Chapter 196
Jerry shrugged helplessly, spreading his hands, "Amboni, I've said it before—this might not be something I caused. It's possible she ended up like this on her own."
"Memory loss and cognitive confusion are often the brain's way of protecting itself, a mechanism to escape a reality that's too much to handle."
He looked up from behind the computer screen, his gaze landing on Vitale, who had been silent the whole time.
Unlike Amboni, Vitale didn't show obvious shock or doubt. He just stood there quietly, his fingers unconsciously rubbing his lower lip. His blue eyes flickered with deep, complicated emotions, clearly lost in rapid thought.
"Vitale," Amboni couldn't help but ask, "what are you thinking? What do we do next? We were hoping to get Barton and Marco's hideout from her, but now? She's practically forgotten who she is and even sees you as one of her own."
Vitale finally stopped fidgeting with his lip. He let out a long, slightly tired sigh and rubbed his aching temples hard.
"This has indeed gotten very tricky," he said in a low, unusually serious tone, "on one hand, with Eva in this state, it's almost impossible to get any useful info from her about Marco, Barton, or anything inside Thorn of Justice."
"Her understanding of the past is a complete blank, maybe even distorted. That means we've lost our quickest and most direct lead."
He paused, a hint of complicated softness flashing in his eyes, "but on the other hand, from Isabella's perspective, this might not be the worst outcome. At least Eva is alive and doesn't seem full of hatred or aggression anymore."
"When Isabella finds out, she'll probably feel some relief instead of carrying the burden of indirectly causing her savior's death. This could help her recover emotionally more smoothly."
Hearing Vitale's words, both Jerry and Amboni turned to look at him, their expressions turning a bit odd.
Amboni's mouth twitched as if he wanted to say something but held back.
Jerry, on the other hand, pushed up his glasses, a near-teasing smile on his face.
Vitale noticed their looks and frowned slightly, "What?"
"Nothing," Jerry said with a shrug, his tone regaining some of its usual ease, even carrying a playful edge, "just suddenly thought that our Mr. Luca, while dealing with this messy situation tied to revenge and potential threats, seems to prioritize making sure Ms. Lorraine recovers emotionally. Isn't that, in a way, like a lovestruck mafia boss?"
Amboni nodded in agreement beside him, though he didn't dare say it out loud.
Vitale was momentarily stunned by Jerry's comment. A flicker of unease crossed his face, but he quickly regained his cold, hard demeanor, "cut the nonsense, Jerry. I know what's important, but Isabella's condition matters too. She can't handle more stress."
He walked over to the desk, placed both hands on it, leaned forward, and fixed Jerry with a sharp gaze, getting back to business.
"So, Jerry, I'll ask one last time. Are you absolutely sure that during her treatment, for any reason—whether out of kindness or experimentation—you didn't use any unconventional drugs or methods that could affect her nerves or mental state?"
Jerry dropped the joking attitude, stood up straight, and met Vitale's gaze with clear, confident eyes.
"I swear, Vitale, I didn't."
"Eva ending up like this is a result of her brain's response to trauma. It's her subconscious choice."
"Maybe, as I suspected, during those few days with Isabella, something touched a deeper, human part of her that was buried under all that hatred."
"Losing her memory took away the fuel for her hate, and those small touches became magnified, turning into the foundation for rebuilding how she sees herself."
Jerry paused, his tone turning professional and calm, "of course, this is just a guess based on what we're seeing. The brain is the most complex thing in the universe. We're far from understanding it completely, and there could be other unknown factors at play."
Vitale stared at Jerry for a few seconds, as if weighing the truth and reliability of his words.
Finally, he nodded slowly.
"Alright, I trust your professional judgment." Vitale straightened up, his gaze becoming firm and decisive again. "So, here's the problem we're facing."
"I need info on Marco. I need to find Barton and eliminate any future threats. But with Eva in this state, we can't count on her."
He looked at Jerry and Amboni, giving his orders.
"Jerry, your task stays the same. Keep handling Eva's treatment and monitoring, but shift your approach. Since she now has this distorted trust in me and Isabella, maybe we can use that."
"Without stressing her or revealing our real goals, try to gently guide her to remember anything—even small fragments."
"Where did she come from? Who was she with? What did she do? Any piece of information could be useful."
"At the same time, closely monitor all her physical and mental indicators. If there's any sign of recovery or change in her memory or condition, notify me immediately."
