Chapter 432:

“What’s wrong with him?” Gloria asked, still shaken after returning home.

Gloria couldn’t calm herself for a long time, her mind replaying everything that happened.

“Schizophrenia,” Landon replied, his voice calm but heavy.

“Can it be treated?” Gloria pressed, hoping for a glimmer of hope.

“No, it’s incurable,” Landon said, shaking his head.

Typical schizophrenia just means losing touch with reality, but Jeffrey actually developed a whole other personality. When he was himself, he was a calm and collected young man. But when that other side took over, he turned into a violent, out-of-control maniac.

“That’s honestly terrifying! He should really stay in the mental institution. If he ever got out, who knows what he might do to innocent people,” Gloria said, her voice still trembling.

When Jeffrey lost control, he could hurt anyone. If someone hadn’t managed to subdue him with a tranquilizer in time, there’s no telling how badly things could’ve ended today.

“You’re right, Mom,” Landon said with a small smile. That was exactly why he’d agreed to let Jeffrey see Shelby one last time. How could someone who might lose control and turn violent at any moment ever be allowed to live among normal people?

“I just… I really don’t know how we could have a kid like him,” Gloria sighed, her heart aching. He was her own husband’s flesh and blood, and still so young—when he wasn’t having an episode, he looked just like Landon used to be. But it was like he was destined from birth to walk a different path.

Amelia, who was pregnant and hadn’t been involved in what happened today, listened to Landon recount everything and felt a chill run down her spine. “That’s honestly terrifying,” she whispered.

“Yeah. No matter what Aunt Shelby says in the future, we can’t let ourselves go soft on him,” Landon said, his tone resolute.

“Alright,” Amelia replied.

She felt a wave of guilt wash over her. ‘Someone like Jeffrey really shouldn’t ever be let out,’ Amelia thought to herself.

If he hurt anyone, the Kingsley family would have to compensate the victim. But that wasn’t the issue. The worst part was that he might destroy someone’s family.

“Did the baby give you any trouble today?” Landon asked, resting his hand gently on Amelia’s belly. Her second pregnancy was showing earlier than the first, and her round belly looked like the coziest little home for the baby inside. It was just so beautiful!

“No, the baby’s been even more well-behaved than Kimsey was. The kicks are so gentle,” Amelia replied with a smile. She just had a hunch this baby was a girl. As for whether this baby would have any powers, they’d just have to wait until she was born to find out. Talking about powers, she couldn’t help but think of herself and Kimsey. She’d been reborn, she could read minds, and Kimsey had a full-blown healing ability. She wondered if her second baby would have some sort of superpower as well. She felt that maybe she could rewrite the family’s genes, although she had no idea where her power came from.

“Honey, what are you thinking about?” Landon asked, noticing her distant look. Her gaze kept drifting, and sometimes her eyes would go wide. Landon couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in her mind.

“I was just thinking about what to name the baby,” Amelia replied.

She was obviously hiding something, but Landon didn’t push. He just smiled and said, “We don’t even know if it’s a boy or a girl yet! Let’s wait until the baby’s born and have your grandpa pick a name. He’s got a ton of good fortune–maybe the baby will get a little of that blessing too.”

“That sounds great!” Amelia agreed, her face lighting up.

It had been ages since she’d last seen her grandpa—she was already looking forward to taking the new baby to stay with the Hughes family in Lunova for a few days.

Shelby’s condition kept getting worse, and every day she kept demanding to see her son. Lucia was terrified—she never wanted to see Jeffrey again for the rest of her life. She snapped at Shelby, “Why do you still care about him? He’s insane!”

“He’s just sick. He can get better…” Shelby insisted, her voice trembling.

“Did you ever actually try to get him treated all these years? Did it ever work?” Lucia shot back, her frustration boiling over.

Shelby just started crying, unable to say a word. Lucia was at her wit’s end. One selfish decision, one moment of weakness, and now there was a madman in the family. She couldn’t even bear the thought of anyone finding out. And yet, even on her deathbed, Shelby couldn’t let it go.

“Lucia, you have to do something! You have to find a way to cure him!” Shelby sobbed.

Lucia took a deep breath, struggling to hold back her anger. “He’s got a mental illness! If there was any way to cure him, don’t you think we would’ve done it by now?”

“There is, there has to be… If we can just find the legendary Life Elixir, he’ll be cured!” Shelby insisted, looking at her daughter with desperate hope.

For a second, Lucia wavered and immediately grabbed her phone to search “Life Elixir” on Google. Not a single result came up. She even tried checking online pharmacies, but there was nothing at all. She was convinced her mother was just imagining things—there was no such thing as this so-called Life Elixir in the real world.

“Lucia, your brother is already gone. Jeffrey is the only one left! You have to save him, or I’ll never rest in peace. Even as a ghost, I won’t let you off!” Shelby shrieked, her voice cracking with desperation.

Shelby was practically screaming herself hoarse, and Lucia felt her scalp tingle. ‘Is this really my mom? How could she curse me like that?’ Lucia thought, feeling numb with shock.

“Lucia, Lucia…” Shelby kept calling her name, her voice fading.

“Alright, I’ll look for the medicine. If it’s out there, I’ll do my best to get it. But if it doesn’t exist, there’s nothing I can do,” Lucia said, her patience clearly wearing thin.

A few days later, Shelby passed away. After the funeral, the big Gellar family house was left with only Lucia living there. Just then, Gloria’s parents got tired of life overseas and decided to come back home for their retirement. Gloria brought them back to the family home.

The old grudges between the sisters were let go, and Lucia kept everything to herself, never mentioning a word to her grandparents.

Lucia didn’t have a job at the moment, but she wasn’t hurting for cash. So she set out to fulfill her mom’s dying wish: tracking down the Life Elixir. She hit up every pharmacy in town and asked every doctor she could find, but nobody had a clue what the Life Elixir even was.

Finally, she decided to ask Landon for help.

“The Life Elixir?” Landon’s eyes widened in shock. “Who told you about that?”

“My mom mentioned it right before she died,” Lucia said, her voice meek as she stood before her cousin. “All the mistakes were hers. Jeffrey’s innocent. If we could cure him, maybe you wouldn’t have to deal with so much…”

“I’ve never considered him a burden,” Landon interrupted, his tone icy.

Lucia shrank back a little, clearly terrified of her cousin. “But he’s still your brother…”

“Is he even listed in the Kingsley family records?” Landon shot back, his voice sharp.

Jeffrey didn’t even exist on paper—he wasn’t on the Gellar family books, and definitely not with the Kingsleys. Fourteen years old, and all he’d got is just a name.

“If you want to go searching, be my guest. Just don’t come bothering me,” Landon snapped, his tone cold and unyielding.

Lucia was as timid as a quail now—no way she’d dare stand up to him. She left the Kingsley Group with her head hanging, drifting alone through the city streets.

That was when someone suddenly stepped in front of her. “Miss Gellar, you’re looking for the Life Elixir, aren’t you?”