Chapter 36 A Trace of Poison
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“Yeah, you’ve been missing for days. Zayden nearly lost his mind! If someone hadn’t called 911 and the cops,
I don’t know what he would’ve done,” Sally said, her voice thick with emotion.
Quinn fell into silence.
She remembered checking the factory’s security system–it had been fully functional.
If Zayden had truly wanted to find her, there was no way he couldn’t.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Sally’s congested sniffle. “And the doctor said you must’ve inhaled something… a lot of it. Apparently, you’re allergic to whatever it was.”
“Allergic? You mean I’m allergic to silverleaf flower?”
“You were exposed to silverleaf?” Sally widened her eyes in disbelief. “How could you be so careless?”
At that moment, Zayden walked in carrying a fruit basket. When he saw Quinn awake, he didn’t say a word -just sat down beside her bed and silently started peeling apples.
Something about his calm demeanor struck Quinn as strange. She glanced at Sally in confusion.
Sally leaned in and whispered, “He’s been like this ever since he got word you were found.”
But Quinn didn’t have the energy to figure out what Zayden was feeling.
Still, his presence was impossible to ignore–and it made her deeply uncomfortable.
Zayden quietly carved each apple slice into the shape of a rabbit. After opening and closing his mouth several times, he finally spoke.
“Who bandaged your wounds?”
From the look of the scene where she’d been found, someone had patched her up and left her there. But why not take her straight to a hospital?
Zayden couldn’t shake the strange feeling in his gut–and he blamed himself for not protecting her.
“Wasn’t it the doctors?” Quinn blurted out, but fragments of memory surfaced: vague images, sounds… She thought someone had carried her away. As for the bandages, she assumed they’d been done after she was admitted.
“No,” Sally said gently. “When they found you, your wounds were already tre 1.”
“I was unconscious… I wish I knew who helped me.” She turned to Zayden. “Did you check the cameras?”
It was a deliberate question–but she also genuinely wanted to know who had saved her.
Zayden felt something melt in his chest when she finally spoke to him. His mood lifted–until he noticed the medical tape on her cheek, and the guilt came rushing back.
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Chapter 36 A Trace of Poison
had nearly driven him insane.
Quinn understood what he meant and didn’t push further.
Their only lead had gone cold.
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The factory had been completely emptied out. According to nearby witnesses, there were only two or three people working there, and they’d bring in large shipments of silverleaf flower once a month.
But since the plant had medicinal uses, no one thought much of it.
Now, piecing everything together, it was clear–someone had known she was allergic. And they had deliberately exposed her to a massive amount of silverleaf pollen.
She must have been unconscious in that room for at least three days.
If she’d stayed under any longer, she would’ve died.
The thought made her shiver. She had barely escaped.
Then, a new possibility struck her–what if her grandfather was also allergic to silverleaf?
The symptoms she’d experienced mirrored his far too closely.
If he stopped being exposed to the plant, could he recover?
With that in mind, she instinctively tried to get out of bed. Sally and Zayden immediately rushed to stop her.
Just then, the doctor entered for rounds. He saw Quinn struggling and called out, “Whoa, whoa! You can’t get out of bed right now. You need to rest properly, or the aftereffects of the allergy could worsen.”
That made Quinn freeze, eyes fixed on him. “Doctor, did you say there could be aftereffects?”
The doctor put down his pen and checked her vitals again. He let out a long sigh, clearly troubled.
“Silverleaf allergies are extremely rare in this country. Everyone reacts differently. Since the plant has mild sedative properties, it could lead to memory loss.”
Hearing that, Quinn obediently stayed in the hospital for a full month. She still had far too much to do- she couldn’t afford to lose a single memory.
But that didn’t mean she rested.
Even from her hospital bed, she threw herself back into work. Under her leadership, her company finally began to stabilize and get back on track.
On the day of her discharge, she spotted Xavier standing outside the hospital entrance, holding a bouquet of flowers.
Quinn pretended not to see him and turned to walk the other way.
But Xavier caught un quickly and handed her the bouquet “Quinn congrats on your recovery”
