Chapter 24 The Opportunity Arises
By the time Nicholas and I finished at the exhibition, evening had settled in.
Coming out of the restroom, I accidentally overheard a young woman on her phone nearby.
"You have to save that spot for me. I've got the money now!"
"I don't really know the details. They told me it's just some simple clinical trials—testing medication, that's all. Won't damage my health or anything."
"Sketchy or not, I don't have a choice. This opportunity's too important."
"Don't worry, I'm not that stupid. If anything feels off, I'm out of there immediately."
Two words jumped out at me. Clinical trials. Testing medication.
My mind went straight to the Rosewood family. After watching that video Melissa sent, I'd been bracing for them to come after me. But nobody had shown up. Which meant I had no opening for revenge.
But if this girl was someone the Roosewoods had recruited to test drugs... well, wasn't this exactly the opportunity I needed?
Excitement buzzed through me. A complete plan started taking shape in my head.
I pretended to touch up my makeup in the mirror, hoping to catch more of her conversation and confirm whether her "employer" was actually the Rosewood family.
No such luck. The girl switched to chatting with her friend about something else entirely.
When she ended the call, I debated with myself for a moment before deciding to approach her directly.
Fortune favors the bold, right?
"Hey there."
The girl turned to me, confused. "Can I help you?"
I tried to look as harmless as possible, keeping my smile warm. "I accidentally overheard part of your call just now. Could I talk to you for a minute?"
I rushed to explain before she could get the wrong idea. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop. I've just done similar work before, so I'm kind of sensitive to it."
The girl looked young—probably a college student. Desperate for money, which only left a few possibilities.
She took two wary steps back, eyeing me suspiciously. "What do you want?"
I stayed put. "Don't be scared. I just want to understand the situation."
"If you connected with this job through legitimate channels, then I'm probably just being paranoid."
"But if not... then I think you can trust me."
Her eyes flickered uncertainly. I had my answer right there.
Drug testing existed in a gray area. Plenty of major hospitals had research facilities, but their selection criteria were incredibly strict and required confidentiality agreements. Definitely not something you could casually discuss.
And certainly not a quick way to make money. Those programs typically only recruited actual patients.
Cases like the Rosewood family's were special. The kind that couldn't see daylight.
The girl might be inexperienced, but she wasn't about to trust a total stranger. "The person who contacted me is a private buyer. He's promised ten thousand dollars per trial."
Vague information. I guessed the two parties hadn't actually met face-to-face yet.
As I mulled this over, she asked, "Why should I trust you?"
I smiled slightly. "Besides me, who else do you have to trust?"
I wasn't being cocky—just realistic. Desperate enough for money to go down shady paths? If you weren't at your wit's end, who would resort to such risky measures?
The girl obviously realized this too. Her face went pale.
I pulled out my phone. "I can't be sure about your employer's situation yet. Let's exchange contact info. If anything feels wrong, reach out to me right away."
I paused, then added, "And of course, I can help in other ways too. If you need it."
I gave her a meaningful once-over. Her face flushed—seemed like she was embarrassed about something.
I didn't pay it much mind, just added her and replied to a message from Nicholas.
"Miss, you said you've done similar work. Can you tell me about it?"
I raised an eyebrow, not expecting that question. But hey, to each their own.
"Sure."
I walked with her toward the exit, first explaining what legitimate drug testing channels looked like. Then I told her about the series of adverse reactions my body had experienced after testing medications for Sabrina in my past life.
"Sweetie, all medicine has side effects."
"And think about it—if the drug was safe, they'd just move straight to clinical use. Why would they need to pay people to test it?"
"Oh, and if they contact you again, make sure you get their names."
My tone turned serious.
After hearing all that, she was clearly having second thoughts. But still...
She really needed that money.
"Thanks for telling me all this. I'll be careful."
After we parted ways, I went to meet up with Nicholas.
When I finished recounting what had just happened, he quickly caught on. "You suspect this girl is a new drug tester the Rosewood family recruited?"
"Smart cookie."
I didn't hold back the praise. The corner of Nicholas's mouth curved up. "The Rosewood family's breaking the law."
I shot an approving glance at the man beside me. Talking to smart people really didn't require much effort.
"Nicholas, I'm going to need your help with what comes next."
"Tell me your plan." Nicholas looked intrigued.
Part of me wanted to keep it vague, but what if my plan had holes in it? Two heads were definitely better than one.
"Before, I was the drug tester the Rosewood family prepared for Sabrina. Because we're related, even if I reported them to the police, it wouldn't matter."
"Andrew and the others are my legal guardians. They'd just tell the cops it was all voluntary, that I was throwing a tantrum."
I laid the groundwork first. Nicholas naturally picked up the thread.
"But this stranger is different. If she reports them, the Rosewood family's operating illegally."
"Exactly!"
I snapped my fingers and filled in more details.
"What do you need me to do?" Nicholas's tone turned serious.
"I want to know her full situation. If the Rosewood family tries to use her family as leverage, we can add that to their list of crimes."
Nicholas didn't agree right away. I could see his hesitation. "Just say what's on your mind."
This sounded easy enough. But actually pulling it off? That was a whole different story.
Nicholas didn't want to disappoint me. So he voiced my own concern. "The Rosewood family won't go down that easily."
Didn't I know it? But if the Rosewood Group could survive one PR crisis, what about the next one?
Eventually there'd come a day when they couldn't protect Sabrina anymore.
"I know this won't happen overnight."
"But I want to save that girl. And the Rosewood family... they shouldn't be destroyed because of Sabrina."
My voice grew wistful. Those four brothers were all lost in their little world with Sabrina. I hated them, but I couldn't quite bring myself to just abandon them completely.
"For one Sabrina, how many more innocent people does the Rosewood family have to hurt?"
"Nicholas, I don't want anyone else falling into the same hell I did."
The last part I didn't say out loud—dragging a broken, ruined body to the grave.
But Nicholas seemed to read my mind anyway. He looked at me deeply.
"Catherine, I told you before. I'll always have your back."