Chapter 240
It wasn't just Remy who suspected something was wrong with the IV drip—Emmett and Gauge shared the same doubt. However, since Remy had stabilized, they didn't immediately call for a doctor.
Phoebe said, “The IV itself is fine—but also not fine.”
Remy frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”
Phoebe explained, “The medication in the IV isn’t inherently problematic. However, with the overwhelming bad luck you’ve been carrying today, even if you had passed an allergy test earlier, you would have still developed a sudden, severe reaction—one bad enough to kill you. So, in this case, you can only blame your misfortune.”
Hearing this, Remy broke into a cold sweat. He hadn’t realized that being extremely unlucky could even lead to a deadly allergic reaction.
Still shaken, he asked, “Can you tell why I’ve been so unlucky?” As far as he knew, he hadn’t offended anyone recently. Their family had no illegitimate heirs fighting for inheritance, so who would want to harm him?
Phoebe examined Remy closely, her gaze landing on the emerald ring on his thumb. “Take off that ring and let me see it.”
Without hesitation, Remy slipped off the ring and handed it to her. “This thing isn’t the problem, is it?”
Phoebe took the ring and inspected it carefully. As she expected, malicious energy had been concealed within it. “You’ll see in a moment.”
She took out a talisman, a pen, and quickly drew a charm on the spot. Then, she placed the talisman on the bedside cabinet, setting the ring on top of it. The moment the ring touched the talisman, a thin wisp of black smoke curled up from it. The talisman instantly ignited, burning away in mere seconds. When the flames died out, the emerald ring—once crystal-clear and flawless—now had a faint streak of eerie dark red running through its center. A putrid, rancid smell filled the room. Gauge immediately turned on the air purifier, slowly dispersing the stench.
Phoebe turned to Remy and asked, “You started wearing this ring about two weeks ago, right? How did you get it?”
Remy nodded. “Yeah, I’ve been wearing it for exactly two weeks.” Then, he turned to Emmett, frowning. “Where did this thing come from?”
Emmett’s usually calm and refined face was now dark with anger. “I bought it from my wife’s cousin’s antique auction house.” He exhaled sharply, then continued, “Two weeks ago, my wife told me that her cousin’s auction house had received a batch of rings and asked me to take a look. When I got there, her cousin specifically recommended this ring to me. It looked pure, it was an antique, and she claimed it was great for one’s health. I bought it without overthinking. That same day, I started wearing it. The next day, you saw it and liked it, so I gave it to you. Now it seems like you took the hit for me.”
If Remy had actually died because of this, Emmett would never have forgiven himself. Remy, however, felt oddly relieved. “Well, good thing it happened to me. If it had been you, things would have been way worse. After all, Maddox doesn’t interact with you often, so he wouldn’t have noticed anything was wrong. He wouldn’t have thought to call Phoebe for help.” He was genuinely grateful that he had unknowingly shielded Emmett from disaster.
Emmett sighed, his heart heavy. “If it had been me, I don’t think I would have survived this.”
He then looked at Phoebe. “Is this the ring’s original appearance now?”
Phoebe nodded. “Yes. It had been tampered with to hide the blood streak and the ominous energy. This ring was taken from an ancient tomb. After the original owner died, someone deliberately soaked it in their blood before placing it back on their corpse. That tomb was then manipulated, transforming what should have been a prosperous, fortune-bringing site into a cursed, deadly one. Because of this special ritual, the ring became steeped in resentment and dark energy.”
She turned back to Remy and said, “Your family’s past good karma is the only reason you survived this long. Had it been someone else, they would have died within seven days. Your car accident should have been fatal. The only reason you’re still here is that your previous fortune was protecting you. But the accident used up the last of your luck, leaving you completely exposed to the ring’s deadly energy, which is why your death omen came so suddenly.”
From Remy’s facial features, it was clear that he wasn’t meant to have a short life. If Maddox hadn’t brought her here today, there was no doubt he would have died. In her past life, around this time, she had been filming a drama arranged by Leon. She vaguely recalled someone mentioning that Star Entertainment’s president had changed after some kind of accident. They hadn’t said exactly when it happened, and she hadn’t paid much attention to it back then. But now, she realized—it was supposed to happen today. If she hadn’t been here, she never would have known that Remy’s premature death was deliberately orchestrated.
Remy, already pale, turned even whiter, his stomach churning with nausea. “Damn…I’ve been wearing this thing for two weeks?” The thought of wearing a ring that had been buried with a corpse and soaked in blood made him feel physically ill. Not only did he want to vomit, but an icy chill crawled up his spine. From now on, he was going to steer clear of antique jewelry.
He turned to Emmett and said, “This ring was deliberately altered to hide its true nature. Whoever sold it to you definitely knew something was wrong. The fact that you ended up buying it—was that a coincidence, or was someone targeting you?”
Emmett’s expression darkened even further. “How many coincidences do you think actually exist? That day, I didn’t just randomly decide to visit the auction—I was specifically invited and pushed into going.”
Remy’s face also turned grim. “You don’t think your wife is involved, do you?”
Emmett’s wife had loved him for years, treating him as if he was her entire world. That kind of deep devotion couldn’t be fake, could it? It didn’t seem like an act.
Emmett shook his head. “No. She wouldn’t do this. But her cousin…I’m not so sure. That woman is an expert in antiques, yet that day, she was extremely pushy about selling me this specific ring.” He narrowed his eyes. “She said it was good for one’s health—good at killing people, more like.”
The moment Remy heard his brother mention her, he immediately understood who he was talking about. He said, “She’s not trying to take you down just for business competition, is she?” he asked. “I heard she’s been helping her older brother expand their company, swallowing up multiple jewelry businesses. Didn’t she also use her incredible stone-gambling skills to get her hands on a few top-grade emeralds recently, completely overshadowing the gem hunters at your company?”
His tone turned serious. “You’re the CEO of the biggest jewelry corporation in the country. To them, you’re probably a huge threat. If they get rid of you, the Vaughan Group will take a major hit. That would give the Woodward family’s jewelry company the perfect chance to snatch the number one spot.” He continued analyzing the situation. “If she helps the Woodward Group defeat the Vaughan Group—or worse, even swallow it up—it would solidify her status in the Woodward family. Meanwhile, the true heiress they recently reclaimed would end up completely powerless, with no position or influence at all.”
It isn’t that Remy wanted to assume the worst about Una. But a woman who could trample the Woodwards’ own biological daughter into the mud—how could she possibly be simple? He had once accidentally witnessed a glimpse of Una’s ruthless side, something entirely different from the warm and elegant facade she usually presented. At first, she had just been casually listening to their conversation, treating it as gossip. But Remy’s last sentence suddenly caught her attention.