Chapter 85

Not only did Shermaine have a good idea who the culprit was, but Joshua had also figured it out with near certainty. He just hadn't named names, waiting to gather all the witnesses and evidence before handing everything over to Shermaine to deal with personally.

Wendelyn’s mind raced with anxious thoughts. "Shermaine knows who’s behind this? What does she mean by that? Could she possibly know it was me? No, that’s impossible. How could Shermaine figure out it was me? She can’t be that omniscient." She knew that even if Joshua sent people to track down Yvonne, it would be too late. Yvonne was already dead. She had received confirmation from the assassin that the job was done and he was waiting for the final payment. Besides, assassins had their professional code of ethics. They wouldn’t reveal their clients’ information easily. They had signed confidentiality agreements, after all.

Wendelyn’s mind churned with these thoughts. She had been calm at first, but now unease crept deeper into her heart. In the end, Wendelyn was still too naive. She didn’t understand how cruel and ruthless the world could be. When someone’s life hung by a thread, professional ethics meant nothing. Survival came first; everything else could go to hell.

"Wendy, are you alright? Are you tired from standing?" Ruth asked with concern. "You’re supposed to perform piano later. Why don’t you go backstage and have a rest?"

Wendelyn’s body tensed. "No, I’m fine."

"Don’t be modest. I’m looking forward to your performance tonight. You know there will be many important people here, so you need to make a good impression." Ruth was eager for Wendelyn to show off her talents tonight and draw everyone’s attention. She wanted people to see that Wendelyn was truly exceptional.

Wendelyn was getting annoyed with Ruth, and her expression turned cold: "I already said I don’t want to. Mom, why are you being so pushy?"

It was the first time Wendelyn had ever snapped at Ruth. In the past, she wouldn’t have dared and had always been careful to please her mother. It was only after Wendelyn’s reputation as a talented woman in Basterel had grown that Ruth had become more affectionate and gentle, showering her with motherly love.

Ruth was stunned, unable to process what had just happened. When it finally sank in, her face immediately darkened. She was already in a terrible mood after being told she had lost her mind, and now Wendelyn was giving her attitude, too.

Wendelyn realized her mistake and quickly lowered her head. "Mom, I’m sorry. I’m just in a bad mood. I didn’t mean it."

Ruth forced a tight smile and managed to hold back her anger. After all, Wendelyn was her pride and joy. "It’s fine. I know you’re upset. I’m not angry with you."

"Thanks, Mom. You’re the best."

Meanwhile, Roy was pathetically mopping up the bloodstains on the floor. The pampered young master who’d never done a day of housework in his life moved clumsily, forcing himself to continue despite the amused looks from everyone around him.

Henry held his wine glass, watching Roy with an amused smirk. "Roy, you had this coming." He shook his head. "Can’t you see how much Jos cares about Shermaine? She’s obviously more than just a fiancée to him."

Roy frowned at him. "Why do you keep mocking me?"

"Because you’re an idiot."

Roy fell silent, grinding his teeth. "You’re the idiot," he thought.

Meanwhile, in the lounge, Leslie lay shirtless in the bathtub, surrounded by ice cubes. The cold seemed to ease his suffering, and he’d stopped coughing up blood. But the ice was slowing his circulation, and his breathing grew weaker by the minute. If someone didn’t lean close to check, they might think he was already dead.

Lincoln rushed in from the party hall, his face etched with worry. "Is my son going to be fine?"

"He’s fine. He won’t die," Shermaine replied without hesitation.

Lincoln couldn’t understand where Shermaine’s confidence came from, but her unwavering certainty was starting to affect him. He found himself gradually choosing to believe her. After all, no one would gamble with another person’s life.

In the hall, the York family had taken control of the situation, and the incident with Leslie was slowly dying down. Still, everyone remained curious about who would want to harm Shermaine so badly that they’d resort to attempted murder.

Among the Jean family members, Jameson turned to Ross with a slightly puzzled expression. "Sheary knows medicine?"

