Chapter 408
At noon, their private jet touched down at the Kane estate.
The Kane family was one of Vermont’s oldest ruling lineages, and their headquarters reflected centuries of power.
The mansion rose like a fortress of wealth, its sprawling gardens and ponds arranged by the most renowned feng shui masters.
Every tree, every stone, every ripple of water was placed to channel fortune endlessly toward the Kane bloodline.
Hundreds of guards patrolled the perimeter, their eyes sharp, rifles steady.
Bella walked at Alex’s side, her fingers clutching the back of his shirt as if it were her lifeline.
She stayed close, almost sheltered in his shadow, her steps timid but steady.
She longed to pull him nearer, but shyness held her back, stealing her courage—
yet the fear of losing him kept her grip unbreakable.
“Alex, you’re finally here. Please, help us check on Jericho-something’s happened to him p>
At the entrance, Lidia stood with her butler, her face pale and frantic.
“I’ll check him,” Alex said firmly. “Lead the way p>
Lidia’s eyes flickered with doubt. “Are you sure you can cure him?” Her voice cracked with panic.
“I can’t promise anything,” Alex answered. “I need to examine him first. If it’s just an ordinary illness, it will be simple. But if it’s rare, the outcome depends on the severity. Some things aren’t easy to cure p>
“Please-quickly. Follow me p>
Lidia spun on her heels, frowning, and hurried inside.
Alex and Bella followed close behind until they reached a lavish ward filled with state-of-the-art medical equipment.
Specialists clustered together, whispering anxiously as they tried to devise a treatment.
On the bed lay Jericho Kane. The once-charismatic governor was now unrecognizable. His skin carried a bluish tinge, his lips darkened to a dreadful purple.
Alex stepped forward. He placed his fingers on Jericho’s wrist, feeling his pulse, then checked his eyes and mouth. His expression hardened.
Jericho had been poisoned. Not by something ordinary, but by a venom so rare and vicious that only one name surfaced in Alex’s mind-the Kingswell.
This poison was a secret weapon, forged by the Kingswell under the king’s command-crafted to bring down the most dangerous of enemies.
And now, that same toxin had been unleashed on Jericho Kane.
But the king had given no such order. Which meant only two people could have released it-Kelly or Alfred Kington, former Kingswell.
They had dared to use the poison without permission.
“Alex… how is my father? Can you save him?” Bella’s voice trembled, fragile as glass.
Alex’s eyes lingered on Jericho before he spoke. “It’s complicated. But I’ll try.” Because this poison wasn’t just deadly-it was cunning.
It could splinter into one hundred and eight variations, each more insidious than the last, shifting form depending on how it entered the body and how much time had passed.
The poison changed automatically with the flow of time, twisting itself into deadlier versions at every turn.
And Alex knew he was facing one of the deadliest puzzles of all.
This poison was designed with no cure. Once it took hold, the victim was left to wait for death.
“Try?” Scarlet’s voice cut through the room as she stormed forward.
Her eyes blazed with fury. “This is my uncle’s life we’re talking about, and all you can say is you’ll try? Are you out of your mind p>
“If you don’t have the ability, just admit it! Why play games with his life—do you think my uncle is your laboratory rabbit p>
“Enough, Scarlet!” Lidia stopped her.
“But, Aunt p>
“Let’s hear from him first.” Lidia’s trembling gaze locked on Alex. “Please… tell me what you think of my husband’s condition p>
Alex straightened.
“Mrs. Kane, your husband has been struck with a poison unlike any other. Every thirty minutes to an hour, its properties shift-it mutates into a new form p>
“This toxin wasn’t made to be cured. It was created for one purpose only: to kill. If we want even a chance of saving him, we’ll have to gamble. His life hangs on a knife’s edge p>
Lidia’s face crumpled. “That’s not what I want to hear! I want my husband to recover-completely p>
Panic swallowed her reason, making her forget that Alex had once cured Bella of an illness that no one else could.
In her fear, she no longer wanted the truth-only hope.
Scarlet pressed her advantage. “Aunt, no one’s perfect. Maybe he saved Bella, but every sickness demands a different cure. Poison is another world entirely. My mother already brought the best doctor for this. He’s a true specialist. Please, let him treat Uncle p>
“Who?” Lidia asked.
“It’s me,” a calm voice answered. “Doctor Kevin Witherspoon p>
Through the open door, a group of figures in white coats filed into the ward.
At the front strode a thin, sharp-featured man, his eyes gleaming with cold confidence and calculation.
Beside him walked a plump, middle-aged woman.
“Mother,” Scarlet called, rushing toward her.
“Beatrice Kane?” Lidia gasped, stunned.
The Kane family had always been ruled by men.
Though Beatrice was the elder sibling and Jericho the younger, tradition had
denied her any claim to leadership.
Jericho had carried the patriarch’s torch, leaving Beatrice with nothing.
“I heard Jericho had fallen gravely ill,” Beatrice said smoothly.
“This is Dr. Kevin,” Beatrice announced, smiling with cool triumph.
“One of the finest doctors in the world, a professor at Oxford Medical School. His expertise in rare and deadly illnesses is unmatched. With him here, Jericho’s life is in safe hands p>
“A professor at Oxford?” Lidia’s face lit up, her voice trembling with hope.
To her, that title alone meant excellence beyond question. If Kevin could teach at
the world’s most prestigious medical school, surely he was more skilled than any doctor in the country.
She thought of Alex, the man beside her.
Yes, he had performed miracles before he had saved Bella when no one else could but wasn’t he just a doctor from some small clinic in the slums?
