Chapter 503 The Test Subject
In the shadowy basement, the air hung thick with dampness and the stale scent of confinement.
Violet huddled in the corner, her phone's glow cutting through the darkness like a lifeline. She clutched the device desperately—it was her only connection to the world beyond these walls.
When her family's call came through, she answered before the first ring had finished.
The voice on the other end carried exhaustion laced with hope. "Violet, we've found a way. You might actually get out of that basement!"
Violet's breath caught. "Really? What happened?"
Rather than answering directly, Thaddeus asked, "Do you remember? The Swift Family used to be in pharmaceutical research."
"What?" Violet blinked, the distant memory struggling to surface through years of buried recollections.
When realization dawned, urgency crept into her voice. "Why are you bringing this up? Just tell me how to make Albert lift the ban!"
"Easy, sweetheart. Let me explain." Thaddeus's tone turned soothing. "The Hayes family came to us—Clifford's parents, you know, the man who was in the explosion with Yvette. They say he's been poisoned by heavy metal radiation from the blast, developed some serious condition that requires specialized treatment. As it happens, we researched that exact field years ago."
Violet had been waiting for news about Yvette, never expecting to hear about Clifford's condition first. But if they were both caught in the same explosion, then Yvette must be poisoned too.
For the first time since her imprisonment, a spark ignited in Violet's dulled eyes.
"Are they going to die?" she asked, barely containing her excitement.
"Most likely. We don't actually have any antidote—that was all your grandfather's work, and we never learned his formulas." Thaddeus's voice hardened. "But their survival isn't our concern. We're going to convince them we have the cure and force them to pressure Albert into lifting your ban."
He exhaled slowly. "Once the Hayes family helps us clear the ban, we'll get you out of the country immediately. You'll live abroad from now on. Your mother and I only have one daughter—you must survive, understand?"
Violet stared into the darkness, stunned. She had only wanted revenge against Yvette, willing to rot in this basement forever if it meant watching her enemy suffer. But now fate was offering her an unexpected gift.
Not only might Yvette die from the poison, but Violet could use this opportunity to escape her prison.
A genuine smile spread across her face for the first time in weeks. "Dad, this is the best news I've heard in ages!"
"Violet, what exactly happened in that explosion?" Thaddeus pressed.
She laughed coldly. "Their poisoning isn't my fault. I only chose that abandoned factory because there were no security cameras in the area."
Suddenly, childhood memories flooded back—images of a laboratory where her grandfather had taken her countless times. That mysterious place had been her playground, where she'd conducted fascinating experiments and explored scientific mysteries while her grandfather patiently guided her through each procedure.
If it involved pharmaceutical formulas, then maybe...
"Dad, you never sold Grandfather's old house, right?"
"Of course not. It contains his life's work—we wouldn't dare touch anything."
The confirmation sent electricity through Violet's veins. She drew a deep breath, then released it slowly, as if expelling all the rage and frustration that had consumed her recent days.
Her gaze sharpened with newfound determination. "Dad, send someone to get me out. Secretly."
Yvette lay motionless in the hospital bed, her pallor revealing a fragility that seemed to grow with each passing hour. Since they'd stopped her medication, her condition had deteriorated rapidly, her body wasting away like a flower deprived of sunlight.
She drifted between sleep and unconsciousness, unable to distinguish one state from the other. In the oppressive silence of her medical prison, her heartbeat thundered in her ears—each pulse a defiant battle cry against the encroaching darkness.
The medical staff entered for their routine check, finding Yvette unconscious once again.
"At this rate, she won't last much longer," the nurse sighed with genuine regret.
Yvette struggled to focus, straining to catch their conversation, but weakness clouded her senses, reducing their words to indistinct murmurs.
"She can't give up now—if she dies, we're finished!" Thalion's voice cracked with desperation. "Both she and Mr. Clifford were poisoned by heavy metal radiation in that explosion. If she dies, we lose our test subject, and the Valdemar Family will destroy the Hayes family. We'll all pay the price! Find a solution—she must survive!"
Yvette's blood ran cold. Her suspicions had been correct.
The endless combinations of medications, the constant changes in treatment protocols—she was nothing more than a human test subject. When she'd started bleeding, they'd stopped the drugs, confirming her worst fears.
But she'd never imagined the Hayes family was behind it all.
The thought of Felix and Gabrielle's false kindness, their warm smiles masking such cold calculation, sent chills down her spine.
"We're doing everything we can to keep her alive," the nurse protested. "But the heavy metal toxicity from that explosion is incredibly severe. They were both at ground zero when it happened. The poison is so aggressive, and without an effective treatment..."
"Difficult or not, that's your job—why else would the Hayes family hire you?" Thalion snapped. "And stop mentioning the explosion! Just focus on your responsibilities."
"Fine," the nurse muttered reluctantly.
Sharp pain pierced Yvette's arm as another unknown substance entered her bloodstream. Despite the discomfort, the medication quickly restored some strength, clearing the fog from her mind.
So both she and Clifford were suffering from the same explosion-induced poisoning—an explosion that had released deadly heavy metals into the air.
She could feel the poison's effects ravaging her body, and the violent reactions when they withdrew treatment confirmed the severity of her condition.
As Thalion and the nurse prepared to leave, she heard the distinctive sound of chains and locks, followed by the nurse's regretful voice drifting back.
"Such a shame we couldn't perfect the treatment. Had to terminate her pregnancy for the drug trials too..." The nurse clicked her tongue. "Though I suppose there was no choice—with that level of toxicity, the baby wouldn't have survived anyway."
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