Chapter 499: Settlement

Chapter 499: Settlement

Taking advantage of this moment, Andrew had already reached out to Rodolfo and filled him in on Olivia's current situation.

He had already sent people to trace the source of the drug.

But relying on this lead alone, the chances of getting Olivia well on that alone looked thin.

In the end, Rodolfo was their best shot.

After hearing what happened, Rodolfo was so angry that he nearly lost it. Even through the phone, you could hear him pacing back and forth. "Those bastards from the Johnson family, how dare they hurt Olivia like this! This is absolutely disgusting!"

He cursed on the phone for several minutes, too furious to stop himself.

But he also knew that cursing here was useless. Right now, the most important thing was Olivia's health.

After calming down, he said to Andrew, "I'll have everything ready on this end. You bring Olivia back as soon as possible."

"Okay."

Rodolfo's words took some of the weight off Andrew's chest.

The car left in the morning, and by the time they reached Harmony City, it was already dark.

Andrew brought Olivia straight to the research institute under the Medica Vitae Sect.

When they got out of the car, Rodolfo and Alex were already waiting, Liam was there too.

He had been at the institute that day discussing medical matters with Rodolfo and had been there when the call from Andrew came in.

After learning about Olivia's situation, he specially came along to help.

Now, seeing Andrew carrying Olivia over, everyone moved toward them.

Liam looked at Olivia and asked Andrew, "How bad is it?"

Andrew answered honestly, "The doctor gave her a sedative on the way, so she's in deep sleep now. Is everything ready at the research institute?"

Liam nodded. "Don't worry, we got everything ready the moment you called. We've been waiting for you."

Rodolfo's frown hadn't eased once.

After examining Olivia, he apparently couldn't figure anything out, so he instructed Andrew, "Take her to the medical room first and do a thorough examination."

"Okay."

Andrew didn't delay. Liam stepped aside, and they headed straight for the medical room.

Once Olivia was settled, Andrew was asked to wait outside.

Half an hour later, the examination was done and the results were in.

They were similar to the conclusions from the hospital in Emerald City.

However, the research institute's report was more detailed.

Liam went through the report with Andrew. "This prohibited drug contains a toxic component that's harmful to the human body. If the dosage is small, it's not too bad—it just causes hallucinations.

But if the dosage is large, this component directly attacks the brain and destroys a person's will.

This substance was previously used in certain foreign countries specifically to torture people.

The neurological pain it triggers is beyond what most people can endure. Eventually, it breaks them completely."

At this point, Liam was so furious he started cursing, "Unbelievable. The Johnson family definitely didn't check the harmful effects of this thing before using it on Olivia without hesitation!"

As a medical practitioner, Liam deeply detested such behavior.

Alex's expression was rather dark. "The Johnsons are becoming more despicable."

Andrew's face looked even worse.

The whole way here, his heart had been in his throat.

He was terrified the drug had done lasting damage to Olivia's body.

Olivia's face was still pale, her brow creased even in sedated sleep. Andrew's chest ached as he watched her.

If he could have taken the pain from her, he would have.

He immediately looked at Rodolfo, who'd been silent through all of it, and asked him urgently, "Mr. McCoy, can you cure Olivia's condition?"

Rodolfo gave a slow nod, his expression grave. "I can, but it will take some time.

You should prepare yourself mentally—with Olivia's current condition, there may be relapses before she's fully recovered.

Her family probably can't be kept in the dark about this, they should hear it from you directly.

As for Bianca, she's still young, so let's keep this from her for now."

Rodolfo also understood Bianca well.

Her autism had been so severe, and even after recovery, she was still more sensitive than most kids her age.

If she found out Olivia had ended up like this while looking for her, it would devastate her.

Andrew knew this too and nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, I'll make the arrangements.

I'm counting on you to pull her through. Whatever you need, just say the word."

Rodolfo glanced at him. "You didn't have to ask, I would cure Olivia!"

Rodolfo was a man of action. With a treatment plan already in mind, he quickly called Liam over and got to work.

While Olivia was still out, Andrew slipped outside to find David.

David was equally anxious.

He understood how important Olivia was to Andrew.

The whole ride over, he had been quietly praying Olivia would be okay.

Now seeing the grim expression on Andrew's face, he guessed that the situation inside might not be as good as expected.

