Chapter 386: Dying in a Foreign Land

Chapter 386: Dying in a Foreign Land

"I understand," Tristan said. "Should I go talk to Caspian then?"

Harriet shook her head gently. "Caspian is angry right now. He might not listen. Let's give them both a few days to cool down first."

"That works too." Tristan changed the subject. "You've been busy with their situation all day. We haven't really talked."

Harriet couldn't help but smile. "Aren't I talking to you right now?"

"That's different." Tristan asked, "How are things going with Ms. Rodriguez?"

"Pretty smoothly."

"That's good. Once she develops new witchcraft, maybe we can really find a solution."

"That's what I'm thinking too."

Just as she finished speaking, Helena's call came through.

"Let me take Ms. Rodriguez's call first."

"Okay."

Harriet ended the video call and answered the phone. "Ms. Rodriguez, you're looking for me?"

"Mrs. Lancaster, are you busy?"

"I'm not busy. Feel free to say whatever you need."

"It's nothing really. I just wanted to chat with you."

Harriet felt something was off about Helena's tone, but didn't ask directly. "Sure, I always learn so much from talking to you. I really enjoy our conversations."

Helena laughed. "You're very eager to learn. That's rare. Mrs. Lancaster, I've already taught you how to use the witchcraft. Have you learned it all?"

"I've learned the theory, but I haven't had a chance to try it."

"Yes, with your high status, it's not appropriate for you to deal with these venomous creatures. But I still want to pass this witchcraft down. After all, if used properly, it could benefit society."

"You're absolutely right." Harriet agreed completely. "Ms. Rodriguez, I've been thinking - working with venomous creatures like you do inevitably carries risks. I'm planning to establish a laboratory so you can research witchcraft in a safer and more efficient way, for medical use, to benefit society."

"Mrs. Lancaster is so kind." Helena was deeply moved. "It's truly my honor to know you."

"I'm very fortunate to know you too." Harriet said with a smile. "The laboratory will be built in Emberfall. As the core person, I'll provide whatever you need."

"The environment in Emberfall is quite nice. You can stay in Emberfall from now on, and bring your son, daughter-in-law, and grandson to live together. I'll ensure your whole family's quality of life."

"Emberfall has better medical care and education than your hometown. Your grandson will have access to better educational resources."

"Mrs. Lancaster, you're such a good person." Helena choked up. "What have I done to deserve your kindness?"

"Please don't say that. Just meeting is a great blessing, let alone how well we get along." Harriet was concerned. "Ms. Rodriguez, is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Helena quickly composed herself. "I'm just very touched. Mrs. Lancaster, thank you."

"Ms. Rodriguez, rest assured, even if we can't find a way to save me, you've helped me and you're my benefactor. My husband and I will be grateful to you forever."

Helena choked up again. "Okay, you're both good children... you must both be well..."

"We'll both be fine."

In the quiet of the deep night, Harriet woke from a nightmare.

She opened her eyes suddenly, realizing it was just a dream.

The nightmare had been too terrifying. Without caring that it was 4 AM, she grabbed her phone from the nightstand and called Tristan.

The phone was answered quickly, Tristan's low, hoarse voice filled with concern. "Harriet, what's wrong!"

"Tristan, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. What happened?"

"I just had a nightmare." Harriet closed her eyes. "I dreamed that Griffin killed you, and you were lying in a pool of blood."

"Honey, you're too stressed." Tristan comforted her. "Dreams are the opposite of reality. I'm fine."

"That's good." Harriet relaxed her tense nerves. "I must be under too much psychological pressure to have such nightmares."

"Don't think about it anymore, okay?" Tristan said gently. "It's still early. Go drink some water, then go back to sleep."

"I'm not thirsty."

"Then lie down. I'll stay with you."

Harriet lay back down and said softly, "Tristan, why don't you just take control of Griffin and stop him from doing more harm? I'm really afraid he'll hurt you, hurt the people I care about."

Tristan on the other end was silent for a long time before responding in a deep voice, "I can't move against him now, because your life depends on him. Until we can safely resolve the witchcraft in your body, I won't risk it."

"I understand your concern, but I'm really scared..."

"Honey, don't be afraid." Tristan said, "You have to trust me, trust us."

Harriet closed her eyes and said nothing more.

Even though Tristan wasn't beside her, at this moment she could almost hear his breathing through the phone, which gradually calmed her heart.

