Chapter 681

Never mind the family matriarch’s opinion; given who Anastasia had in her corner, anyone who dared to cross her would be asking for a death wish.
Anastasia gracefully accepted the warm greetings from the crowd, responding to each person in turn.
After lunch, she checked the time, planning to stop by the Global Harmony Medical Institute headquarters to register. Just then, her phone rang. It was Marcus, saying he had something urgent to discuss.
Anastasia considered it for a moment. Registering wasn’t that pressing, so she agreed to meet him.
An hour later, she walked into the private room to find Marcus shrouded in gloom, the usual charming smile on his face frozen and cold.
She raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with you?”
His expression softened slightly at the sight of her. Without a word, he tossed a small pouch onto the table. “Take a look at this for me. I need to know if what’s inside has anything to do with my… ‘hereditary disease.””
He said the words ‘hereditary disease’ through gritted teeth.
Anastasia brought the pouch to her nose and sniffed. Her eyes narrowed instantly.
“It has everything to do with it. If I’m not mistaken, this is what caused your so-called ‘hereditary disease’ in the first place.”
She looked up at Marcus, who was slumped in his chair. “Where did you get this?”
The moment he heard her answer, Marcus froze, his face turning pale. He shut his eyes, a look of utter despair washing over him.
“I found it at home after I went back.”
He had been holding onto one last sliver of hope. Maybe it was an outsider trying to harm him. He couldn’t bring himself to suspect his own family, not until he had no other choice.
“And who does this belong to?” Anastasia asked gently. “Can you tell me?”
Marcus waved a hand, his voice weak. “I don’t know yet. The butler found it in a trash can about two weeks ago, but he has no idea who threw it away.”
After Anastasia told him he wasn’t suffering from a hereditary illness but had been poisoned, and after the issue with his fiancée’s sachet, he had secretly asked his butler to keep a close watch on the household. The butter, diligent to a fault, had been quietly checking the trash every day for months. It was this very diligence that led to the discovery.
“Who lives in your house?” Anastasia asked.
Marcus sighed. “Not many. My grandparents, my parents, and my cousin Barry’s family.” He paused. “My fiancée also visits often.”
The Jackson family was small compared to others, which only made Marcus’s discovery more painful. His grandparents doted on him, his parents loved him, Barry was always looking out for him, and he and his cousin were as close as brothers. His fiancee was practically a member of the family already, treated like a daughter-in-law even before the wedding.
These were the people he loved and trusted. How could he suspect any of them?
But no matter how much he wished it weren’t true, the evidence had been found in his own home.
While Marcus looked like he’d been dealt a devastating blow, Anastasia remained calm. “What about that sachet your fiancée gave you?” she asked, as if it were an afterthought. “Did you ask her about it?”
Marcus hesitated. “That was Follow current novᴇls on.net
He
probably just a coincidence. Yolanda has always been into things like that. She loves the blend in that sachet and has been using it for years sighed again. “I guess it was just my bad luck that one of the herbs in her sachet happened to react badly with my condition.”
*A coincidence?*
Anastasia’s lips tightened into a thin line. Remembering the tragic end Marcus had met in her past life, she couldn’t help but look at him with a flicker of pity.