In all the years he'd known Andrew, this was the first time he had seen Andrew with such expression.

Ice-cold eyes, with something behind them that looked like it wanted to burn everything down.

No, actually, Andrew had been wearing this expression since last night.

The only reason he had been able to hold back till now was because Olivia's condition was uncertain and he had to stay with her, so he had no time to vent his anger.

Now that she was in safe hands, there was nothing holding him back anymore.

And that was indeed the case.

Andrew's anger had hit a breaking point.

The person he'd sworn to protect had been hurt like this right under his nose.

Andrew couldn't forgive himself, and he sure as hell wasn't going to forgive the people who did this to her!

His voice had gone ice-cold. As soon as he came out, he directly instructed David, "Go deal with the Johnsons."

He wasn't planning to spare anyone.

First on the list was the instigator—Amelia!

Amelia had always hidden behind her status as the Johnson matriarch, she'd always carried herself like she was untouchable, doing exactly as she pleased.

She had the Johnsons backing her, and her parents' family was also her source of confidence.

So the first move was to tear down everything she'd built her pride on!

"Yes!"

David didn't need to be told twice and went to carry out the orders.

At this moment, Amelia had no idea that disaster was about to strike.

She had thought everything was under her control and had actually slept well for the first time in a while.

But when she came downstairs that morning, the servants were in a panic, scrambling around like they'd lost something.

She immediately frowned and stopped them. "What are you all panicking about? How can you do anything properly like this?"

The servant she'd snapped at realized she could not hide it anymore. She took a deep breath, and reported to her, "Mrs. Johnson, something's wrong—Bianca is missing!"

"Missing?" Amelia's voice shot up. "What do you mean, missing?"

The sight of them still searching made her stomach drop. She immediately ran back to the room to tell Hayden this news.

Hayden panicked and ordered everyone in the house to search for Bianca together.

Dozens of people combed the mansion top to bottom, but they couldn't find any trace of Bianca.

If she hadn't personally brought the child back yesterday, she might have wondered if Bianca had ever set foot in the house at all.

The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became. She grabbed the nanny beside her, and vented her frustration, "What are you all good for? A bunch of useless people! You can't even watch one small child. Why does this family even keep you?"

"Mrs. Johnson, we don't know what happened. Last night Bianca was asleep in her room, you know that too."

The nanny was terrified.

Amelia's eyes widened as she scolded harshly, "You're still making excuses!"

When she got fierce, almost everyone was afraid of her. The nanny shrank back, her eyes filling with tears, too scared to say another word.

Michael appeared in the doorway and cut the scene short. "Stop searching. Both Bianca and Olivia have been taken away."

As soon as she heard this, Amelia spun around. When she saw it was Michael, she asked, "Who took them?"

Michael said one name, "Andrew."

Amelia's eyes went wide, then narrowed with fury as she cursed, "The nerve of that man! Andrew actually dared to break into The Johnson Mansion!"



In Harmony City, she had repeatedly suffered setbacks because of Andrew and had almost been disfigured. And now he had the audacity to pull this on her own turf.

She immediately said to Michael, "Michael, you absolutely cannot let him go!

In Harmony City, we couldn't do anything to him, but Emerald City is our territory, I refuse to believe we can't deal with him."

Michael ignored her words. He hadn't shown an ounce of warmth since he walked in.

When Amelia finally stopped ranting, he asked her about drugging Olivia.

"Who gave you permission to touch her? Didn't I tell you not to hurt her again?"

Michael's questions caught her off guard.

After two seconds, she collected herself and said softly, "Wasn't I doing this all for you?

I drugged her just to make her forget everything about Harmony City and come back to you. Isn't that what you wanted?"

After all, Michael was the son she was so proud of.

But in Olivia's eyes now, he was nothing more than a problem she couldn't shake off.

Olivia always treated him with disdain.

How could Amelia stand for that?

"Did you ask for my opinion before doing this?"

Michael lost his temper, his voice cracked like a whip, loud enough to make Amelia flinch.

She shot a wounded look at Hayden, then turned to Michael. "Why are you yelling at me?

Everything I've done has been for you. You've been the most outstanding since childhood. As your mother, how could I sit back and watch you throw that away over a woman? So many people in Harmony City mocked you because of her.

She has no right to do that to you."