Chapter 1233

Josefina pulled a stack of papers from her bag.

"Mandy, can you pass these out? The medical club's planning a free clinic at the end

of the semester. Everything's covered as long as it's not surgery."

Mandy hesitated. "Josie, won't most students be gone by then? What if hardly anyone shows up?"

Damita nodded. "Yeah, that could be an issue."

Josefina just smiled. "It's fine. If we get a small turnout, that's less work for us. Honestly, a huge crowd would just make things complicated."

With Josie so chill about it, Mandy and Damita didn't argue. As long as Josie was happy, so were they.

Mandy shot her hand up. “I'll handle it. I'll talk to the school and let you know once it's all set."

"I'll help," Damita added, grinning. "Think of me as your assistant.”

The two of them were practically competing to pitch in, which meant Josefina could finally relax a little.

With everything delegated, she didn't have much to worry about.

"If anything comes up, just reach out," Josefina reminded them.

Mandy flashed her a confident smile. "Don't worry! If we can't sort it out, you'll be the first to know."

To Mandy, Josefina was basically superwoman: good at everything, always in control, never fazed by anything.

Josefina laughed, genuinely amused.

It was still surreal, seeing how much Mandy had changed. If they hadn't spent so much time together, Josefina would never have guessed that the girl who used to be so stubborn and spoiled could become such a thoughtful, dependable friend.

***

George knocked and stepped into Oliver's office.

"Mr. Oliver, Ms. Zhang met with that doctor. He's an older alternative medicine guy. Says everyone's body is different—some people can be cured, some can't." Oliver just listened, his face unreadable.

George pressed on. "Honestly, he's just feeding us lines. It's obvious Makiko hired him to cover something up."

Anything George could spot, Oliver had already figured out. None of this was a surprise.

Cole was from the Baldwin

family-his allergies didn't just

vanish overnight. And that plate of chestnut pastries? They were for Joseling, not Cole. No one offered Cole any, he just helped himself.

He knew he was allergic and still ate one anyway.

So either that wasn't really Cole, or his allergy was somehow gone.

Oliver didn't trust either scenario.

Makiko was definitely hiding something.

"Mr. Oliver, do you want me to find a couple more people with allergies to test it out?"

"No," Oliver said firmly, shutting the idea down.

George fell quiet, waiting for Oliver's orders.

"Put someone on that alternative medicine doctor," Oliver instructed.

"Pick someone sharp-make sure

they dont get caught want every move watched."

George nodded, catching his drift, and left to get things moving.

***

Makiko sat in the old doctor's hotel room, sliding a bank card across the table.

"You know how this works. Do the job, take the money. I shouldn't have to explain the basics."

The doctor gave a greasy smile. “Of course. I do the work, you pay me, everyone gets what they want."

Makiko nodded, satisfied.

"Remember, no matter what they ask, you stick to those two sentences. Don't say a single word extra."

"I understand. Don't worry," the doctor said quickly.

Makiko's lips curled into a satisfied smile as she got up to leave.

The doctor picked up the card, a thoughtful look on his face.

***

Later, Oliver pulled up to pick Josefina up for lunch.

She slid into the passenger seat,

looking tired and distracted. Olivere

noticed right away-something was definitely off.