Chapter 281: There Is Poison in the Tea
Harriet first examined Mason, then treated him.
Tristan stood nearby, quietly gazing at her delicate profile.
After half an hour of treatment, Harriet put away her medical tools.
"Ms. Getty, thank you for your hard work. Please have some tea," Mason offered.
"Thank you."
Harriet picked up the teacup beside her, took a small sip, and quickly put it down.
She pulled out a few tissues from the box on the nightstand, elegantly spat the tea into the tissue, threw it in the nearby trash can, and let out a soft laugh. "Mr. Romanov, I thought the Romanov family were people of their word, which is why I came to treat you."
"But before your body is even healed, you're already poisoning me?"
Tristan frowned, "There's poison in the tea?"
Mason and Caspian exchanged glances.
"Ms. Getty, how could we possibly poison you?" Caspian said, instinctively looking at York standing nearby. "You brought the tea. What's going on?"
York quickly replied, "I don't know!"
The next second!
A gunshot rang out in the large, luxurious master bedroom.
York fell to the ground, clutching his shot leg in pain, groaning.
Tristan held the gun, looking at York as if he were looking at a dead object. "Why was poison put in my wife's tea? Within one day, I want an explanation."
"Otherwise, it won't just be a servant getting shot."
Mason's expression darkened slightly. "Mr. Lancaster, the matter isn't clear yet. My butler only served the tea and can't be proven to have poisoned it. Isn't shooting him a bit excessive?"
"If my wife didn't understand medicine, she'd be dead by now." Tristan calmly put away his gun. "If I don't teach a lesson, won't everyone think they can poison my wife at will?"
"Ms. Getty, I'm very sorry." Caspian frowned. "I will definitely investigate this matter and give you an explanation."
Harriet nodded. "I hope so too, otherwise it'll be hard for me to continue treating Mr. Mason Romanov."
Tristan took Harriet's hand and left directly.
Once in the car, Tristan asked, "That poison, was it deadly?"
"Deadly." Harriet rinsed her mouth with mineral water. "Looks like someone in the Romanov family wants me dead."
"But if the grandfather and grandson wanted to kill me, they wouldn't go about it this way, right?" Harriet analyzed. "I don't think the Romanov family would kill me just because of Lark."
"Or maybe someone's worried I'll cure Mr. Mason Romanov, so they want to eliminate me first?"
"That's definitely a possibility." Tristan said coldly. "Regardless of whether the Romanov family can figure it out, you're not to have any more contact with them."
"Mr. Mason Romanov's treatment can't be interrupted, or all previous efforts will be wasted." Harriet raised the privacy screen and lowered her voice. "Besides, I agreed to treat Mr. Mason Romanov not just to get painkillers for Della. There's another reason."
Tristan made the connection. "Related to Ondine?"
"Yes. My godmother once told me that the Romanov family had shown her kindness. When she went to prison to escape the world, it was the Romanov family who helped. My godmother has passed away, and I have an obligation to repay the favor she owed. By curing Mr. Mason Romanov, I'll have repaid that debt. Of course, the Romanov family doesn't know about my relationship with my godmother."
"Alright, I respect your decision. But since someone inside the Romanov family has already targeted you, I must stay by your side every day from now on."
Harriet didn't pay much attention to the poisoning incident at the Romanov family.
But another matter caught her attention.
Overnight, all online reports about Quinlan disappeared, including Quinlan's accounts being wiped clean.
Whenever netizens posted comments unfavorable to Quinlan, they were forcibly deleted within a short time.
Harriet told Tristan about this and asked curiously, "Tristan, this wasn't you, was it?"
Although the negative public opinion had turned toward Quinlan, it wasn't without impact on Harriet.
And Tristan had always kept a low profile, disliking becoming gossip fodder for others.
It was possible Tristan had taken action.
"With things escalating like this, I have no need to waste money suppressing the buzz." Tristan smiled. "But clearly someone's manipulating things behind the scenes."
Harriet was curious. "Does Quinlan have that kind of power?"
"To get all major platforms to control public opinion simultaneously—she doesn't have that ability, and the Stewart family doesn't have that financial power. Someone else is behind it." Tristan said calmly. "I'll have Ryder investigate."
"Okay."
Ryder was always efficient. By lunchtime, he came to report.
"Mr. Lancaster, Mrs. Lancaster, I've found out. Someone did pay to settle this matter."
"The person behind it is the Romanov family."
"The Romanov family?" Harriet was curious. "Quinlan has connections with the Romanov family?"
