Chapter 716
He had already been briefed on the situation during the drive over.
His gaze was icy as he turned to the center’s director and issued a low, uncompromising command.
“Bring every nurse who handled Maloney’s daily care over the last few days to this floor. We interrogate them one by one p>
His security detail and the center’s guards sprang into action, doing a strict headcount.
Minutes later, a subordinate sprinted back. Out of breath and looking grim, he lowered his voice.
“Boss, we checked the roster. A nurse named Maia Xavier clocked out of her shift last night and hasn’t been seen since.
Her dorm is empty, and she’s not in the breakrooms p>
The implication hung heavily in the air, handing everyone an instant answer.
A sudden disappearance from the very person administering Maloney’s injections made her the undisputed prime suspect for tampering with the medication.
Jarred’s eyes darkened with deadly intent. “Pull the security footage. Lock down every exit p>
“Yes, Boss p>
The men scattered immediately, launching a frantic manhunt for the missing nurse.
The tension in the corridor was razor-thin as everyone awaited the lab results.
Not long after, the heavy door swung open.
Inside the conference room.
Sienna stood at the front, facing the assembled medical staff, Jarred, and Marcus, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.
She cast the residual fluid analysis onto the projector screen.
Pointing out the complicated markers, she didn’t mince words. “Maloney’s episode wasn’t an accident.
Someone has been continuously injecting him with a homologous neurotoxin. The doses were microscopic.
A single dose wouldn’t trigger a violent reaction, but the cumulative buildup perfectly negated the neutralizing effects of the antidote and my acupuncture.
Based on the metabolic decay, it was administered every twenty-four hours.
The dosage was calculated with absolute precision—just enough to keep him hovering on the brink of madness, but not enough to kill him quickly p>
The room fell so silent you could hear a pin drop.
Finishing her grim report, Sienna instinctively looked toward Jarred.
In the past, whenever they faced an impossible hurdle, she could always find a trace of clarity or direction in his expression.
But today, there was nothing.
Jarred’s pitch-black eyes were locked on the data scrolling across the screen.
He sat perfectly rigid in his chair, his handsome features devoid of emotion. Not a single muscle in his jaw clenched, and no panic betrayed his gaze.
Yet a suffocating aura of hostility radiated from him, wrapping around him like freezing fog.
It dragged the temperature in the room down to a chilling zero.
Marcus sat quietly beside him, his demeanor smooth and composed, though an unfathomable darkness lingered in his eyes.
“No wonder every suppression technique kept failing.” Thea murmured, an icy chill creeping down her spine. Her palms were sweating with dread.
“The toxins were compounding the entire time. We were always a step behind!
If they just wanted the antidote, all they had to do was sit back and wait.
But going to these lengths… it means the cure was never their actual goal p>
That was the most terrifying realization of all.
They were like prey trapped in a spiderweb, naively believing they were cutting themselves loose.
In reality, every desperate struggle had been flawlessly orchestrated by the mastermind in the shadows.
Thea’s words hit Sienna like a physical blow.
She wasn’t the only one who realized it. Every eye in the conference room instinctively darted toward her.
She was the only person alive who knew the formula for the antidote.
At this moment, she was nothing more than a lamb being led to the slaughter.
The worst part was that they had absolutely no idea who their enemy was or what they ultimately wanted.
For the first time, a profound, bone-deep sense of powerlessness swallowed her whole.
In the past, she had always navigated deadly situations by relying on her medical brilliance and cold logic.
But this time, she had been entirely outplayed.