Harriet didn't know when she fell asleep, only that she was groggily awakened by her phone ringing.

She opened her eyes and looked at the screen - it was the bodyguard protecting Helena calling.

It was 6 AM. Normally, the bodyguard would never call at this hour.

Harriet felt uneasy, her drowsiness driven away. She quickly answered. "What's wrong?"

"Mrs. Lancaster, something's happened!" The bodyguard's anxious voice came through. "Ms. Rodriguez... she's dead!"

"What did you say?" Harriet's face turned white inch by inch. "That's impossible... did... did Griffin find her?"

"No." The bodyguard reported. "There are snake bite marks on the back of Ms. Rodriguez's hand. She appears to have been killed by a venomous snake."

"That's even more impossible!" Harriet couldn't believe it. "She was prepared when dealing with these venomous creatures. She always carried antidotes and antivenom with her. How could she die from a snake bite!"

"Mrs. Lancaster, I'm sorry. We failed to protect her."

"This isn't the time for apologies!" Harriet felt dizzy. "I'm coming over right now!"

Harriet hung up and immediately got out of bed to change clothes when Tristan's call came in.

When she answered, Harriet's voice was trembling. "Tristan."

"Harriet, Ms. Rodriguez's death is suspicious. I'm worried it might be dangerous for you to go there."

"How can I worry about that now?"

"Calm down first." Tristan soothed her. "Going there now would waste too much time. To find out Ms. Rodriguez's cause of death as soon as possible, I've already had her body sent back to the city for a professional forensic autopsy."

Harriet closed her eyes as tears slid down her face. "You're right. We can't waste time. We need to find out what happened as soon as possible."

"Honey, I know you can't stay home. Go wash your face and eat something. Later I'll have Caspian take you to the police station's autopsy room so you can wait for the results there, okay?"

"Okay."

When Caspian came to find Harriet, he ran into Coralie coming downstairs with a baby bottle.

Their eyes met, and Coralie could feel the coldness in Caspian's gaze.

Coralie's fingers trembled, and she felt a chill run down her spine.

Caspian ignored her, coldly looking away and brushing past her as he went upstairs.

In the master bedroom, Harriet was leaning against the sofa, hugging a pillow, lost in thought.

Seeing the tear stains on her face, Caspian's eyes filled with heartache. "Tristan can't come be with you. He asked me to take you there."

"Thank you." Harriet struggled to pull back her wandering thoughts and stood up. "Let's go."

"Harriet." Caspian grabbed her arm. "You look terrible. Maybe you shouldn't go. I'm worried that seeing Ms. Rodriguez's body will be too much for you."

"Don't worry, I can handle it." Harriet said softly. "I have to go. I need to be with her one last time."

Caspian suppressed his heartache. "Okay."

When they arrived at the police station, the bodyguard was already waiting at the entrance. "Mr. Romanov, Mrs. Lancaster."

"How is it?"

"Following Mr. Lancaster's instructions, the autopsy is already underway."

Harriet walked inside. "I'm going to see."

"Mrs. Lancaster!" The bodyguard quickly stopped her. "Mr. Lancaster instructed us not to let you in. Don't worry, once the autopsy is finished and she's been prepared, you'll be able to see Ms. Rodriguez one last time."

Harriet suppressed her grief and followed the bodyguard to the waiting room.

Over an hour passed before the medical examiner knocked and entered. "Mrs. Lancaster, the autopsy report is ready. The deceased was bitten on the hand by a venomous snake and died from poisoning."

Harriet couldn't accept it. "That's impossible. Ms. Rodriguez dealt with venomous creatures her whole life. She couldn't have been bitten so easily. And even if she was bitten, she had countermeasures with her. I even assigned her a doctor. How could something happen so easily?"

The medical examiner said, "Mrs. Lancaster, to prevent any errors, Mr. Lancaster specifically brought in two other professional medical examiners to conduct the autopsy together, so the report won't be wrong."

Harriet turned to the bodyguard. "Didn't I tell you to take good care of Ms. Rodriguez? Where were you when this happened?"

"Mrs. Lancaster, I'm sorry." The bodyguard looked full of self-reproach. "We were following your instructions to watch over Ms. Rodriguez, but last night she said she needed to focus on researching witchcraft without disturbance, and told us to go back to our rooms to rest and not make any noise."

