Chapter 86 Don't you already have an answer in mind?
Katherine pushed thoughts of the lab aside and replied to Jessica about the family dispute:
“It's being resolved. We have confirmed that Luana Mendes is not your father's biological daughter. As for the will, it's uncertain, and we will certainly go to court. We are just waiting for a lawyer who is in Africa and should return next month.”
In the afternoon, the new college routine began. Katherine's belongings were already in Class 8's room. When she checked the seating chart on the door, she noticed a familiar name. Upon entering, she confirmed it: Cauan Laser was sitting right next to her.
Cauan looked like he had been hit by a bomb. He kept his head down, in a silence laden with wounded pride and indignation. Katherine's presence was a constant reminder of his own foolishness for having adored an impostor in front of the real master. For him, even breathing next to her was humiliating, but his pride prevented him from fleeing to another place, as that would seem like an admission of fear.
In the next second, he stood up abruptly.
“Cauan Laser, where are you going?” asked Antony Wilson, the new advisor, as he entered the room.
“Bathroom,” he replied, discouraged, leaving under the teacher's icy gaze.
Antony Wilson began the class with a speech about the restructuring of the classes, emphasizing that everyone should reflect on their performance. However, his voice faltered when he realized that Katherine was already absorbed in another comic book. Although her grades were unquestionably high, her lack of interest irritated him.
Taking advantage of the moment when the class was analyzing a question, he took the magazine from her hands.
“If you find this boring, take this test and don't read comic books in my class,” he ordered, handing her an extra sheet of paper.
Katherine didn't react. Without showing any emotion, she picked up the pen and began to mark the answers with casual speed. Halfway through the class, Antony gave a new test and began to circulate among the desks. When he stopped next to Katherine, he found her playing with a 17-piece cube.
Before he could scold her, the colors of the complex cube were perfectly aligned. Katherine placed it on the table and went back to rummaging through the shopping bag left by João Pedro, which contained everything from food to toys and supplies. Antony felt the frustration of someone who wants to criticize but can't find a technical flaw.
He picked up the test she had just taken and examined it. Zero errors.
“Katherine, how exactly do you study?” he asked, genuinely perplexed.
“I use my brain to study,” she replied, with a casualness that left the room silent.
“Do you read textbooks in your spare time? And I'm not talking about comic books,” insisted the professor.
“Yes. How else would I take the tests?”
For a moment, Katherine was transported back to a cabin in the woods, remembering the day someone had brought a cart full of books, from elementary school to college, to get her through three months of confinement. Snapping out of her reverie, she dove back into the shopping bag, looking for something new to pass the time until the bell rang.
Antony Wilson maintained his stern stance: “No games in my class.” Being a pragmatic student, Katherine obeyed. Cauan Laser, upon returning, shuddered when he saw the 17-piece cube perfectly solved on her desk, but he feigned indifference and focused on his exams.
At the lectern, Antony Wilson leafed through the confiscated comic book with a mixture of frustration and curiosity. At first glance, he disdained it; at second glance, he frowned; at third glance, he found it interesting; at fourth glance, he was already turning the page, eager for the continuation. When the bell rang, he conveniently “forgot” to return the magazine.
Shortly before leaving, Katherine's cell phone vibrated with a photo from Mimi, her friend who had just arrived from France to occupy one of her apartments in Dama 1.
\[Mimi: I'm finally here! Let's go out for a drink tonight~\]
Katherine, with no other commitments, confirmed with a simple “Okay.”
As the students left, Octavio prepared to carry out his brother's direct order: to escort Katherine home every day. He grumbled silently about having to “protect someone else's flower,” but when he reached the hallway, he saw Katherine walking down toward the gate. Before he could reach her, he saw her meet Steve Laser and enter a coffee shop.
Octavio decided not to interfere and went home alone, but not before sending a “report” to João Pedro:
\[Octavio: Dude, your girlfriend is having coffee with Cauan Laser's brother. I didn't want to interrupt, so I left first.\]
João Pedro, immersed in developing a new perfume for his grandfather's contest and dealing with pressure from his cousins, did not respond immediately. Octavio, watching the city from the car window, felt a twinge of melancholy for his brother's exhaustion.
At the coffee shop, the atmosphere was tense. Steve Laser, a respected doctor ten years his senior, exuded an atypical humility. He had tried to approach Katherine inappropriately in the past, and the “lesson” he received from her still gave him chills. This time, he desperately needed her expertise in medicinal fragrances.
“The fragrance you created last time worked very well, the patient recovered,” he began hesitantly. “This time... I wanted you to help me create another scent. One that makes people lose their memory.”
Katherine's lazy eyes focused on him with a cold glint.
“Are you kidding?”
“It's for a friend,” Steve explained hastily. “He's been through some terrible trauma. His family wants him to forget the past. I just wanted to know if there's a chemical or sensory way to make that happen.”
Katherine held his gaze, her voice sharp:
“You're a doctor, Steve. Don't you already have an answer in mind?”
Steve lowered his eyes, silent. He knew what he was asking bordered on the impossible—or the dangerous.
Katherine listened to Steve's explanation with icy skepticism. The idea that a fragrance or chemical compound could selectively “clean” memories without collateral damage was a dangerous fantasy.
“In fact, I have a drug here that can produce the desired effect,” she admitted, her voice low and sharp. “But it can damage the brain and permanently affect intelligence. If the goal is simply to erase memory, Western medicine, in which you were trained, is usually more aggressive. I thought that you, as a doctor, would know that there is no safe shortcut to forgetting.” Steve did not back down. He had seen Katherine perform miracles before and believed she was the only one capable of balancing this chemical scale. “Money is not a problem,” he insisted, lowering his posture in a gesture of supplication. “And if you need help with anything else, I accept your terms.” Katherine watched him for a moment, the cold, arrogant girl he feared so much.
She made a sudden movement with the hot coffee cup, and Steve, out of pure instinct, closed his eyes, waiting for the impact of the scalding liquid. However, nothing happened. When he opened his eyes, he saw only Katherine's icy smile as she got up to leave, leaving him with the feeling of having been tested and failed.