Chapter 1

I had just ended the call when Lennon White's stomach let out another piercing wail.

"Help… it hurts so much! After drinking the orange juice Mae gave me, it feels like my lining's melting!"

His liver also cried out weakly for help.

"We're shutting down... Quick, save me!"

There was no time to lose. If I wasted another minute, this kid would be dead.

I scooped him into my arms and sprinted toward the emergency room. "Quick! Get ready to pump his stomach!"

Hubert White was completely thrown off by the scene I was making and hurried after me. "Why'd you suddenly call the cops, Dr. Young? Lennon just has a severe cold."

Maeve, who was beside him, suppressed the panic in her eyes and grabbed the sleeve of my white coat. "He's right, Dr. Young. Lennon has just been exhausted from the stress of his midterm exams lately. If you make such a huge fuss, you're going to frighten him—"

Before she could finish her sentence, Lennon began convulsing wildly on the hospital bed, his eyes rolling back until only the whites were visible. Hubert blanched when he saw that.

Paying him no mind, I yelled at the nurse, "The patient's suffering from acute, severe poisoning. We need to pump his stomach and run a full toxicology screen right now!"

The double doors of the emergency room slammed shut.

Maeve pretended to be anxious as she hurried over to Hubert's side. "Hubert, this doctor hasn't even run any tests yet and she's already jumped straight to poisoning; she's so unreliable. Let's transfer Lennon to a bigger hospital before it's too late..."

I turned around, staring at her long and hard. "It'll take at least 40 minutes to reach the Metropolitan General Hospital. Are you really afraid I'll misdiagnose him, or are you afraid I'll save him and ruin your plan?"

After being called out on the spot, she immediately buried her face in her hands and sobbed, "I'm only worried about Lennon, Dr. Young. Why are you maligning me?"

As soon as her words fell, the cops arrived. Isaac Moore, who was leading the team, flashed his badge. "Who called the cops? What's going on here?"

I rushed up to him. "I did! The patient, Lennon White, suffered acute, severe poisoning right after drinking orange juice Maeve Brown squeezed for him. Captain Moore, please send officers to their home right now to collect the drinking glass and the remaining juice for testing. If you don't hurry, the evidence might be destroyed…"

In a heartbeat, all eyes were on Maeve.

The color drained from her face, and she hurriedly waved her hands in denial. "That's impossible, officer! Perhaps he has been pigging out on junk food these last few days and ended up with food poisoning?"

Captain Moore frowned and gazed at her sternly. "Ms. Brown, if you're innocent, we'll clear your name. But right now, please hand over your house keys. We need to secure the scene immediately."

Tears welled up in Maeve's eyes as she clutched Hubert's sleeve. "Hubert, I get out of bed before dawn every day to cook for Lennon. I go out of my way to make sure he gets proper nutrition. Are you really going to let an outsider slander me like this?"

Hubert's eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the tightly shut doors of the emergency room. He flung her hand away and rasped, "Lennon's appetite has been poor lately. Aside from the food you personally make for him, he hasn't touched anything else."

Her waterworks started again, her eyes filled with utter disbelief. "Hubert… you're doubting me as well?"

Hubert looked at her with an unreadable gaze. "I only trust evidence."

He then pulled out his keys and handed them to Captain Moore. "Here are the keys. Even if you have to turn the entire house upside down, find out the truth!"

Right after saying that, the emergency room doors swung open, and a nurse rushed out excitedly. "Who's the patient's family? The patient's come to!"