"It was important, so we didn't dare go against her wishes. We didn't stay by her side, only handled perimeter security to keep strangers away from the house."

"The whole night, there was no sound from Ms. Rodriguez. We thought she had finished her work and gone to sleep."

"She usually gets up around 5 AM every morning, but this morning she didn't come out of her room. We knocked on the door, got no response, and immediately broke in. We saw her lying on the floor, already without breath, her body completely cold."

Harriet shook her head. "We talked on the phone just last night. She was fine then."

The next second, as if connecting something, Harriet suddenly stood up. "Wait, her tone on the phone last night was a bit strange. Something must have happened!"

"Mrs. Lancaster, you're right." The bodyguard analyzed. "Just in case, the antidotes and antivenom weren't just with the doctor - Ms. Rodriguez had them in her room too. Even if she was bitten by a snake, she couldn't have died from the poison immediately. She definitely had time to call for help or treat herself!"

Harriet pressed on. "Was there really no sound at all last night?"

"Mrs. Lancaster, to ensure Ms. Rodriguez's safety, we installed surveillance cameras with no blind spots around the house. We've already checked the footage. No one approached last night. She couldn't have been murdered."

"Then why didn't she call for help when she was bitten by the snake? Why didn't she save herself?" Harriet felt a splitting headache and painfully held her head.

"Harriet!" Caspian quickly supported her. "Are you okay!"

"I'm fine." Harriet barely steadied herself. "There's definitely something wrong here. Are people still there? Tell them to search Ms. Rodriguez's room carefully for anything unusual! And her personal belongings? Her phone? Check everything carefully!"

"Don't worry, Mrs. Lancaster. Mr. Lancaster already instructed us to examine everything carefully, not to miss any detail. He even sent people to the phone company to check Ms. Rodriguez's call records."

Harriet closed her eyes in pain. "I want to see her."

Caspian glanced at the medical examiner.

The medical examiner spoke. "The body has been restored to its original state. Mrs. Lancaster can go see her."

Harriet came to the autopsy room and saw Helena lying on the examination table.

Just as the bodyguard had said, her skin was blackened, typical symptoms of poisoning.

Harriet reached out a trembling hand, wanting to touch her aged face, but Caspian grabbed her wrist. "Harriet, the medical examiner just said you can't touch her directly!"

Harriet's tears streamed down her face. "Even if it was an accident, she died because of me. She was living the most peaceful and stable life in her hometown, but because of me she came to Emberfall, and now she's died far from home. I killed her. I killed an innocent old woman."

"Harriet, this was an accident. You can't blame yourself." Caspian gripped her shoulders, trying to comfort her. "No one wanted this to happen. Don't take all the responsibility on yourself."

"This isn't taking responsibility - it's the truth."

Caspian said, "If Ms. Rodriguez saw you this upset, she would feel bad too."

Harriet shook her head. "Caspian, no matter what, she died because of me. How could I just act like nothing happened and let it go?"

"Don't talk anymore." Caspian hugged her, gently patting her trembling back. "I'll arrange her funeral and treat her family well, so she can rest in peace."

Harriet was sent home by Caspian. After drinking the calming soup Ondine prepared, she fell into a deep sleep.

When she woke up, it was already dark.

Harriet turned to look at the night scene outside the floor-to-ceiling window, lost in thought. After a long while, she came back to herself, got up, dressed, and washed up.

She didn't rush downstairs, thinking she'd first go to the next room to check on Della.

As she reached the door, through the slightly open door, she heard Caspian's voice inside.

"So it really was Griffin? How is that possible? To protect Ms. Rodriguez, you even sent her son, daughter-in-law, and grandson to a private island abroad to ensure their safety. How could he have found someone to threaten Ms. Rodriguez..."

"...So what you're saying is, Ms. Rodriguez's daughter who's been missing for years was tricked into going to Vesperia, right in Griffin's jurisdiction, and Griffin used her daughter to force her to commit suicide to prevent her from developing a method to break the witchcraft?"

Caspian gritted his teeth. "How could it be such a coincidence! How can everything work in Griffin's favor!"

Outside the door, Harriet's legs went weak and she nearly collapsed to the floor!

So her intuition was right - Helena's death really wasn't an accident!

Helena committed suicide!

Griffin forced Helena to die!

Which meant she had indirectly caused Helena's death!