Chapter 429: A Temporary Cure

When Sierra appeared, Johnathan had just opened his mouth to speak, only for a teardrop to fall from Sierra’s face and land softly on his.

“Don’t cry. I just fell asleep, that’s all.”

Johnathan raised a hand and gently wiped away her tears.

The moment the drug was injected into his body, his condition improved drastically. The fever broke, and even the pain in his body faded.

But Sierra knew this wouldn’t last.

Whether it was Shane or the person who gave Shane the drug, there was no chance they would hand over the real antidote. Whoever it was had likely calculated the timing, worried that Johnathan wouldn’t survive much longer, and delivered a dose just early enough to keep him alive.

It wasn’t a cure—only a temporary suppression.

Time was precious. Sierra couldn’t afford to waste a second. Now that she had the drug, she wanted to analyze its composition further.

But before she could leave, Johnathan reached out and grabbed her hand.

“Where did the drug come from?”

He asked, already guessing the answer. As skilled as Sierra was, there was no way she could’ve come up with a solution in just a few days.

Johnathan was smart. It didn’t take much for him to piece things together.

“Did they contact you? What did you promise them?”

He sounded anxious.

“It was Shane. He gave me the drug.”

Sierra didn’t try to hide it. Whether it was Johnathan or the Wynn family, both had far more power and reach than she did. There was no need to keep it a secret.

In fact, she hoped the Wynn family could use Shane to trace things back to whoever was really behind it all.

“Shane? So he’s involved?”

“No, wait—”

Before Sierra could say anything, Johnathan had already ruled it out. “Shane’s just a middleman. He’s just one part of it.”

That organization must have known about the bad blood between them and Shane. Giving the drug to Shane—was that meant to mislead them? A distraction? Or were they trying to stoke the fire between him and Shane again?

While Johnathan sat deep in thought, Sierra didn’t waste time telling him to rest or to stop worrying.

Time was running out. They had to make the most of every second.

“I kept a few samples for analysis. I want to run more tests.”

She had also drawn Johnathan’s blood, hoping to study any changes in it.

Johnathan knew she was headed back to the lab. He hadn’t seen her in days and missed her terribly, but he also knew there was no way she could rest peacefully under the current circumstances.

Seeing the dark circles under her eyes, his heart ached.

“Make sure you rest.”

“You too.”

Sierra lowered her head, cupped his face, and gave it a gentle nudge. “Mr. Yaeger, eat something. You’ve lost a lot of weight.”

“Yeah.”

Johnathan answered softly.

They looked at each other for a long moment. Then Sierra kissed the corner of his lips before turning and heading back to the lab.

Wayne stood outside, watching their interaction with surprise.

He had witnessed Sierra’s entire demeanor just now—and to be honest, it had caught him off guard.

She was much calmer and more composed than he’d expected. Aside from shedding a tear when Johnathan first opened his eyes, she’d been steady and collected the entire time.

He used to think she wasn’t fit to be the lady of the Wynn family. Now, he realized how narrow-minded that had been.

Once Sierra was gone, Johnathan didn’t waste time. He immediately called Shane.

The moment the line connected, he said, “Whatever Sierra promised you—it doesn’t count.”

He hadn’t asked Sierra if she made any promises to Shane. In truth, he didn’t need to. He and Shane were cut from the same cloth.

They would do anything to get what they wanted.

Hearing Johnathan’s voice, Shane raised an eyebrow.

“So the drug actually worked?”

He let out a strange laugh. “Well, well… I never thought I’d see the day Mr. Yaeger stumbled.”

Johnathan didn’t bother responding to the sarcasm. He was about to hang up when Shane said,

“I haven’t found anything on my end.”

From the moment he received the drug, Shane had his people looking into it. But they came up with nothing. It was as if the drug had just appeared out of thin air.

“I don’t know why they came to me. But I don’t like it.”

Shane toyed with the pen in his hand as he spoke. “I’ll find them. But not for you.”

Then he hung up.

He wasn’t doing it for Johnathan. He was doing it for himself.

He’d always been the one watching others struggle—not someone who could be controlled.

Johnathan put down the phone, his face dark. Still, the call hadn’t been completely useless.

Like Sierra, he didn’t believe this was Shane’s doing.

Whoever it was wanted to stir up trouble between him and Shane—but they clearly didn’t understand just how unpredictable Shane could be.

Just then, his phone rang again. Glancing at the caller ID, a strange look crossed Johnathan’s face.

“Hello?”

“It’s me. About that thing you mentioned last time—I’ve thought it over. I’m not getting involved.”