Chapter 342

With their hands already laden with shopping bags, they somehow ended up with a new hat as well. When Zinnia tried it on and looked absolutely adorable, Yannis bought it for her without a second thought.

By the time Zinnia and Yannis finally decided to head back, it was already close to noon.

As they walked toward the parking lot, they passed a quesadilla stall. Zinnia tugged at Yannis’s sleeve and exclaimed, “This one, their quesadillas are amazing.”

“If you want one, let’s get it,” Yannis said, stopping and taking her hand as they headed over.

“Miss, I’d like a quesadilla,” Zinnia said, scanning the menu and picking her favorite.

Yannis was waiting nearby when his phone suddenly buzzed in his bag with a special ringtone. He quickly shifted things in his hands and took the phone out. Devin’s name flashed on the screen.

His heart skipped a beat. Glancing at Zinnia, who was still ordering orange juice, he quietly stepped aside to take the call.

Devin said, “Yannis, we’ve found it.”

“Yannis, did you really find it?” Zinnia exclaimed. She didn’t even bother to get her orange juice, tugging Yannis by the hand as she hurried toward the parking lot.

Yannis just said Florivive has been found, and Devin is already on his private jet. He should land in Jinston in half an hour.

Yannis added, “Yeah, we found it. Actually, we got a lead the other day, but it wasn’t confirmed, so I didn’t want to get your hopes up.”

In fact, Devin had received clues a couple of days ago. The Perkins family spared no effort. Once they had a lead, they immediately sent people to verify it.

Today, with the news confirmed, Devin wasted no time. When it comes to his brother, he never cuts corners. He flew out right away, picked up the item, and is now on his way back to Jinston on his private jet.

After that, the two rode in silence. With the streets crowded and traffic crawling, by the time they reached the airport by car, Devin had already arrived.

Charles, Devin’s assistant, greeted them at the airport. “Yannis, Ms. Moore, this way please.”

The two followed him into the terminal, where Devin was waiting in the VIP lounge.

Inside the lounge, there were two people: Devin and a woman clad in an elegant white embroidered sheath dress, a delicate cashmere shawl draped over her shoulders. Her hair was gracefully fastened with an ornate hairpin, perfectly complementing her gentle, serene features.

“Devin.” Zinnia’s eyes shimmered with cautious hope as she looked at him.

Standing beside her, Yannis called out, “Devin.”

“Zinnia, Yannis, this is Ms. Yarbrough,” Devin said, his usually aloof demeanor softening as he introduced the woman beside him.

Though his tone was warm when addressing the two of them, it became noticeably more reserved when he mentioned her. Here was Millicent Yarbrough.

“Hello, I’m Millicent Yarbrough,” Millicent said, a gentle smile lighting up her elegant features.

Anyone personally introduced by Devin was clearly someone of significance, so Zinnia and Yannis both greeted her politely, “Nice to meet you, Ms. Yarbrough.”

“Devin, did you find it?” Yannis asked directly, too anxious to beat around the bush.

Devin glanced at Millicent, who carefully opened her handbag and took out a sandalwood box.

“It’s inside,” she said softly, extending the box toward them with her delicate hands.

Surprised that Millicent was the one handing it to them, Yannis glanced at Devin, who gave a slight nod.

“Thank you, Ms. Yarbrough,” Yannis said as he accepted the box, opened it, and showed its contents to Zinnia by his side.

Seeing the single black seed inside, Yannis and Zinnia were stunned. “Ms. Yarbrough,” Zinnia said, her voice full of disbelief.

They couldn’t believe that after nearly two months of searching, what they’d finally found was just a seed.

“This is a Florivive seed,” Millicent explained gently. “My forefathers came upon it by chance, but despite trying every method imaginable, we’ve never seen it sprout.”

She added, “We don’t even know if it can grow, or what it would look like when fully mature. You should prepare yourselves for that possibility.”

With the Florivive seed in hand, Yannis and Zinnia left in heavy silence, weighed down by uncertainty.

Devin and Millicent weren’t going with them. They had to return to Jinston.

“Zinnia, we’ve finally got the seed. If we study it carefully, I’m sure we can make it sprout,” Yannis said gently, noticing her silence and trying to assure her.

“Millicent’s family spent decades trying to make it sprout, and they never succeeded. We don’t have much time left.” Zinnia clutched the box tighter, her face heavy with worry.

The Florivive only mattered if it sprouted. Before, they’d been afraid they couldn’t find the seed; now that they had it, all their energy had to go into figuring out how to make it grow.

She wasn’t afraid of exhausting every possible method. She was just afraid Nathan wouldn’t last that long.

The Yarbrough family had tried everything for decades and failed. If even they couldn’t do it, she and Yannis could never hope to succeed in so little time. Ordinary methods clearly wouldn’t work on this seed.

“We will find a way,” Yannis said, his jaw set. No matter how hard it got, they had to succeed. Nathan had to be saved. Failure wasn’t an option.

With heavy hearts, they returned to the small courtyard, where Jackson and Nathan were already home.

Seeing them return, Nathan and Jackson came out to greet them. “Welcome back,” Nathan said warmly.

Yannis drove the electric scooter back. He quickly mastered the controls after studying them carefully. With Zinnia in such an emotional state, letting her ride was out of the question.

“Nathan,” Zinnia said hoarsely as she saw him.

Nathan immediately picked up on the change in her voice, his brow furrowing slightly as he asked gently. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Nathan thought, ‘She’d finally started to cheer up these past couple of days. Why did she suddenly look like such a little sourpuss again?’

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Jackson asked, turning to Yannis.

‘There’s no way this guy upset Zinnia,’ Jackson thought. ‘He’s always doting on her. He’d never make her mad.’

Zinnia got off the electric scooter and carefully handed Nathan the small box she had been clutching tightly in her palm.

“What’s this?” Nathan asked as he took the box, looking puzzled.

“Nathan, we’ve found the Florivive seed,” Zinnia whispered, her voice trembling with excitement.

The moment she finished speaking, Nathan and Jackson froze, both looking at the box in Nathan’s hand.

Nathan opened the box. Inside lay the Florivive seed. It was black, pistachio-sized, and utterly unremarkable at first glance.

Jackson couldn’t contain his excitement. “We found it! Does this mean he can be saved? Can the poison be cured now?”

Nathan, however, remained calm and rational. He stared at the box in his palm, his hand clenching tighter. “There’s a catch, isn’t there?”

If simply finding Florivive could cure my poison, Zinnia wouldn’t look so downcast.

Zinnia explained anxiously, “It won’t sprout on its own. We have to figure out a way to make it sprout.”

The real challenge lay in getting this Florivive seed to sprout.