The Mocked Miss’s Hidden Crowns novel Chapter 852

Inside the lab.

Charlotte stood at her workstation, wrapped in a crisp white lab coat. She wore goggles and a mask, her slim fingers gently swirling a test tube beneath the overhead light. For the third time, she watched the liquid inside shift and glimmer, hope flickering and then fading as the results once again fell short. No matter how many times she tried, her formula still couldn’t match the potency of Covid-X.

Without that breakthrough, she’d never be able to create a treatment for Somer’s syndrome. Each failed attempt weighed on her, and anxiety pressed in tighter. She tipped the failed solution into the disposal basin, took a steadying breath, and started preparing for another round.

***

In the lounge, Anthony lounged on a sofa, his MacBook balanced on his knees. He stared at the screen, eyes narrowed in concentration.

Lottie’s birthday was in November. The timeline matched—twenty years ago, A1 Research Institute had visited Solenia, and it was during that trip that Lottie’s mother had gotten pregnant. Back then, Solenia was in chaos, with strict border rules that only allowed people to leave, not enter. The institute had only gotten in because they brought critical medical supplies.

That meant Lottie’s father had to be from Solenia. And if every trace of him had been erased, he had to be someone with serious power. Solenia had plenty of people like that.

There was only one way forward. Start narrowing down the suspects, one by one. If luck was on their side, maybe something would turn up along the way.

Anthony’s expression hardened as he typed out a message to Hans. “Send me a list of all the influential people in Solenia from twenty years ago.” He was going to sort through them himself.

He paused, then added, “Any updates on the carnelian?”

Hans replied a moment later. “We’ve already ruled out half of the people who were at the conference center that day. Still checking the rest.”

She couldn’t stand the idea of losing her grandmother in Lamplighter Village, just like she had lost Patricia. Everyone who had ever been good to her—she wanted to protect them all. The only hope was to find the original Covid-X formula. Someone out there had it, and if she ever found out who, she’d make sure they paid. If it weren’t for them, the drug would already be saving lives.

“How could the composition be wrong?” She was getting angrier, frustration building inside her. She pushed herself out of Anthony’s arms, her face set with determination. “I have to try again.”

She barely made it two steps before Anthony caught up to her and swept her off her feet.

“No arguments. You’re going home to sleep,” he said, scooping her up without hesitation.

He carried her straight out of the lab. The researchers nearby could only stare in shock as they disappeared down the hallway.