Chapter 431 No Room for Error

“Quinn,” Johnathan sighed, “what is it you really wanted? A family? Wealth? You had all of that once.”

He was speaking into the void. Quinn remained unresponsive.

It was clear he hadn’t come expecting answers – only to say what needed to be said.

Finally, he said quietly, “This might be the last time I come to see you.”

With that, Johnathan turned and left.

Back in the car, Mateo and Stone were already waiting, both visibly anxious.

“Well? What did you find?” Mateo asked.

“Keep her under close watch,” Johnathan said slowly. “She’s not insane.”

Quinn had been pretending. She played the part well, but in the end, she’d slipped. Especially when he told her this would be the last time he’d visit – she kept whining, yes, but her eyes froze for just a moment. He’d been watching closely, even if he looked casual.

“How did she pull it off?”

Mateo was stunned. The reports hadn’t been fake. They’d even had someone trustworthy confirm that she’d suffered real brain damage. Over all this time, not a single psychiatrist or neurologist had flagged anything off about her condition. She’d fooled them all.

“She’s always been good at acting,” Johnathan said flatly. She’d fooled even him for years.

“She must have something up her sleeve – some kind of leverage,” Mateo muttered. Otherwise, with how ruthless that organization was, they’d have silenced her long ago. Johnathan had a hunch that keeping an eye on Quinn might lead to something unexpected.

“Got it. I’ll stay on her,” Mateo nodded, then added with a sigh, “I’m never underestimating any woman again.”

Too terrifying.

Stone rolled his eyes at him, then looked at Johnathan. “How are you holding up?”

“Great,” Johnathan said. Better than ever.

Even the pain in his ribs was gone. Which, ironically, was a bad sign.

He knew the backlash was coming. When it did, his condition would be worse than before.

Mateo and Stone didn’t know the full picture. Seeing that he seemed in good spirits, they didn’t think too much of it.

But Sierra did.

Which was why she didn’t dare waste a single second. She and her team were in a frenzy, working around the clock in the lab.

They’d already broken down the components of the drug injected into Johnathan. The issue now was the dosage – and more importantly, the fact that it wasn’t an antidote at all. It only temporarily masked the symptoms.

Worse, it contained addictive ingredients. If Johnathan kept using it, the consequences would be unimaginable.

“It’s a trap, layer after layer,” one of the senior researchers muttered grimly. “There’s no way out.”

They had thought getting their hands on the drug would be a breakthrough. But the moment they identified the ingredients, all hope started to unravel.

The despair was thick in the room.

One of the older professors glanced over at Sierra. They didn’t know who the patient was, but judging by how determined she was, they could guess it was Johnathan.

The pressure was crushing for them – so what must it be like for her?

Yet Sierra’s expression gave nothing away. Calm and steady, she said, “Remove the addictive agents and isolate the proportions of the other components. I don’t think this drug works the way it does just because of that – it’s mostly a deception tactic.”

Before anyone could respond, she was already diving into a new round of analysis.

At that moment, the senior researchers had nothing but respect for her. With Sierra, there was no such thing as giving up or getting tired. She pushed forward with an endless reserve of energy.

Outwardly, Sierra projected confidence. But deep down, she didn’t know if she was on the right track.

Instinctively, she turned to Johnathan for support.

“Mr. Yaeger, I’m afraid I might be wrong.”

Her voice was soft.

“Follow your gut,” Johnathan said, gripping her hand.

“But…”

For the first time, she hesitated. She was afraid her direction might be wrong – that it might cost them precious time. Time was the one thing they didn’t have.

“My thoughts are the same as yours,” Johnathan told her, looking her straight in the eye. “Sierra, have a little more faith in yourself. You’ve already surpassed me.”

For the next few days, Sierra shut herself in the lab and never came out.

Meanwhile, Johnathan’s body collapsed again.

Just as he had predicted, the crash hit harder than before – his whole body felt like it was on fire.

Despite every drug they tried, the fever wouldn’t break.