"She knows a bit," Ross replied.

Jameson made a thoughtful sound. Since Shermaine hadn’t attended college, she must have learned her medical skills from a folk healer rather than through proper medical school training. She probably only knew the basics—nothing to be proud of. They could have sent Leslie to the hospital for proper treatment, but Shermaine insisted on staying. She was obviously just showing off, trying to improve her tarnished reputation.

"Shermaine was clearly calculating. She knew this move would only benefit her, with no downside. No wonder Wendy was no match for her," Jameson thought.

By now, the bodyguards had quickly returned with all the herbs Shermaine needed. When they handed them to her, she took a cup from the table and poured all the powdered herbs together. She added boiling water and stirred the mixture until it became a dark, murky liquid. Shermaine handed the concoction to a bodyguard. "Make him drink it."

"Yes, Mrs. York." Following her orders, the bodyguard pried open Leslie’s mouth and poured the bitter medicine down his throat. The liquid was incredibly bitter. Leslie struggled against them, but his limbs were too weak to resist. Within moments, he had swallowed every last drop of the medicine.

"Pull him out now. He doesn’t need to soak anymore," Shermaine ordered.

The bodyguards hauled Leslie out of the water and wrapped him in a bathrobe. His consciousness had been fading, but soon after drinking the medicine, his eyes snapped open. He felt nauseous and desperately wanted to throw up.

"Get him a trash can," Shermaine said.

The bodyguard had just pushed the trash can in front of him when Leslie bent over and vomited into it. In the dark, bloody mess, several transparent, thread-like poisonous worms were clearly visible. These poisonous worms were called Srax. Leslie had swallowed a mother worm that was carrying larvae. Once inside a human host, the mother worm immediately began reproducing. Leslie had swallowed one, but he was now expelling several.

The most dangerous aspect of these poisonous worms was the substance they secreted while invading the human body. This toxin flowed through the bloodstream and caused hallucinations by affecting the brain’s neural system. If Shermaine hadn’t used ice to slow Leslie’s blood circulation, he would have died within minutes. Even after the host died, these worms wouldn’t leave the body. Instead, they would wait for the host to expire completely before slowly consuming the internal organs and flesh.

Shermaine had encountered these worms once before in Southeast Aploth. The Srax worms were supposed to be nearly extinct, yet somehow, someone had managed to obtain them. She wondered, "Where had Wendelyn gotten her hands on such rare poisonous worms?"

"Leslie!" Lincoln called out anxiously.

"Let him throw up. He needs to get all the poisonous worms out of his system."

Lincoln’s mind reeled at the thought. "Poisonous worms? That sounded revolting." He glanced into the trash can and immediately wished he hadn’t. Among the bile and blood, tiny white worms were writhing and squirming. A chill ran down his spine as goosebumps erupted across his skin.

After emptying his stomach, Leslie finally seemed more comfortable, but he quickly drifted into unconsciousness. His body was severely depleted and needed several days of rest to fully recover.

Shermaine spoke calmly, "This is basically attempted murder." She checked the time, figuring her accomplices had probably tracked down most of the leads by now. "Give me your phone. I need to call the police."

Just as Shermaine had predicted, Bradley had indeed wrapped up most of the investigation. What he hadn’t expected was Joshua calling personally to check on the progress. Usually, Bradley worked so efficiently that Joshua never needed to ask—he’d simply report when there were updates. It showed just how special Shermaine was to Joshua, and Bradley wondered if Joshua realized it.

Bradley quickly answered the phone and reported, "Mr. York, we’ve caught the perpetrator and managed to grab a hitman as well."

"Bring them here," Joshua replied.

Joshua hung up and turned around to find Shermaine walking toward him. Behind her glasses, her eyes were focused and intense, as if they held an entire galaxy of stars. That strange, inexplicable feeling stirred within him again, impossible to suppress. "How’s Leslie?"

Shermaine remained composed and confident. "With me handling it, he’ll be fine." Now it was Wendelyn’s turn.