Chapter 117 Mercury
Chapter 117 Mercury
Danika's Pov
“So basically, these two people helped Victoria create Apex Bio-Tech by using Lysander’s name and reputation to make the company look trustworthy from the beginning,” I said slowly while staring at the files spread across the desk in front of me, my mind trying to connect every piece together because the deeper I looked into the case, the more confusing everything became. “But even if they helped her build the company illegally, something still doesn’t make sense because the company was already doing well on its own before all this happened. From everything I found this morning, the business was growing fast, pharmacies were buying their products in large amounts, and people actually trusted the drugs they were selling, so why would they suddenly destroy everything by doing something this reckless?”
I lowered my eyes to the investigation reports again while a heavy feeling settled inside my chest because the details about the victims were honestly disturbing to read. The first victim bought the medicine from a pharmacy that had been getting supplies directly from Apex Bio-Tech for months. After using the drug for a long time, the person suddenly became very sick and had to be rushed to the hospital. At first, the doctors didn’t know what was wrong, but after running several tests, they discovered that the medicine contained mercury and other harmful substances that were never listed in the ingredients. By then, the victim had already taken too much of it over a long period of time, and the damage inside the body was already severe.
I paused for a moment before reading again because even thinking about it made me uncomfortable. “The first victim eventually died,” I said softly while tightening my grip on the file in my hand. “And the second victim survived, but he’s still in a coma with no one knowing if he’ll ever wake up again. After the families started asking questions and making complaints, other people who had used the same medicine immediately contacted the police because they were afraid the drugs they bought might also be dangerous. That’s how the investigation started. The police traced the drugs back from the pharmacies to Apex Bio-Tech, and that’s how this entire nightmare began.”
I leaned back slightly in my chair while trying to understand the biggest problem in all of this because something about the case still felt wrong to me. “What I still don’t understand,” I admitted while frowning at the reports on the desk, “is why they would even use mercury in the first place if the company was already making huge profits legally. Apex Bio-Tech wasn’t failing before the scandal happened because the company was earning money and expanding successfully. So why take such a stupid risk that could completely destroy everything they built?”
Valeria stepped closer to the desk before opening another file in her hands, her expression turning more serious as she looked down at the documents. “There’s another strange part,” she explained calmly while handing me several interview reports from the police investigation. “One of the workers from the factory claimed they had no idea the drugs contained mercury or any harmful substances at all. At first, the investigators thought the workers were lying to protect themselves from being arrested, which honestly sounded believable in the beginning.”
I quickly looked through the statements while Valeria continued talking beside me. “But after the police investigated further, they discovered the employees were actually telling the truth,” she continued while folding her arms calmly. “The workers handling the drugs during production genuinely didn’t know the medicine had contained harmful substances, some even took the drugs home to share with their families. The mercury was added somewhere in the process without the knowledge of most of the employees working there.”
I frowned deeply while trying to think everything through because that changed the entire situation completely. “Which means only a small number of people could’ve known about it,” I muttered quietly while placing the report back on the desk. “If the workers truly had no idea, then the person responsible had to be someone directly connected to the development of the drug itself.”
Valeria nodded slowly. “That was exactly what the investigators thought too,” she replied calmly. “Which is why they arrested the lead developer responsible for creating the medication formula shortly after the first victim died. They believed he intentionally added the toxic substances himself.”
I looked up at her immediately. “And?”
Valeria’s expression darkened slightly. “After questioning him and checking his laboratory records, they discovered he also had no idea the drugs contained mercury.”
“He had no idea the drug contained mercury? The person who actually developed the drug?” I asked again while staring at Valeria in disbelief because the information honestly sounded too ridiculous to be true, and for a second, I genuinely thought maybe I misheard what she had just said. From everything I knew about pharmaceutical production, the lead developer was supposed to know every ingredient used inside the medication, so hearing that the person responsible for creating the formula had absolutely no idea toxic substances were hidden inside the final product sounded completely insane to me.
“Yes,” Valeria answered calmly while keeping her eyes on the documents in her hands. “That’s exactly what he told the investigators during questioning, and according to the reports, he even handed over the original ingredient list and laboratory notes he personally used while developing the medication. After the police and forensic teams reviewed everything carefully, they couldn’t find anything suspicious inside his records because the formula he submitted didn’t contain mercury or any other harmful substance capable of causing that kind of damage.”
I frowned deeply while trying to process everything because the situation somehow became even more complicated the more we looked into it. “So basically, he’s saying someone else added the mercury later and it wasn’t him?” I asked slowly while leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms over my chest. “Do you actually believe him, or do you think he’s just trying to save himself from prison?”
Valeria nodded slightly before quietly adjusting the glasses resting on her nose, her movements calm and controlled as always while she considered my question carefully before answering. “Honestly, I think it’s very possible he’s telling the truth,” she admitted while stepping closer toward the desk again. “In pharmaceutical companies, especially corrupt ones like Apex Bio-Tech, the lead developer doesn’t always oversee every stage of the final manufacturing process personally. Once the formula leaves the development phase, it passes through several departments before becoming a finished product, which means someone with enough authority could secretly alter the contents later without informing the original developer.”
I stayed silent while listening carefully because, unfortunately, what she was saying actually made sense.
Valeria placed another file on the desk before continuing. “My guess is that Victoria wanted faster and stronger results from the medication so the drugs would gain attention quickly and sell faster on the market,” she explained calmly.