Maybe she’d been desperate, maybe even reckless, to let him treat Bella. But this was different. This was her husband, the governor.
Jericho Kane could not die.
Dr. Kevin cleared his throat. “Let me be clear. I don’t allow anyone to touch my patient. I despise being compared. If you want this young man to meddle, then I’ll leave. You can only choose one of us p>
Scarlet’s lips curled into a sneer. “Alex, what are you waiting for? Step aside! There’s no way your pitiful skills can compete with Dr. Kevin’s p>
Alex shook his head. “I’m not underestimating him. But he can’t cure this. The poison in Jericho isn’t ordinary it’s a fusion of lethal
Zit’s a
toxins. This isn’t something a university professor can hope to handle.” s
“What a fool,” Beatrice snapped, her eyes sharp with contempt.
“Don’t think I don’t know who you are. A doctor from a shabby little clinic in the slums. Just because you pulled off a miracle once doesn’t make you a savior p>
“Don’t stand there like you’re equal to Dr. Kevin. Get out of the way before you waste more time and kill my brother p>
“Lidia, how could you put Jericho’s life in the hands of a quack? Look at him-he’s young, inexperienced p>
“Maybe he got lucky once. But this? This is something else entirely. What happens if Jericho die? Who will bear that responsibility? You?” “Mother!” Bella cried out. “I believe in Alex. Please, let him save Father p>
“Bella,” Scarlet shot back coldly, “you’re blinded by your feelings. Just because you like him doesn’t mean he can save your father. Supporting him will only get him killed p>
“You’re right.” Lidia finally made her decision. She turned to Alex. “Alex, step aside. Let Dr. Kevin take over p>
Alex’s gaze hardened. “Mrs. Kane, this poison is unlike anything you’ve ever heard of. I can say with ninety percent certainty I can cure Jericho p>
“But if anyone else makes even a single mistake, it will mean instant death. No antidote. No second chances. Nothing p>
He turned his eyes on Dr. Kevin. “I’m warning you this poison isn’t for the arrogant to toy with p>
Beatrice let out a sharp laugh, dripping with scorn.
“Don’t tell me you think you’re better than Dr. Kevin. What a ridiculous joke. He’s a world-renowned professor of medicine, respected in every country p>
“And you? You don’t even hold a proper license. What gives you the courage to
challenge him? The only contest you could win against Dr. Kevin is one in bragging p>
“I don’t care if you look down on me,” Alex said.
“But don’t you dare look down on the poison. Only ignorant fools speak so arrogantly when they don’t even understand how dangerous this is. We’re talking about a human life p>
Kevin smirked, lifting his hand as if it were proof of his superiority.
“These hands have saved hundreds of thousands of people. If you doubt me, then let’s settle it. A competition. You treat him, treat him Whoever Cures him faster wins. The loser admits he’s a fraud and bowed.” s
Alex shook his head slowly. “You just revealed how clueless you are. Jericho only
has one chance. If you fail, he dies. There’s no second try. This isn’t a game—it’s
a death sentence p>
Kevin laughed dismissively. “Absurd. How is it possible I’ve never even heard of this so-called poison p>
“Because everyone who’s come into contact with it is already dead,” Alex replied.
Kevin’s eyes narrowed. “Then how could you possibly know about it? Unless He leaned forward, his voice dripping with contempt. “You’re a fraud. A scammer, pretending to be something you’re not p>
“Enough.” Lidia’s voice cracked as she made her decision. “Dr. Kevin will treat my
husband first. Alex, you can stay here if you keep your mouth shut-or you can leave right now p>
Alex glanced around the room. No one met his eyes, no one except Bella, whose gaze burned with desperate faith.
“Then I’ll walk out. But remember this-I have a ninety percent chance of saving Jericho Kane. That man he pointed at Kevin “-couldn’t cure poison on his own arm. Put Jericho
in his hands, and you’ll be signing his death warrant. One hundred percent.” s
Kevin’s face darkened, and he snapped at Beatrice. “You hired me to save a life,
not to be insulted. If this charlatan stays, I’m leaving. Throw him out, or I walk p>
“Alex!” Beatrice barked. “Get out of this house p>
Alex turned, stepping out of the room without another word.
Behind him, Bella’s voice rang out like a gunshot.
“You’re all deaf! I said Alex is the only one who can save my father. If you ignore
me-then hear this: if my father dies today, none of you will leave this mansion
alive p>
“Bella!” Lidia shouted in disbelief. “What nonsense are you saying p>
“Guards!” Bella commanded, her voice steady, cold. “What did my father tell you
last night p>
Twenty armed men straightened at once.
Their leader answered, “Governor Kane said if anything happens to him, you are
his rightful successor to the family and to Vermont itself.” “Good.” Bella’s lips curled into a cruel smile. “Then hear my command. If my
father dies in this room, kill every single person here and bury them with him p>
“Yes, Miss!” The guards raised their rifles, the room instantly filling with the weight of death.
Beatrice staggered back, her face drained of color. “Bella… how could you say that to your own aunt p>
Bella snatched a gun from the guard. In one swift motion, she pulled the trigger.
The shot thundered through the room, and Beatrice shrieked as the bullet
shattered the marble floor, carving the ground just inches from her feet. “Don’t forget who I am,” Bella snarled, her voice wild, her eyes merciless.
“I’m Bella Kane. Killing means nothing to me. If you want to live, you better make damn sure my father survives p>
Meanwhile, Alex had already stepped outside the mansion.
He looked up at the sky, his voice low and bitter. “It’s impossible to save him p>