Chapter 3

Half an hour later, Officer Ford pushed open the door to the hospital room with a lab report.

I hastily stepped forward, my eyes glued to the report in his grip. "How did it turn out? What kind of poison was in there?"

Officer Ford took one look at me and shook his head. "There are no toxic substances in the residue from the cup. There aren't even any pesticide traces. It's just pure, natural orange juice."

I took the report from him and pored through it. There seriously was nothing wrong with it.

Yet, I was well aware that this was definitely not a case of ordinary food poisoning. There had to be something I had missed.

Hubert's voice was low and restrained. "The lab report's right here in black and white. The orange juice was fine. Dr. Young, what evidence do you have that makes you insist it was poisoning?"

I lifted my gaze to look him in the eye. "The patient's liver's going into acute failure. That is my evidence."

Hubert raised his voice. "Lennon buys junk food when he's out all the time. We can't possibly keep track of everything he eats—"

I coldly cut him off. "Lennon has had almost no appetite for the last two weeks, hasn't he?"

Before he could answer, Maeve guiltily chimed in, "Lennon's been such a picky eater lately. He always sneaks out to buy street snacks near his school gate. There's nothing I can do…"

"Besides a poor appetite, has he also had recurring abdominal pain, fatigue, and dizzy spells?"

Hubert's brows drew together. "How'd you know…"

I set the lab report on the table and explained calmly, "Because this isn't a case of sudden acute poisoning. It's the result of a toxin building up over time."

The air in the hospital room instantly went dead silent.

Without giving them a moment to catch their breath, I continued, "Sure, the orange juice came back clean. But after drinking it, why did the patient develop acute organ damage within just a few minutes?"

"What are you getting at?" Captain Moore scowled.

I paused before adding, "The juice was simply the catalyst."

As soon as my words sank in, a panicked look flashed through Maeve's eyes for a moment. The very next second, she clutched her baby bump and gasped. "Hubert... my stomach's cramping up all of a sudden!"

Hubert's expression shifted dramatically, and he hurriedly supported her. "Don't scare me, Maeve! You must've been frightened by being falsely accused and treated like a criminal just now. It probably startled you so badly that it affected the baby!"

Leaning weakly against him, Maeve sounded exceptionally understanding. "I'm fine… Please don't blame Dr. Young; she was just so anxious that she blurted out those things without much thought…"

He tightened his arm around her before whipping his head around to glare at me. "Dr. Young, my wife's pregnant, and your baseless accusations have distressed her so much she's in danger of a miscarriage! The second something goes wrong, you throw mud at the patient's family member. Is that how you practice medicine?"

Holding his gaze calmly, I responded firmly, "Mr. White, the reason I am standing here and refusing to back down is that, as a doctor, the only thing I care about is the life lying on that hospital bed."

I remained rooted to the spot, tuning out their endless squabbling as my brain replayed the whole logical chain at lightning speed.

Lennon's organs' cries couldn't be faked, and the burning sensation in his stomach had erupted in an instant. The toxin had already been lying dormant inside Lennon's body. This glass of orange juice was nothing more than a trigger—a catalyst that had instantly detonated all the toxins.

In that case… there was only one possible truth left. I raised my head, my gaze cutting across the hospital bed and meeting Maeve's eyes head-on. Resting feebly against Hubert's chest, the corners of her lips curled into a faint, provocative smile.

I closed the lab report and turned to Captain Moore. My voice was calmer and more certain than ever. "Give me one last chance, Captain Moore. I know where the true murder weapon is hidden."