Chapter 403

Joshua was unusually sweet tonight. Shermaine touched her lips and couldn’t help but chuckle softly to herself.

Twenty minutes later, she stepped out of the shower, and Joshua had already assembled the drone. So, all they had to do now was call it a night.

Only a single night light remained on in the room. Shermaine hopped onto the bed and rolled right into Joshua’s arms, curling up like a contented little kitten.

Joshua murmured, “Sweet dreams, Sheary.”

“Good night, Mr. York,” Shermaine whispered. Snuggled in his embrace, Shermaine closed her eyes and soon drifted off to sleep. Soon, the quiet room was filled only with their soft, even breathing.

The next morning, Shermaine woke up feeling exceptionally refreshed. Rolling over, she straddled his waist and playfully tugged at the sash of his robe. With a single pull, it came undone.

Joshua didn’t stop her. Instead, he steadied her waist with a chuckle and teased, “Feeling passionate today, Sheary?”

“Passionate? I could never outdo you, Mr. York,” Shermaine teased playfully.

That made Joshua gulp. Smiling, he pressed a gentle kiss to the back of her hand.

They woke at 6 AM, but stayed in bed until well past 8 AM.

After another quick shower and a change of clothes, Shermaine grabbed the drone, went downstairs, pried open a manhole cover, and carefully lowered the drone into the sewer.

She deployed five drones into the sewer. The easy part was done, but the real challenge remained. They couldn’t relax until Natalie was found.

With someone like Natalie, there was no telling what she might do–something extreme wasn’t just possible, it was inevitable.

In fact, Bruce had already sent search teams into the sewers last night. Yet, after searching all night, they still hadn’t found any trace of Natalie.

Just as expected, several patients–all employees at a 24–hour KFC–were admitted into General Hospital later that morning.

All of them claimed they’d been attacked the night before by a filthy, reeking vagrant. By morning, something felt seriously off.

After the doctors finished examining them, the patients were immediately rushed to the isolation ward. And all throughout the day, more and more patients poured in.

At 9 AM, Joshua and the rest returned to Basterel. After seeing them off, Shermaine headed straight back to the lab to continue her research on the virus strains extracted from the police officers.

Joshua went straight to work, while Stephen returned to Riverswood Villa. The moment he stepped inside, he felt that something was off–his home had been burglarized.

Sensing movement upstairs, Stephen rushed up and quickly found the intruder in the study. It was a woman clad in a black catsuit and mask.

The room was a wreck–drawers were overturned, and papers scattered everywhere. Clearly, she was looking for something.

“You’ve got some nerve breaking into my house,” Stephen shouted, striking a defensive pose. “Let’s see how you like getting caught-” But before he could do anything, a wave of dizziness hit him, making his legs wobble unsteadily.

Stephen thought, ‘Huh? What’s happening? Why am I suddenly so dizzy?’ The next second, his body gave out, and he collapsed to the floor with a thud.

The woman let out a scoff. After tearing the place apart and finding nothing, she pulled out her phone and snapped, “There’s nothing here. I looked everywhere.”

“That’s impossible. Search again, and properly this time,” the person on the line demanded.

“The cops are here,” she hissed.

“Fine. Get out of there now,” the other party ordered.

Meanwhile, Joshua, having turned back halfway, arrived just in time to see both police cars and an ambulance parked out front.

Stephen had passed out. Joshua asked, “How is he doing?”

The nurse replied, “Has your father been eating too many sweets and fried foods lately? With blood pressure this high, no wonder he fainted.”

Joshua was rendered speechless.

Soon after, Bradley arrived to report what he’d learned from the police. “Nothing seems to be missing, but Mrs. York’s belongings were clearly targeted. Some of her personal items were even deliberately destroyed.”

Clearly, the intruder was after Shermaine–and whatever it was she had, they wanted it badly.

Joshua’s eyes dimmed, glinting with suppressed fury. “Check the nearby surveillance footage and find the intruder now.”

“Should we inform Mrs. York about this?” Bradley asked.

“I’ll tell her myself later,” Joshua said.

“Understood,” Bradley said.

After Stephen was carried away by the ambulance, a wisp of blue mist drifted out of the house. Seeing Joshua about to follow the ambulance, it slipped into the next–door neighbor’s cat. The little cat let out a strange mewl and darted out.

An hour later, Stephen regained consciousness, but he looked bewildered. He pushed himself up in the hospital bed, frowning as he muttered, “How did I end up in the hospital?”

Joshua was outside the room on the phone with Owen when he heard movement inside. “He’s awake. I’ll go check on him.”

Stephen got out of bed. The moment he saw Joshua, he froze momentarily, looking stunned and uncertain. He hesitated before asking, “You… are Joshua?”

Joshua looked at him calmly and said, ‘Yes.’

Stephen muttered in confusion, “Wait… I was just at the research institute. How did I end up in the hospital?” Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his head.

Joshua’s eyes dimmed slightly. Without offering an explanation, he simply said, “You’re still weak. Focus on resting for now.”

In a shadowed corner of the room, the white cat sat quietly, licking its paw with apparent nonchalance. It let out a nervous meow, thinking, ‘Oh no. I’ve blown my cover. Joshua must have noticed something is off!’

As the sky darkened, Bruce stood watch at the entrance to the sewer. Moments later, several men were carried out from the sewer.

They were the search team he had sent. They encountered Natalie and were viciously mauled by her. One of them suffered particularly horrific injuries, where a huge chunk of his flesh was torn clean from his arm by her teeth.

He was barely clinging to life when they carried him out. Upon hearing the news, Shermaine rushed out of the lab, insisting on performing the surgery herself.

Two of the drones she placed into the sewers were also destroyed.

Late at night, by the reservoir, Natalie emerged from the shadows, a twisted, feral grin spreading across her face. With one sharp flick of her claw–like nails, she slashed open her finger. With that, thick, dark blood oozed out, drop by drop, sinking into the still reservoir water.

If she had to become a monster, then the whole city could join her. She wanted everyone to turn into monsters and fall into the abyss together with her.