Chapter 275 Thalia's Symptoms, Same as Theirs
"Mr. Brown, the people watching the villa in the Economic Development Zone last night sent word that everyone started leaving one after another before dawn this morning. First those wealthy ladies, then the rich kids, and finally the staff. Zephyrine was the last one to leave," Finn reported.
"So those wealthy ladies all spent the night there?"
"Yes."
Finn thought to himself, 'Thank God Mr. Brown brought Mrs. Brown back home. Otherwise, Mr. Brown would really be betrayed by his wife. When adults don't come home at night, everyone knows what might happen. Men and women staying under the same roof - if nothing happens between them, nobody would believe it.
Like dry wood meeting fire, middle-aged women meeting guys in their early twenties - of course they'd hook up.
Isn't that what rich ladies do for fun?'
Just thinking about it now made Finn break out in a cold sweat.
Although Thalia liked to have fun, she cared about her reputation. But in that kind of environment, it would be easy for someone to pull something.
"How were the rooms arranged?"
"Apparently last night, those wealthy ladies all slept with the people they picked. And I'm wondering if Zephyrine stayed at the villa all night to prevent something from happening?"
"Keep watching."
In the first-floor living room, a man in a bathrobe stood by the large floor-to-ceiling window holding a cup of coffee. The gray morning robe draped over him, and the warm morning sun fell on his shoulders, giving off a false sense of divine radiance.
William was the kind of person who, even in casual clothes without any embellishment, radiated a cold and distant aura.
His appearance was just decoration - his inner presence and temperament were the core of who he was.
When he was young, he thought he could live a peaceful life and being a good lawyer would be enough. But after becoming an adult, he realized this dream was a luxury for him.
Someone born like him was destined not to be ordinary.
Being ordinary meant being abandoned, just like when he was born.
His proud mother had abandoned him at birth, simply because she thought Vaughn wasn't good enough for her.
From then on, he could only be the one doing the choosing.
So what about Regal City?
The morning at Mistwood Hill was busy, with servants doing cleaning work, bustling in and out of the yard.
The chef in the back kitchen was preparing the most exquisite breakfast.
Fallon, as the butler of this mansion, arranged everything in perfect order.
Busy but orderly, without a trace of chaos.
The most comfortable one in the house was the cat, lying at William's feet, rolling around with its belly exposed.
Suddenly, a gentle ringing came from the watch in Fallon's hand.
It was the bedside bell from the master bedroom.
"What's wrong?" William asked.
"Mr. Brown is awake and wants water," Fallon responded to William's question.
"I'll go up, you carry on!" William picked up the water glass from Fallon's tray and headed straight upstairs. When servants served their masters, everything had to be presented on a tray - this was the rule and a symbol of status. But between masters, this wasn't necessary.
This symbolized equal relationships.
Thalia lay in bed struggling groggily. Seeing William come in, she asked in a hoarse voice, "What time is it?"
"Six-thirty, still early."
She reached out her hand, "Help me up."
"Am I dying?" Thalia felt weak all over, sore and uncomfortable, and dizzy.
"Don't talk nonsense," William half-held, half-embraced her, feeding her water from the glass. After half a glass, he touched Thalia's forehead. "No fever. Feeling really bad?"
"Yes, dizzy, weak all over."
"I'll have Amara come check on you. Sleep a bit more?"
Thalia made a sound of agreement and burrowed back into the covers.
About half an hour later, Amara shuffled into Mistwood Hill in slippers with messy hair, cursing as she entered. "You call me when you need me, kick me out when you don't. When you threw me out last night, did you think about today? What's wrong with Thalia?"
"Dizzy, feeling terrible all over, but no fever." William replied.
Amara asked for a cup of coffee and went straight upstairs. Seeing Thalia wrapped in blankets and sweating, she took out her stethoscope and lifted her lace-trimmed nightgown.
Within three to five seconds, Amara's face darkened, looking as gloomy as storm clouds.
William had a bad feeling. "What's wrong?"
"Just tell me straight," the man's tone was urgent, probably not even hearing the tremor in his own voice.
"William, I think something's wrong." Amara was a bit shaky, not quite daring to say it.
William glanced at Fallon, signaling her to leave.
When only the two of them remained in the bedroom, Amara said, "A while ago when I was on night shift in the ER, we had many patients brought in with sudden rapid heartbeat, weakness all over, but no other symptoms. These people all had one thing in common - they liked clubbing. At first we didn't know what was causing it, but after testing their blood, we found out there's a new illegal substance on the market recently. This substance is colorless and tasteless, goes down like plain water, causes no discomfort at the time, but symptoms appear twelve hours later."
"Thalia's symptoms are the same as theirs."
William's face changed. He knew of course that Thalia wouldn't touch these things. She was always clear-headed and wouldn't gamble with her future.
If she wouldn't touch it herself, then someone else must have done it.
Twelve hours - at Zephyrine's party last night...
"William, could it be that something like this happened at the villa Thalia went to last night?"
William didn't answer directly, but just from his grim expression, she knew.
Amara watched as William picked up Thalia's phone, unlocked it, and called Layla.
On the other end, when Layla answered, he could tell from her voice that she'd been hit too.
"Are you experiencing rapid heartbeat, weakness all over, on the edge of cardiac arrest right now?"
Layla was feeling terrible. Hearing William's voice, she froze. "Mr. Brown, how did you know?"
"Thalia too. Someone drugged you both with an illegal substance. Don't go to the hospital."
Layla swore, but sounded weak from discomfort. She had just been about to call an ambulance - thank God this call came in time.
If she ended up in the hospital because of this and the news media got hold of it, not only would she be finished, but Thalia would go down with her.
William still had some conscience.
"Okay, Mr. Brown, don't worry. I won't drag Thalia down."
William didn't say much more. "Give me your address, I'll send a doctor to you."
Layla gave her address, and William hung up.
He looked at Amara. "Are you sure?"
"Eighty percent sure."
"What do we do now?"
"I'll draw some blood and take it to the lab to confirm. Won't take long. If it's true, IV fluids to dilute it - there's no other way."
"Make it quick."