Chapter 382 The Fusion of Several Poisons

• "I'm afraid something might happen to you." Ford Bannister’s quick, shallow breaths gave away his nerves. Thank God Reilly Schulze was fine—otherwise he honestly wouldn’t know what to do. The two locked eyes. Reilly’s look stayed wary. "Well, you see me now. You can head back." Reilly was cold as if he were a stranger. Ford knew how deep his feelings ran for him, but when that raw hatred landed, it still stabbed straight through his heart. "Rei, I… I just want to hold you. Take it as a little comfort for me, okay?" Ford’s plea was almost pitiful. His thoughts were a mess, and all he wanted was proof that Reilly was still here, still within reach. Reilly had no idea how brutal these last few hours were for him. Even though he kept telling himself Reilly wouldn’t be in danger, worry and fear clawed at him anyway. Reilly couldn’t help a small laugh at his ridiculous request. "Aren’t you worried about me? And yet you came here to ask me to comfort you? I thought you’d be the one comforting me." Same man as before—still selfish, still never changing. She was dumb to think Ford had grown. "I want to comfort you, but you won’t let me." Ford gave a bitter little laugh. He knew Reilly had a soft heart, yet face-to-face with him, she turned hard as stone, like the goddess patching the sky with an unbreakable rock. He lifted his arms to pull her in, and she dodged in a snap. That kind of speed meant she’d been guarding against him all along. Otherwise, how would she react that fast? Ford’s chest tightened with sour ache. His raised arms hovered uselessly in the air, then dropped. "Rei, can’t you give me one more chance? Is there really no hope left for us? I have nothing to do with Elena Lundberg anymore, why won’t you believe me?" "Nothing to do with her?" Reilly almost laughed. Staring at the man swearing up and down, she couldn’t help the jab: "You two are legally married. Ford, before you parade your sincerity, use your head. You and Elena are bound by law. What gives you the right to have one foot on two boats? Back when I was with you—" She cut herself off. The past still made her sick. Those people, those memories—every time they surfaced, it felt like filthy sludge clinging to her clothes, no matter how hard she scrubbed, it wouldn’t wash off. She straightened, and when she looked back at Ford, her voice had a chill. "Whatever you came here for, you’ve seen me. I’m fine. I won’t be seeing you out." Reilly laid down the order to leave, then turned and walked out of the company with Yael Booker without looking back. Ford stared blankly at her retreating figure. His lips lifted, then fell into a bitter smile. All night long, she couldn’t sleep. Ford’s lonely look clung to her like a nightmare that wouldn’t be shaken off, hounding her till dawn. Early the next morning, Reilly stared at the tired woman in the mirror, lost in thought. It had been ages since she’d dreamed of Ford. No one knew better than she did how she felt about that man now. Why did she suddenly dream of him last night? And for so long? Frustration prickled. She raked a hand through her hair, tidied herself up, and headed downstairs. Bianca Hunter took one look at her wilted daughter and hurried over, fussing with her messy clothes, heart aching. "Did you sleep badly last night? You look so drained." "Yeah. The lab’s probably just too busy. I’ve been having nightmares these days." No lie—Ford was a nightmare to her. For years, the bastard haunted her dreams, refusing to leave no matter how hard she tried to drive him out. Holdie rushed in flustered. Reilly had already finished breakfast. One look at her third brother clutching a folder and a bad feeling crawled up her spine. Sure enough, the moment Holden Schulze stepped in, he dragged her outside, not even greeting Bianca. At the door, Reilly stared at him, stunned. "Holdie, why are you in such a rush? Don’t tell me something happened in the lab?" "No. It’s that vial you gave me. I found a similar poison on the market, but I can’t confirm if they’re the same thing." "Which one?" Reilly watched his face darken and her own heartbeat stuttered. If it was just some regular poison, Holdie wouldn’t be this rattled. Did it mean there was no antidote? But that didn’t add up. Whether you brew or use a poison, you usually keep an antidote on hand—just in case. Unless the creator was dead, and the antidote secret was lost. Reilly’s expression turned as grave as Holden’s. And yeah—no antidote. As for why… "I asked around, a lot of vendors. None of them sell this. The poison looks like a fusion: someone dissolved three highly toxic drugs, extracted their essence, and refined it into one. It’s vicious, but it spreads slow. In the middle-to-late stages, the victim might pass out. If you find the antidote before it kills, they’ll be okay. Problem is, I still can’t find a formula for the antidote." "So we’ll have to make one ourselves?" Forget the cure—right now, they didn’t even know all the components. Reilly thought about the compound she’d extracted earlier. It showed as a single agent. Maybe the other components were so minor they’d already dissolved beyond detection? She’d pulled it from blood, after all. Data skew happens. If that’s true, they’re in trouble. And she couldn’t shake the feeling this poison worked a lot like the one Master Bannister was hit with. She scanned the folder Holden brought, mind swirling. Should she call Ford? If both families hunted down the lost antidote formula together, they might get somewhere fast. But if she made that call, and Ford showed up at her office again, then what? Right now, she wanted to avoid him like the plague. Especially Elena—she did not want that woman yapping around her. Holden didn’t know what Reilly was thinking. He was only worried this stuff might spread on the market. "Studying an antidote isn’t enough. We have to stop this kind of poison from being used. If someone really uses it to hurt people, and we still don’t have a cure, it’ll get messy." "You’re right. Best if this poison just disappears."