Chapter 404

Chapter 404

Sophia's heart clenched with unease. What could have gone wrong? If something had really happened, could Erik possibly sound this calm while talking to her?

Impossible.

She had a creeping suspicion Erik was just messing with her—calling in the middle of the night just to yank her chain. Couldn't sleep himself, so he had to make sure nobody else could either, right?

Sophia was about to tell Erik he had serious issues when he cut straight to what had happened.

"Ash and his wife are dead."

The words hit Sophia like a lightning bolt. Her previously foggy brain snapped instantly awake. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Erik explained in his unhurried way, "They had a severe allergic reaction to the gene modification serum. They're dead."

Initially, only Ash had agreed to the injection. Later, Erik had managed to persuade his wife to get it too. Neither of them could have predicted that both would be allergic to some component in the formula.

When they first started having trouble breathing, they'd called Erik for help. That distress call from Ash was actually what had woken Erik up.

Unfortunately, by the time he rushed to the hospital, both Ash and his wife already had dilated pupils. There was no point in trying to resuscitate them.

And Wren—the only one who hadn't received the gene modification serum—saw them lying on the floor, faces blue and purple. In her dementia-addled state, she didn't realize what had happened. She just thought they were sleeping on the floor. When Erik walked in, Wren was frantically yelling at the two dead bodies to get up and sleep in bed, insisting the floor was too cold for sleeping.

Sophia stood frozen in place.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

She had to be dreaming. This had to be a dream!

Those two people had seemed perfectly fine. How could they just be dead?

Sophia refused to accept reality. "I got that same serum, and I'm fine! Erik, you're just trying to scare me, aren't you? What you're saying is more terrifying than any ghost story! I know you don't like me, but you can't mess with me like this!"

Erik replied matter-of-factly, "Everyone's physiology is different. Just because you're fine after the injection doesn't mean they would be. Besides, I never said the gene modification serum was without side effects. They were just unlucky—happened to be allergic to one of the ingredients."

"Why didn't you screen for allergies beforehand? You're a doctor, aren't you?" Sophia felt herself spiraling.

"I didn't develop the serum. Plus, there've been so few clinical trials that there aren't any documented cases of allergic reactions on record. How exactly was I supposed to screen for it? If you want to blame someone, blame that couple for being unlucky. Got it?"

Sophia felt like crying but had no tears left. The unlucky ones weren't Ash and his wife—it was her, wasn't it?

Now she had two deaths on her hands. How was she supposed to fix this?

"What do we do now?" Sophia felt utterly hopeless. Her mind was blank, completely unable to think.

She'd never claimed to be a good person, but she'd never wanted to kill anyone!

Sophia was terrified. Was she going to prison?

She'd only just married into the Miller family. She hadn't even gotten to enjoy the good life yet. She didn't want to go to prison!

"What do we do? I called you because I wanted to ask how you plan to handle their bodies. And here you are, asking me what to do. What does this have to do with me?"

"How does this have nothing to do with you? You're the one who injected them with that serum!!" Sophia said through gritted teeth.

She'd assumed that even if Ash and his wife suffered some physical damage from the serum, with Erik there, nothing too serious would happen. Instead, they'd died from an allergic reaction.

She challenged Erik, "Do you really think if the police investigate this, they won't trace it back to you? Erik, aren't you even a little scared?"

Why was she the only one panicking?

They were both in this together. Why wasn't Erik afraid?

Erik laughed in a relaxed manner. "What do I have to be afraid of? Even if a medical examiner shows up, they won't be able to prove they died from an allergic reaction to the serum. But you definitely should be scared. After all, you're the one who arranged for them to come to me. If something happened to them, naturally you're the prime suspect. You're the principal offender; I'm an accessory at best. Besides, I have people backing me. I might not even have to go to prison."

Erik's tone was completely detached, even carrying a hint of schadenfreude.

Sophia knew Erik wasn't bluffing. He really did have connections to Novaria's top pharmaceutical company, BOC Gene Tech. The company's chairman and chief medical researcher, Dr. Carr, was a major player in the dominant political party that ran in Novaria's presidential elections every three years. Securing Dr. Carr's vote in any presidential race was practically equivalent to winning.

While Sophia doubted Erik could directly know someone like Dr. Carr—someone at the absolute pinnacle of power—his 'backer' with ties to BOC Gene Tech's influence was undoubtedly formidable.

Even Beck would probably have to grovel before someone like that.

Sophia collected herself, calming down slightly, and decided to try reasoning with Erik. "Erik, we haven't finished our deal yet. Didn't you say you wanted my first child for your experiments? Do you really want to see me go to prison?"

"Then I wouldn't be able to keep my promise, would I? All the money and effort you've invested in me—that sunk cost—would all be wasted, wouldn't it?"

"Sophia, is your brain finally working now? I have to say, you make an excellent point," Erik agreed.

"Exactly! So please help me figure out how to deal with those two bodies."

"What do you mean by that? Treating me like your subordinate now? Expecting me to take orders from you? Let me tell you something—I can help preserve their bodies for a few days. The rest, you figure out yourself."

"Can't you just help me and think of something together?"

Sophia's voice rose, but the line had already gone dead. She tried calling back, but Erik had turned off his phone.

In a fit of rage, Sophia nearly smashed her phone on the floor.

No. She couldn't act so impulsively. She needed to stay calm.

Right. Calm!

Sophia paced back and forth in the bathroom, her mind racing.

After thinking it through from every angle, she realized the most important thing right now was to find a way to make their deaths look natural—to stage an accident.

Erik had said that even a medical examiner couldn't prove they'd died from an allergic reaction to the serum. All she had to do was create an accident.

Yes. That was it.

Sophia nodded unconsciously, agreeing with her own plan.

But her hands were still trembling uncontrollably. She could barely hold her phone. She set it down temporarily and splashed cold water on her face, trying to clear her head and steady herself.