The Fake Heiress and Her Purrfect Partner novel Chapter 153

Chapter 153

Chapter 153

Alarms instantly blared in Nina’s mind.

This was a rare animal, and if anything happened to it while it was with her, it would get her into trouble.

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The male red-crowned crane beside her-obviously her partner-grew frantic in an instant. He flapped his wings wildly, screeching in panic and desperation.

He said, “Aren’t you a vet? I’m begging you-please save her.”

“I will. Don’t worry,” Nina said, quickly steadying herself.

There were too many people here-this was definitely not the place for treatment. Plus, she couldn’t just take a wild red- crowned crane back to Forest Isle Zoo.

She instantly recalled Jevon, one of the experts who had assisted with the panda’s surgery that day-he was the director of the Wildlife Rescue Center.

Nina whipped out her phone, found Jevon’s contact, and called him. Her tone was urgent but steady.

She said, “Mr. Quinn, this is Nina. I’m at Jelasburg University’s welcome ceremony right now.

“There’s a wild female red-crowned crane here, and she suddenly collapsed. It’s urgent, and we need medical rescue right away.”

Jevon’s voice went instantly sharp. “I’m sending a rescue team to your site now.

“Text me your address.”

Twenty minutes later, the Wildlife Rescue Center’s emergency vehicle pulled up right beside Nina.

The staff members carefully placed the weak female crane onto a stretcher and loaded her into the back.

Nina didn’t hesitate-she climbed into the vehicle right after.

She turned and beckoned to the anxious male crane, her hand waving invitingly. “Come on, get in with us.”

To everyone’s shock, the male crane seemed to get it. He didn’t even hesitate; he just hopped right into the vehicle.

The staff members were left staring in disbelief.

They thought, ‘How does she get a rare animal-usually so aloof and cautious-to jump into the car like she’s just calling over an old friend?’

Nina hadn’t forgotten the flock of birds waiting outside. She stuck her head out the window and shouted, “Once I’m done here, I’ll take you all to the zoo. I’ll ask the white wagtail to spread the word.”

The birds instantly broke out in worried chirps, sounding just like a rowdy group of family and friends fussing over her.

“Go ahead, Nina. Go save the birds.”

“You’d better let us know when she’s all healed up.”

Half an hour later, they came to the diagnostic room at the Wildlife Rescue Center.

The chilly glow of the surgical lamps spilled down, making the female red-crowned crane’s wings look almost translucent.

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Chapter 153

Her breathing had grown weak and shallow-after barely half an hour, she was already gasping for air.

The crane was gently laid on the sterile examination table, her slender neck drooping helplessly.

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Jevon was already in full gear-lab coat, mask pulled up snug so only his eyes, narrowed in concentration and worry, could

be seen.

His voice came through the mask, deep and urgent. “Ms. Summer, I need your help.

“This crane’s in pretty bad shape, and she’ll only let her guard down around you.”

Nina’s heart tightened. Without missing a beat, she nodded, swiftly disinfected her hands, and pulled on her lab coat with practiced ease, stepping to the other side of the table like she had done it a hundred times.

They worked in seamless tandem, every motion smooth and quick.

Securing the crane, disinfecting, locating a wing vein, and drawing blood.

During the whole procedure, the crane only trembled slightly when the needle pierced her skin. Those glossy, dark eyes never left Nina, full of weakness and dependence.

The blood sample was sent straight into the rapid analyzer nearby. The machine hummed quietly, indicator lights flashing as a flood of numbers-stuff that would make no sense to the average person-crawled across its screen.

As time went by, the silence in the diagnostic room was so deep, and it felt like one could hear every heartbeat in the room.

Suddenly, the analyzer let out a sharp, piercing beep and spat out a freshly printed report.

Jevon snatched up the paper, his eyes darting over the rows of numbers and graphs.

In an instant, Jevon jerked his head up, eyes locking sharply onto Nina. His voice was low, nearly trembling, but every word was chilling.

He said, “This female red-crowned crane has been poisoned.”

Nina felt a jolt in her chest and frowned in concern. “Could she have accidentally swallowed pesticides?”

It happened all too often-wild animals ate crops treated with pesticides or food that had been contaminated, and ended up getting poisoned.

It was one of the major reasons why more and more species today were teetering on the edge of extinction.

Jevon frowned as he shook his head. “No, this isn’t typical pesticide poisoning.”

He slid the lab results across to Nina, his voice heavy with worry. “Weirdly enough, I can’t make heads or tails of what kind of poison this is.

“Ms. Summer, can you take a look?”

Nina took the report, quickly scanning those alarming readings.

The CBC showed her hematocrit had shot up dramatically-clear evidence the crane was suffering from severe dehydration.

The white blood cell count was completely off the charts-a sure sign of a serious infection.

Biochemistry was even more alarming. Liver and kidney indicators were all red-her organs were failing.

Jevon wiped the sweat from his forehead, his voice heavy with worry. “Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, complicated by multi-

Chapter 153

organ failure.

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“It’s progressing way too quickly to be a regular infection. We’ve already looked into all the usual toxins, and none of them fit.”

For once, he looked completely at a loss. “The symptoms are so sudden and severe, but we can’t figure out what’s causing them.”

Nina’s eyes shot wide open, her voice sharp with disbelief and anger. “Are you telling me this was deliberate? Was someone out there trying to poison her on purpose?”

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