"I checked. The Stewart family and the Romanov family have no business dealings, but whether they have private connections is unclear."
"But logically, the Stewart family doesn't have the ability to connect with the Romanov family."
"Now that public opinion is clearly pointing in a certain direction, the Romanov family has even less reason to forcibly protect Quinlan and oppose Mr. Lancaster."
Tristan laughed coldly. "Poisoning you and protecting Quinlan happening at the same time—the Romanov family acts decisively."
Ryder asked, "Mrs. Lancaster, given the special circumstances, will you still go treat Mr. Mason Romanov?"
Harriet looked at Tristan, seeking his opinion.
With Quinlan involved, things had clearly become complicated.
"Of course we're going to collect the debt." Tristan said calmly. "With me there, you won't be in danger."
Harriet nodded. "Okay."
At seven that evening, they arrived at the Romanov family villa on time.
Harriet clearly felt that the large, luxurious villa was much quieter.
Previously, although the second floor was quiet, there were many servants on the first floor.
Just as Harriet was about to go upstairs, Caspian came down.
"Mr. Lancaster, Ms. Getty." Caspian spoke first. "I interrogated people all night but haven't yet figured out who poisoned the tea."
"No matter." Tristan smiled, his handsome face shrouded in coldness. "For every day you don't figure it out, I'll cripple one of your servants' legs, until you do."
Caspian's expression darkened. "No need for Mr. Lancaster to act. I'll give you an explanation... Bring them up."
Guards soon brought several servants over.
Caspian asked, "These are all in charge of the beverage station. Mr. Lancaster, which one do you want to start with?"
Seeing that Tristan didn't speak, Caspian pulled out a gun and aimed it at one person's leg.
A gunshot rang out!
One servant's thigh was hit, letting out a painful wail.
Guards quickly dragged the person away.
The other servants trembled in fear.
"What show is this?" A playful male voice suddenly came.
Harriet turned to see a man in white pajamas walking over.
The man was about thirty-something, handsome, with a lazy, carefree air about him.
But his inherent bearing told Harriet this was no ordinary person.
"Caspian, late at night, won't you let people sleep?" The man yawned. Seeing Harriet, his eyes lit up with amusement. "A beautiful lady!"
"Caspian, you pull a gun when you see a beauty? Aren't you afraid of being single forever?"
"This doesn't concern you." Caspian put away his gun and looked at Harriet. "Ms. Getty, please."
Harriet followed Caspian upstairs.
At the stairway, Harriet turned back to see the man in the living room looking at her with an ambiguous smile.
Harriet felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
Upstairs, Caspian and Tristan went to the study to talk, and Harriet entered the master bedroom.
Seeing Harriet enter, Mason asked, "Ms. Getty, I just heard gunshots downstairs. What happened?"
Harriet answered honestly, "Mr. Romanov shot a servant in charge of the beverage station."
Mason looked at her. "They're just working people. Doesn't Ms. Getty sympathize?"
Harriet smiled faintly. "Poison was put in my tea. If I'm still blindly kind, then I deserve to be poisoned to death."
"Yesterday Tristan fired his gun to express his attitude, making the Romanov family give an explanation quickly."
"Today Mr. Romanov fired publicly to make the poisoner come forward themselves. Naturally, I won't cause him trouble."
Mason showed appreciation. "I originally thought Ms. Getty would choose to let things go to avoid implicating the innocent, but I didn't expect you to see through it so clearly. I admire you more and more."
Harriet smiled. "My principle is I don't harm others, but I definitely won't easily let go of those who harm me."
Mason said nothing more, but a dark look flashed in his eyes.
On the way back to the hospital, Harriet looked at Tristan beside her. "You and Caspian talked for almost half an hour. What did you discuss?"
"Asked about Quinlan."
"What did he say?"
"Caspian admitted he's the one protecting Quinlan." Tristan said. "The man who appeared in the living room is Ulysses Clifford from the Clifford family in Everglade City."
"The Clifford family and the Romanov family are old friends. The two families have an arranged marriage and a very close relationship."
"Quinlan's situation is known across the internet. Someone from the Clifford family happened to notice Quinlan looks extremely similar to Clifford family members. After investigating, they discovered their daughter was switched at birth, and Quinlan is actually the Clifford family's biological daughter."
"The Clifford family came to Emberfall to ask the Romanov family to help protect Quinlan."
"What?" Harriet looked completely confused. "Switched daughter?"
"Yes."