Rising From Betrayal Reborn As The Family Outcast novel Chapter 144

Chapter 144

Kevin stared at the photo of the appraisal results, momentarily stunned.

Alicia had sent him not just the photo, but also all the info about the miracle doctor.

He was shocked to learn that the miracle doctor who’d been all the rage lately was actually Nicole’s real father.

And on top of that, he was also his grandfather’s illegitimate son.

Now that this guy was involved with Mavis and her daughter, things were definitely getting complicated.

He didn’t dare waste a second and rushed off to find Leo.

Leo hadn’t slept a single minute last night. Every time he shut his eyes, nightmares kept haunting him.

This morning, after a meeting at the office, he was so wiped out that he crashed on the couch for a quick nap, but got startled awake almost immediately.

He was barely awake when Kevin showed up.

After hearing what Kevin had to say, Leo felt a jolt in his chest. “So there’s something seriously wrong with this miracle doctor?”

That miracle doctor has been treating him lately.

Kevin replied, “It’s a major issue.

“He’s been stirring up all this trouble just to get back at the Hammond family.”

Leo couldn’t help but wonder if there was something wrong with the medicine he’d been taking.

He pulled a bottle of pills out of his drawer and handed it to Kevin. “Take this to the Delaneys’ hospital and get it tested for anything suspicious.”

Kevin took the bottle. “Got it.”

Kevin already knew that miracle doc had been treating his dad for insomnia.

He asked with concern, “Dad, you look awful. What’s going on?”

Leo replied, “I just can’t sleep. Every time I start to drift off, I get slammed with nightmares and jerk awake.

“Makes me think there’s something off about these pills.”

Kevin paused, then asked, “Did the symptoms start after you began taking these pills?”

Leo shook his head. “No, before that I just had trouble falling asleep. Once I started taking the pills, I could actually get some rest.

“But last night, even after I took them, they didn’t help at all. If anything, my nightmares got even worse.”

Kevin suddenly thought of something. “Dad, you didn’t eat anything when you got home last night, did you?

“That miracle doctor is Nicole’s real father. He might use Mavis and her daughter to try something against you.”

Leo answered, “Mavis cooked, but I didn’t eat a bite. Didn’t even drink any water.”

He’d suspected something fishy last night, but since he hadn’t eaten or drunk anything, now he wasn’t so sure.

Kevin said, “I’ll go get these checked out.”

Leo waved him off. “Go ahead.”

After Kevin left, he made a call to have someone look into that miracle doctor.

Kevin dropped off the pills for testing.

Even with Collin pulling some strings, there was no way to get the results that day.

Kevin didn’t get the results until the next afternoon..

Once he got back to the office, Kevin went straight to Leo’s office.

“Dad, the test results are in. The pills aren’t safe.

“Two of the ingredients can get you hooked if you keep taking them.

“Stop taking them, and you’ll be hit with insomnia, headaches, irritability-the works.

“Keep popping them, and the dependency only gets worse. Over time, it’ll wreck your health and even cut your life short.”

Leo looked pale and exhausted, his energy clearly sapped.

He frowned. “So there really is something wrong.”

Then he hesitated, puzzled. “But I took these pills the night before last and last night-so why couldn’t I sleep?

“Not only that, but things are just getting worse.”

Last night, the moment he felt sleepy and closed his eyes, nightmares struck, so he couldn’t sleep at all.

His chest felt like it was on fire, and he was so agitated and stifled he could barely breathe, ready to snap any second.

After two nights without sleep, he was running on fumes, looking like he’d been hit by a truck.

Kevin paused, then said, “Is it possible that even if you didn’t eat or drink anything when you got home the night before last, someone still managed to pull something on you?”

She really hadn’t expected her husband to catch on.

Just yesterday, the miracle doctor had reassured them that nobody knew about his connection to Nicole, so they didn’t need to worry.

Leo’s eyes darkened. “So you really are scheming with your lover to hurt me.

“Out with it-what exactly are you after, drugging me like this?”

He’d slipped a mini recorder into his shirt pocket ahead of time.

Mavis figured she was going to have him under her thumb anyway, so she dropped the innocent act.

She said, “I just wanted to make you so dependent on me that you couldn’t leave.”

Leo let out a cold, mocking laugh. “Can’t live without you? What makes you think you’re that important?”

“The miracle doctor gave me that confidence,” Mavis shot back. She suddenly pulled a small porcelain vial from her pocket and hurled it to the floor with force.

The bottle shattered instantly, and the liquid inside spilled out.

Leo hadn’t even realized what she was about to do.

He suddenly smelled a strange herbal scent, and in an instant, his eyelids grew heavy and he passed out.

The bodyguards he’d brought started to step forward to help.

But they barely took two steps before their bodies went limp, and every single one of them crumpled to the ground.

Mavis stroked her unconscious husband’s face and said, “That miracle doctor really is impressive-he even had me make an extra backup plan.

“Now that you’ve fallen into my hands, you can forget about ever leaving me again.”

With that, she got up and put out the rest of the sleep-inducing incense.

If she hadn’t lit that sleep-inducing incense first, and used the activating potion, there’s no way she could’ve handled her husband and all those bodyguards.

She fired off a message to the doc, telling him to send someone over and take care of the bodyguards.

She’d already sent the servants away-they wouldn’t be around for the next couple of days.

As for Felix, the doc had already bought him off. He was part of their crew now.

Now that her husband was in their hands, what happened next was entirely up to her and her crew.

There was a fierce determination in her eyes-soon, everything the Hammond family owned would be hers and her daughter’s for the taking.