Chapter 358: No Room for Mistakes

Johnathan didn’t seem particularly surprised. “We found her too quickly. He didn’t have time to get her out,” he stated. Unless he hid deep in the mountains, there was no way he could have smuggled her out through any regular channels. He could have slipped out alone by changing clothes and disguising himself, but taking a child with him was a different story.

From the moment Dora went missing, Johnathan had locked down the entire Capital City, spreading Dora’s photo everywhere. Any child matching her height, boy or girl, would be checked. Sierra hadn’t realized Johnathan had already taken these measures. She felt a wave of relief.

“If they failed the first time, they might try again. We have to make sure both of them are properly protected.”

“Don’t worry,” Johnathan said, patting Sierra’s hand reassuringly. He hadn’t just assigned two bodyguards to Quinn—he’d secretly arranged even more people around her. Sometimes, he trusted his instincts more than anything, even though Quinn seemed perfectly fine on the surface.

Dora’s condition wasn’t serious. She just needed to recover from blood loss and starvation. No need to stay in the hospital; proper rest and care would restore her health. Once the doctors confirmed there were no further problems, Johnathan took Quinn and Dora back to her small apartment that same night.

“I set the two bodyguards up right across the hall. If you need anything, call them,” Johnathan said.

“I understand. Thank you so much,” Quinn said gratefully, looking at both Johnathan and Sierra. “I really owe you both.”

“And Mateo and the others too. They did a lot this time,” Johnathan added.

“I know. Once Dora’s feeling better, I’ll treat everyone to dinner,” Quinn promised quickly.

Johnathan nodded, then said, “Even if you’re not going back to Grandpa’s house, you should at least let him know. Otherwise, he’ll worry.” He said it casually, but Quinn tensed up inside. She hurriedly replied, “I’ll call Jeremy later.”

12:29 PM

Chapter 358: No Room for Mistakes

Normally, Quinn would have direct contact with Wayne himself. By saying that, she made it clear to Johnathan that she wasn’t close to Wayne.

Johnathan didn’t seem to care either way. He simply nodded, called Sierra, and got ready to leave. But Dora seemed reluctant to let Sierra go. It was a little strange. Dora had always liked Sierra from the start. Sierra just felt an inexplicable connection with her.

She gently stroked Dora’s little face and said, “I’ll come see you again tomorrow, okay?” She had school during the day, but she could come by earlier in the evening. She also wanted to hurry up with the research into Dora’s blood so the child could fully recover. Dora, always obedient, nodded sweetly.

From the side, Quinn said warmly, “Sierra is such a good person. No wonder Dora doesn’t want to let her go.” Johnathan didn’t say anything, but from his expression, it was obvious he agreed.

Once Dora had been soothed, Johnathan finally took Sierra and left. As soon as they were gone, Quinn’s expression darkened. Dora had already hidden herself in her room the moment Johnathan and Sierra left. Quinn gave a cold laugh. Smart kid.

The next morning, Johnathan personally drove Sierra to school. “I’ll pick you up after,” he told her firmly. Whether this whole mess was aimed at Dora or something else, they couldn’t take any risks.

“I know. I’ll be careful.” After almost getting caught last time, Sierra wasn’t going to be careless again.

As soon as she arrived at the lab, Autumn came over. “How’s Dora? Is she okay?” Autumn and the others had been really worried when they heard Dora was missing. So when Sierra found her, she made sure to send a quick message to let them know.

“She’s mostly okay.” Sierra briefly explained what had happened. When she mentioned that Dora had been starved and had a lot of blood drawn—and how, if they hadn’t found her in time, she might not have survived—Autumn and the others were furious.

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Chapter 358: No Room for Mistakes

Jack and Homer both wore grim faces. “Let’s focus on getting that treatment finished.”

Sierra was leading the research project, and they had all been working on it for a while. But so far, they hadn’t found the key to fully suppress the problem. Still, none of them were discouraged. They were all veterans in the lab. Everyone knew countless failures came before real success. They reviewed the latest results, then Sierra suggested a new approach. Everyone quickly divided the tasks and got to work.

While Sierra and the others were busy in the lab, Johnathan wasn’t idle either. He had already used his own connections to collect some of the most widely circulated experimental drugs from black markets overseas.

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