The Unlucky Turn by Mark Twain 139

“And…” He paused, his tone becoming even heavier. “With the Thousand-Strand Poison, for every additional toxin, the difficulty of creating an antidote doubles.”

Leilani’s eyes flickered. Until now, the cases she had taken were still within her familiar field. Many were solved using old methods she summarized from cases Paulina had treated. The Thousand-Strand Poison was something even Paulina had only heard of but never confronted directly.

Restoring Mr. Chilton to his original state would be quite difficult for Leilani as well. However, she felt a rare surge of enthusiasm. She was determined; she wanted to take this case!

“Name your price.” Mr. Dillon, seeing her silence for so long, assumed she was weighing the pros and cons and spoke directly. “As long as you can wake him up, the Chilton family won’t be stingy.”

Leilani’s lips curved slightly, a gleam of excitement flashing in her eyes.

“Money isn’t the problem. I’ll take this patient. However, I have a request you must agree to.”

Although Leilani was excited by the challenge, she wasn’t completely blinded. Some hard truths needed to be stated upfront, given Mr. Chilton’s special status. She could vaguely sense that if she did anything to harm Mr. Chilton, Mr. Dillon wouldn’t let her off the hook. She might even end up in prison for a second time.

“Name it! As long as the request doesn’t involve harming Mr. Chilton, we can agree to it.” Hearing that Leilani was willing to treat Mr. Chilton, Mr. Dillon readily agreed.

“During my treatment, I must have control over the treatment plan. You cannot interfere too

much.”

When Leilani first walked in, she faced four or five doctor’s at once. If during the treatment, one doctor said one thing and another said something else, preventing her from maintaining control, it would be too frustrating. In that case, Leilani would rather not take this job.

As Mr. Chilton’s lead doctor, Mr. Dillon knew what part Leilani was worried about and agreed decisively. “You can maintain control over the treatment, but you absolutely cannot harm Mr. Chilton. Otherwise, when the time comes, not even the Watson family could protect you.”

Leilani nodded in agreement. She had expected this and found it acceptable.

…

That night, Leilani stayed in the Chilton family’s private medical suite. She didn’t notice that after she decided to stay in the villa, Marlon disappeared.

Heavy curtains blocked out all light from the outside world. In the spacious room, there were only her, Mr. Dillon, and the silent Mr. Chilton on the bed.

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The table was covered with test reports, ancient medical texts, and a toxin analysis chart Leilani had drawn by hand.

“The seven toxins of the Thousand-Strand Poison generate and counteract each other.”

Leilani tapped her finger on a passage in an ancient book. It was one of the few records Mr. Dillon had found mentioning the poison.

“The formula for the Thousand-Strand Poison varies from person to person. Shamans in the southern borders of Eldoria adjust the toxin ratios based on the individual, so the antidote for Mr. Chilton must also be custom-made.”

Leilani flipped through the records regarding the poison. The ancient book was quite old; the pages were yellowed, and the handwriting showed signs of having been water-damaged and dried, making it a bit blurry.

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Olivia Harris

Olivia Harris is an emerging author celebrated for her captivating romantic and steamy novels. With a talent for crafting deep emotional connections and fiery chemistry between her characters, Olivia’s stories offer readers an escape into worlds filled with passion, intrigue, and heart-stopping drama.