Watching Deanna's dedication to the Mercer family and her calm and composed demeanor in the face of situations, Old Mercer felt immensely reassured.
He finally understood why Lance was so insistent on having her by his side.
"Silly child, the Mercer family isn't short of money; you don't have to blame yourself," Old Mercer consoled Deanna, then turned to Old Hughes and asked, "Now that we've confirmed that my daughter-in-law has been psychologically manipulated, do you have any way to resolve this?"
"I'm not deeply versed in psychology, just know a bit about it, but I can recommend some competent psychologists to you," Old Hughes replied apologetically.
Despite this, Old Mercer and Deanna were grateful.
Thanks to Old Hughes, Deanna was able to see a psychological expert within half an hour.
The expert, already briefed by Old Hughes, immediately took her for examination upon meeting her.
About half an hour later, they emerged from the treatment room one after the other.
Old Mercer, observing the expert's grave expression, felt a surge of foreboding.
"Doctor, is there a way to resolve my granddaughter-in-law's condition?" he inquired anxiously.
"Old Mercer, her situation is quite complicated; I'm afraid I'm powerless," the expert replied with a regretful look and a shake of his head.
Old Mercer's face darkened as he frowned deeply. "How can this be? Old Hughes mentioned your profound expertise in hypnosis and psychological manipulation."
"You flatter me too much, Old Mercer. Those are just exaggerated reputations, hyped up by my colleagues. There are always bigger fish," the expert quickly defended himself.
He was worried that the Mercer family might force him to remove the psychological manipulation from the missus.
Old Mercer and Deanna could sense his concern.
Old Mercer looked visibly upset.
Deanna's complexion turned pale.
If the hypnotic suggestion couldn't be removed, wouldn't she just become a tool for others to use at their whim?
No, she couldn't allow this to happen again.
With this thought, Deanna looked earnestly at the expert and asked, "Can you tell me why you're powerless in my case? Is it because of a specific reason?"
"Let me explain. The effectiveness of hypnosis and psychological suggestions depends on the psychologist's skill level, which can be basic, intermediate, or advanced. However, there's a lesser-known method involving drugs combined with hypnosis. Although internationally banned, it's still used by some," the expert revealed without hiding the darker aspects of their profession.
Understanding the expert's point, Old Mercer and Deanna realized the gravity of her situation.
"The missus's condition isn't just ordinary hypnosis but a drug-facilitated psychological manipulation with very advanced hypnotic techniques. As I see it, missus has only two options," the expert continued.
"What are they?" Deanna and Old Mercer asked in unison.
"One is to tackle it from the drug aspect. If you can obtain an antidote to counteract the drug effects on you, I should be able to handle the mental suggestion. Otherwise, you would need to find the person who placed the suggestion and have them remove it personally."
"But I have no idea who could have done this to me. How can I find this person?" Deanna asked with a deeply furrowed brow.
Old Mercer, seeing her genuinely clueless expression, said sternly, "It's impossible not to know. Think carefully. Especially about anything unusual that happened while you and Lance were abroad."
"You're right," the expert agreed. "Missus, try to recall if anything strange happened recently."
Strange events?
Deanna thought back to her time abroad with Lance and suddenly had a flash of insight.
"Could it have been that night?" she hesitated before speaking.
"What happened that night?" Old Mercer pressed when he saw her pause.
Deanna hesitated but then revealed, "It was the night Lance and I attended an international business conference. At the banquet, someone lured me away using my mother's death as bait. I thought it was my stepsister Emily who had passed me a note. But when I went there, I didn't meet anyone and was knocked unconscious."
"And then?" Old Mercer urged her to continue.
"Before going to the meeting, I messaged Lance that if I didn't return in ten minutes, he should come looking for me. Worried about me, Lance came early and found me unconscious in a room. My clothes were intact, but there were marks on my arm from an injection. Neither I nor the doctors could figure out what had been injected into me. Since then, I've occasionally fallen into unexplained bouts of sleep, even my master couldn't find any issues when he came to check on me."