Chapter 675
“Yes, Dad, something this big and you didn’t even tell the family? You just let her walk right in. Did you see how she came at us the moment she stepped through the door, demanding the assets? What kind of behavior is that?”
Fletcher slapped the back of his hand into his palm, his brows knit tightly, furious at Caitlin’s intrusion.
“I…”
Hector’s face was already ashen. Just as he opened his mouth, a savage pain tore through his body, like something gnawing inside him. His body convulsed violently.
“Dad! Dad, what’s wrong? Dad!”
Fletcher panicked at the sight.
“Master! Master!” Nicoletta rushed forward to help, but Hector slipped from the chair and collapsed, writhing on the floor.
“Master! Somebody!” Nicoletta shouted toward the door. Fletcher held his father’s upper body, trembling. “Dad! Dad…”
Through clenched teeth, Hector gasped, “Find Caitlin… antidote… antidote…”
His hand trembled in the air, his lips repeating over and over that Caitlin had the cure.
Nicoletta finally understood. She turned to Fletcher. “Are you telling me Caitlin poisoned your father? Otherwise how could he suddenly be at her mercy?”
From the way things looked, that had to be it.
“I’ll go get her right now!”
Fletcher handed his father over to Nicoletta and bolted out.
At the door, he ran into Devin and a few others. “Where did you put Caitlin?” he demanded.
“In… in the storage wing.”
Nicoletta had ordered Caitlin to stay there. It was where the servants lived, a deliberate insult to put her in such a place.
In the storage wing, Tyler had been given a separate guest room. Caitlin shared a room with Zinnia. After Devin left, the two looked around at the furnishings.
Zinnia wrinkled her nose at the bare space. “So much for good hospitality. This is how the Jonathan family treats a guest? The place is practically shabby.”
“This is Nicoletta trying to put me in my place, nothing more.”
19:13 Thu, Oct 2
Caitlin sat down, thinking through her next step. “If I’m right, they’ll be knocking in less than ten minutes.”
Sure enough, footsteps came sooner than that. The door was ajar, and Fletcher burst in. “Caitlin! Thank god I found you. My father collapsed, he’s seizing, and he keeps saying you have the antidote. What’s going on? Come with me, now!”
“Of course.”
Caitlin rose and followed him.
Back in the main hall, she saw Nicoletta crouched on the floor, supporting the convulsing Hector. The moment Caitlin walked in, Nicoletta snapped, “Caitlin, what have you done to him? Did you poison the master? He says you have the antidote. Hand it over, now!”
Caitlin pulled out a paper packet. Fletcher snatched it from her and opened it. Inside lay a pitch–black pill that gave off a pungent, bitter odor.
“What is this? Are you sure it’s an antidote?”
“Yes. Give it to Hector, and his symptoms will ease immediately.” Caitlin’s tone was calm.
Fletcher stared at the pill. He didn’t dare give it to his father. What if it was poison meant to kill him?
“Give it… to me… now…” Hector groaned, his trembling hand reaching for the pill.
Seeing his father insist, Fletcher thought quickly. If the old man died after swallowing it, they could always blame Caitlin. That would solve many of their problems at once.
With that thought, he pressed the pill into Hector’s hand.
Hector swallowed it. Moments later, the parasite in his body seemed to go numb, the tearing pain receded. and life returned to him. He sat up like a man reborn.
“The master’s really fine!
Nicoletta’s eyes filled with dread. She had no idea what kind of poison Caitlin had used to hold Hector hostage, but the thought chilled her to the bone. What if that girl used the same method against her?
Terrifying. Truly terrifying.
Hector was helped back into his chair. “Water,” he croaked.
Nicoletta hurried to bring him a cup. After a drink, he exhaled deeply, his body settling back to normal.
Seeing he was stable again, Nicoletta glared at Caitlin. “What did you feed him before?”
“Nothing that would kill him. I just made sure that while I stay in the Jonathan family home, no one dares to
harm me. If anything happens to me, there’ll be no one to save Hector.”
She wouldn’t tell them the exact details, but she wanted them to fear her. Fear her enough to think twice.
19:13 Thu, Oct 2
Nicoletta ground her teeth in rage but had no choice.
:
Hector, now clinging to Caitlin as his lifeline, spoke up. “Caitlin, you can stay in this house as long as you like For however long you need.”
“Thank you, Hector. But I did take a look at the storage wing just now. I won’t mention anything else, but in terms of conditions, it doesn’t match the reputation of your prestigious family. The windows are broken, ready to fall out. Is that really fit for a guest?”
Hearing she’d been placed in the storage wing, Hector’s brows drew together. “What’s this? Who put her there?”
Nicoletta couldn’t admit it had been her idea. She immediately turned on Devin. “Devin, really? How could you put Caitlin in the storage wing? Were there no other rooms?”
Devin knew it was time to take the blame. He quickly bowed his head. “I’m sorry, Master, Madam. I thought since there were several of them, they’d want more space and quiet, so I arranged the storage wing. It was my mistake. I’ll move them right away.”
He turned to Caitlin with courtesy. Caitlin rose and followed him out.
After she was gone, Nicoletta pressed Hector. “What exactly did she poison you with?”
“I don’t know. Yesterday she showed me Yun’s Aromatic Codex. Before I even saw what it was, I felt a powder enter my nose. And whenever it flares up, the pain is unbearable. She has the antidote, that’s all I know.”
Hector recounted what had happened. Nicoletta barely cared about his health. Instead she gasped, “She brought Yun’s Aromatic Codex with her?”
Hector nodded. Nicoletta and Fletcher exchanged a look. Both understood instantly.
The Codex they had searched for endlessly, now sitting right in Caitlin’s hands.
She’d delivered it straight to their doorstep.
And they would not let her walk away unscathed.