"Amboni," Vitale turned to him, "don't ease up on the operation to corner Barton. Keep the pressure on, drain their resources and patience."
"Also, increase the bounty and activate all channels to gather any information on Barton's hideout, Marco's whereabouts, or any remaining forces of Thorn of Justice in Arcturus."
"Since Eva's lead is a dead end for now, we'll use the slowest but most reliable method—cast a wide net and search inch by inch."
Vitale concluded, his tone carrying an undeniable sense of control, "I'll find the right time to tell Isabella that Eva is alive but has lost her memory and is stable. That should put her at ease."
"As for the rest, we'll take it step by step. But remember, our goal hasn't changed—eliminate the threats and find Marco."
Jerry and Amboni exchanged a glance, both seeing admiration in the other's eyes for Vitale's ability to quickly adapt his strategy.
Even though the situation had turned strange and complicated, Vitale's thinking remained clear, and his objectives were firm.
"Understood," they replied in unison.
The heavy atmosphere in the office hadn't fully lifted. Vitale had just given his orders and was about to leave when he stopped in his tracks.
He turned around, his gaze like a cold probe, locking onto Jerry once more.
"Jerry," Vitale's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a penetrating tone of inquiry, "you said earlier that you tested Eva and confirmed she isn't faking her memory loss. You used your method for that?"
When mentioning that method, Vitale's eyes darkened almost imperceptibly.
Jerry met his gaze, pushing up his gold-rimmed glasses. Behind the lenses, his eyes were open and certain, even carrying a hint of cold pride tied to his professional expertise.
"Of course," Jerry's tone was calm and steady, as if stating an undeniable fact, "you know, Vitale, this testing method—or rather, this system of tools for discerning truth and uncovering reality—was personally given to me by your father."
"He valued my deep research into nerve responses, muscle reactions, and micro-expressions, believing it was more efficient and civilized than plain violent interrogation."
Jerry's lips curved into a faint, almost emotionless smirk, as if recalling a memory or displaying some kind of badge of honor, "over the years, it has never let me down."
"No matter how cunning the fox or how tough the stone, in front of this system that combines drug-induced physiological stimulation, psychological pressure, and precise monitoring, no one can fake it perfectly."
"Their bodily reactions, their subconscious fluctuations—they always give them away."
Jerry's gaze sharpened, as if piercing through the wall to see Eva in the next room, "even Marco back then couldn't fully escape it. He held out longer than anyone, and he misled us with some false leads."
"But in the end, we still caught traces from the frequency of his muscle twitches, the dilation of his pupils under specific keywords, and the abnormal adrenaline spikes during deception. It's just that later..."
Jerry stopped at the right moment, avoiding the topic of betrayal and tragedy, and shifted back to Eva, "Eva is no exception. During the initial stabilization period after she woke up, I ran a full set of basic tests on her."
"Her reactions to Barton, to Thorn of Justice, to details of her own mission—they were complete blanks, total unfamiliarity. There wasn't even the slightest physiological defensive response that would show up if she were faking. Her memory loss, at least on the current cognitive level, is real."
Vitale listened quietly, his face showing no emotion, though the tension in his jawline revealed he wasn't fully at ease.
He was aware of Jerry's skills and the reliability of his tools.
That's why he had trusted Jerry's initial assessment before.
But it seemed Jerry wasn't done speaking.
Looking at Vitale, his expression turned unusually serious, even carrying a trace of unspoken weight and hesitation.
"There's one more thing, Vitale," Jerry took a deep breath, as if what he was about to say required extra courage, "I think I should tell you something we found during a full-body deep scan and internal examination."
Seeing Jerry's overly serious demeanor, Vitale felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest.
Jerry rarely showed this kind of expression unless it involved something extremely significant or difficult.
"What is it?" Vitale's voice lowered, carrying a hint of urgency.
Jerry didn't answer right away. Instead, he turned to his computer, quickly typed a few commands, and pulled up a series of complex medical imaging scans.
He pointed to a specific spot on the screen, his voice dropping even lower.
"Eva has had a heart transplant surgery."
"The surgery was extremely successful, healed almost perfectly. If I hadn't used the most advanced imaging technology and targeted biomarker scans, I wouldn't have noticed the incredibly faint suture mark, almost completely hidden by exceptional surgical skill."
The words "heart transplant" hit Vitale like a burning ice pick, striking his ears out of nowhere.