Chapter 81
What Chloe didn't know was that right after she left, Charlotte, who was supposed to be "extremely weak," slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze had regained its clarity and composure, showing none of the confusion and disorientation from moments before.
She sat up, picked up the water glass from the table, and took a sip, then let out a long breath.
She had to admit, pretending to be seriously ill was quite exhausting.
Just as Charlotte was thinking this, the hospital room door was pushed open again. This time, it was Alexander who entered.
He was carrying an insulated food container. Seeing Charlotte sitting on the bed looking thoughtful, he spoke up.
"How did it go?"
"She saw it and was completely satisfied."
Charlotte let out a cold laugh, threw off the covers, got out of bed, and stretched her arms and legs.
Hearing her answer, Alexander frowned and looked at her.
"I still don't quite understand why you're wasting time on someone like her."
"I have a hundred different ways to make her disappear from this city without leaving any trace."
"Wouldn't that be letting her off too easy?" Charlotte shook her head in disagreement, her expression cold. "Besides, I don't want her to disappear."
"Then what do you want?" Alexander walked over to the table and set down the food container.
Charlotte didn't answer directly. Instead, she turned and pulled out a sealed bag from her own bag—it contained the food scraps she had brought out.
Seeing this, Charlotte's lips curved slightly as she handed it to Alexander beside her.
"I need you to do me a favor. Take this to a lab you trust and have them do a complete analysis of what's in it. The faster the better."
Alexander took the bag from her, seeming to understand something as his eyes darkened.
"You suspect the drug in the food you ate last night wasn't just a regular sedative?"
Charlotte nodded, narrowing her eyes, her voice turning cold.
"I felt something was off last night."
"The bitter taste was very faint, almost completely covered by the beef sauce."
"If it were regular sleeping pills or sedatives mixed in food, it would be impossible to mask the taste that well."
"Plus, when we were eating, I saw their reactions clearly. They were too confident, as if they were certain this stuff couldn't be detected."
Alexander pressed his lips together, his sharp eyes dropping to stare at the sealed bag.
"The more confident they are, the more it proves this thing is unusual."
"If that's the case, this matter has probably gone way beyond just a small lesson."
"Yeah." Charlotte turned around, her gaze falling on the window where the city's outline was becoming clearly visible in the morning light.
"I checked into the hospital for two reasons. First, to bait Chloe, make her really think I'm sick and let her guard down."
"Second, I want to see what they'll do next."
"Most importantly, I want to know how they got their hands on something like this."
Meeting Charlotte's intense gaze, a flash of cold light passed through Alexander's eyes.
"The Johnson family... looks like their business definitely isn't as clean as it appears."
Hearing this, a cold smile curved Charlotte's lips.
As Charlotte sat down to eat breakfast, Alexander left the hospital room with the sealed bag. His steps were steady, but his presence carried a murderous air.
Not long after breakfast, a chief physician in a white coat and gold-rimmed glasses arrived with two nurses for rounds.
Looking at the very weak person lying in bed, the chief physician came to Charlotte's bedside and began asking questions while looking at the medical chart.
"Ms. Johnson, how are you feeling now?"
"Your assistant Mr. Sullivan said the situation was serious when he brought you in, but after our initial examination, we can basically confirm that all your vital signs are stable."
Hearing the doctor's question, Charlotte lifted her eyes, but deliberately let her gaze go blank for a moment before slowly focusing on his face, her voice somewhat hoarse.
"I feel very dizzy... like the whole world is spinning... my hands, my hands don't seem to be working right..."
As she spoke, Charlotte raised her right hand, which did indeed show a slight tremor in mid-air.
Of course, this was a fake symptom Charlotte created by controlling her muscles, but it was convincing enough!
After observing her hand, the doctor took a flashlight from his pocket and shone it in her pupils, frowning almost imperceptibly.
"Pupillary light reflex is somewhat delayed."
"Let's schedule a brain CT and detailed neurological examination for this afternoon."
"Okay, thank you."
After Charlotte thanked him, she closed her eyes to rest again.
As the door closed, the hospital room became quiet once more.
Charlotte lay in bed, beginning to review the entire situation.
Honestly, she wasn't worried at all about what the hospital tests might find.
Although modern medical equipment could detect organic brain lesions, it couldn't quantify someone's acting.
She just needed to show "symptoms" at the right moments.
At that moment, outside the hospital, Chloe was still excitedly on the phone with Mandy.
"This is great! This time we can definitely ruin her reputation for good!"
"Don't celebrate too soon." Mandy's words were like a bucket of cold water, making Chloe freeze.
"She's in the hospital now, and her symptoms seem quite serious."
"But what if... I mean what if, these are just temporary symptoms? What if she gets better on her own in a few days? Or what if some skilled doctor cures her?"
Instantly, Chloe became anxious, afraid something might go wrong.
"Then what should we do?"
"So we need to have other methods ready." Mandy's voice came through the phone line, carrying a cold calculation. "If we could have a scandal that would completely nail her to the pillar of shame, wouldn't we be able to relax a bit more?"
"You mean..." Chloe's voice rose several octaves, her whole body trembling slightly with excitement and fear.
"Isn't she 'mentally confused' right now? It wouldn't be strange for a mentally ill person to do anything in a hospital room, right?" Mandy's tone was full of malice. "What if she did something indecent with some shady man in her hospital room, and someone took photos..."
"Even if she recovers later, once those videos and photos get out, who would believe she was framed?"
"Everyone would just think she's a shameless slut! A crazy woman with loose morals!"
In that instant, Chloe's breathing became rapid, her eyes extremely dark.
She could already picture Charlotte being drowned by public opinion, struggling in despair but unable to escape!
"Good! Let's do it!" Chloe agreed viciously. "I'll arrange things at the hospital!"