Chapter 611 The Guilt is His
Ariel had been unwilling to face this question, and now that Patricia had asked it directly, her hands on her lap instinctively clutched her pants.
Although she didn't want to admit it, all the evidence seemed to point to one person.
"What do you think is the likelihood of an error in the examination?"
Patricia answered frankly, "Unless it's an incompetent doctor, they wouldn't make such a basic mistake."
Any obstetrician and gynecologist would not make such a rookie mistake.
But considering the status of the Koch family, they must have gone to a top-notch hospital.
The doctors there would be even less likely to make mistakes.
Ariel felt uneasy, a heavy, suffocating feeling in her chest, making it hard to breathe.
She lowered her head, remaining silent.
Seeing that she was unwilling to answer, Patricia didn't press further.
She believed that Susie must have an idea in her heart.
Just when she thought Ariel would remain silent and not answer the question, Ariel spoke softly.
"Miles and I were college classmates."
Patricia fell silent.
Ariel continued, "He was a senior from the year ahead of me. When we first arrived at the university, he was the one who escorted me to my dorm. After that day, we exchanged contact information."
These two seemingly unrelated events, but Patricia understood the implications.
What kind of inner struggle had Ariel gone through before speaking these words?
"In fact, he's not the type I usually like! I'm introverted and reserved, so I've always been attracted to men who are humorous and can initiate conversations with me. But he treated me well, buying me breakfast every morning and sunscreen for the freshman welcome party. I like to eat corn porridge, but it sells out quickly in the cafeteria. He would line up half an hour early every day to get me a bowl.
"In the winter of our second year, when I fell ill, he didn't even wear his coat and carried me all the way to the infirmary.
"People have emotions.
"He treated me so well that even the most unfeeling person would be moved.
"So, I gave him a chance and agreed to be his girlfriend for the time being!
"I originally just wanted to give it a try.
"But he really treated me well, accommodating my every wish and going out of his way to get me things I liked.
"He is the only son in his family, but he willingly humbled himself before the Koch family for me.
"We have been deeply in love all these years.
"I have never been able to conceive, but he has never once blamed me."
As she spoke, Ariel couldn't help but add, "He really treats me well, the man who treats me best after Shane."
Patricia didn't know how to respond.
She couldn't imagine how Susie would cope if all this goodness turned out to be a calculated lie.
If it were her, she would surely collapse.
Silence fell in the car.
Ariel's slender fingers kept fidgeting with her pants.
Her eyes were moist and warm with tears.
After a while, she spoke again, "How can all this goodness be fake? How can it be?"
If it were all a lie, how terrifying would that be?
Hearing the tremor in her voice, Patricia felt a pang of pain in her own heart. She gently patted the hand resting on Ariel's thigh, trying to comfort her. "Let's not jump to conclusions for now. What if it's not him? Or maybe there's a misunderstanding?"
Ariel remained silent.
She really wanted to go along with Patricia's words.
But she couldn't deceive herself.
"During this period, Charles and Shane have been investigating the Koch family for moles, and they caught a few of the household staff and some executives."
After a pause, she continued, "But they were just ordinary servants and executives. Why would they collaborate with Hunter? What skills and abilities do they have to work with Hunter?"
Patricia fell silent.
Ariel's voice was laced with a mixture of resignation and disbelief as she spoke, "Shane and Charles are both aware that those few they've accused are innocent. The true infiltrator remains at large, skillfully concealed, leaving behind no evidence of their duplicity."
Patricia grasped the gravity of Ariel's implications immediately. "You're carrying a child, and now you're suggesting that, apart from Grace, your brother-in-law is in cahoots with Hunter?"
The brother-in-law Patricia referred to was, in fact, Ariel's spouse, Miles.
Ariel's gaze remained downcast, her voice barely above a whisper, "I have no desire to cast aspersions on him! Yet, when I consider everyone in the family, he emerges as the prime suspect."
Charles, in his capacity as executive director, lacked any discernible motive.
Randy, ever disinterested in the family business, harbored ambitions that lay solely within the legal domain.
Jeremy, not to mention, had yet to learn what he wanted before collaborating with the Langley Group.
Miles was the most highly suspect.
If something happened to the Koch family, he would be the one to benefit the most.
"Taking Aunt's photo, having Debbie undergo plastic surgery to look like her in the photo! Knowing that Debbie received your bone marrow, deliberately taking blood for DNA testing! The house caught fire for no reason before Grace was found, destroying everything Aunt left behind. Tell me, besides him, who has the ability and motive to do all this?"
Although she was reluctant to admit it, if the suspect was Miles, then everything made sense.
"Uh..." Patricia hesitated for a moment and finally said, "Do you remember the medication you took last time we had dinner?"
Ariel realized what she was about to say and looked at her in disbelief.
Feeling her gaze, Patricia felt even more heartache.
But she didn't want to keep it from her.
As the person involved, Ariel had the right to know the truth.
"That medication is indeed for treating blocked fallopian tubes! However, it is slightly smaller than what I remembered in terms of dosage. Many medications are redesigned after being on the market for a while, so I thought it was an update version and didn't pay much attention to it.
Now, she feared that the medication might also be problematic.
Ariel's heart ached, a dense and throbbing pain, as if needles had pricked it.
"Are you saying that there might be something wrong with that medication?"
Patricia didn't directly answer her question. "Do you have the medication with you? Let's have it tested together. We'll find out if there's any issue by conducting a test."
Ariel lowered her head and took out a small white medicine bottle from her bag.
"I've been carrying it with me all this time! I didn't know how long I would stay this time, so I planned to continue taking the medication once my condition improved. Even though the doctor has given me a death sentence, I refuse to give up until the very end."
The traffic light turned red just ahead.
Patricia parked the car, took the medicine bottle, and poured out a pill.
It looked the same as the one she had seen before.
"Alright, I'll take you to have this medication tested now. We'll find out what ingredients are inside."
Ariel clenched her teeth and nodded vigorously.
If there was indeed something wrong with this medication, then someone was truly trying to harm her.
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