, she glanced back in a daze.

‘The sting of betrayal and isolation left a deep scar on her heart.’

But soon, with steely determination, she left the hospital at top speed, making her report to Monroe while making her escape. “Mr. Montgomery, the mission is complete.”

In Dreicean, Monica had just woken up.

When she realized she was tied up by Landon, she was utterly shocked. “H–How could this be?”

“It wasn’t me on the plane,” Landon said coldly.

“Did you control the people carrying the boxes?” Monica slowly furrowed her brows. “But there’s no way you could’ve gotten out of my house with me… My dad would never have allowed that.”

“Your dad’s power has been broken,” Landon replied.

Monica’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You know about my dad’s power? Who told you that?”

“Jonny went crazy before he died, and he mentioned it then,” Landon said.

“Damn it!” Monica was furious.

Her cousin had been dead for years, yet he still managed to ruin everything.

‘I should’ve never let that crazy bastard live back then!’ Monica thought bitterly.

Still, she was curious how Landon had managed to break Monroe’s power.

“Landon, how did you pull it off?” she asked.

“It was easy. I just sent some people and had them shoot from outside the range of his power. That broke the deadlock,” Landon replied, a confident gleam in his eyes.

After hearing that, Monica was impressed.

“You really are smart…” Monica muttered, feeling totally speechless. She twisted around so much that her neck started to hurt.

Only then did she remember she was injured.

She screamed in panic, “My wound reopened! Am I going to die? Will it scar?”

“You won’t die. But if you keep moving like that, you’ll definitely end up with a scar,” Landon replied.

Monica, who loved her looks more than life, immediately froze in place. She whimpered, crying softly, “Landon, for the sake of how deeply I love you, please let me go! I can’t bear having a scar… I can’t accept not being perfect.”

“I’ll let you go after my mom is cured,” Landon said, glancing at his watch as he waited for news from Norava.

Trading a life for a life–Landon figured there was no way Marvin would ever accept that willingly.

He just hoped everything was under control and the whole antidote thing would go off without a hitch.

Finally, his phone rang.

The name “Honey” lit up on the screen, shining like the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.