Chapter 6

The pack hospital descended into chaos. Ambulances kept ferrying infected children to the quarantine center.

Watching those children convulse and gasp for air, I couldn't hold it together anymore.

I dropped to my knees in the pediatric corridor, sobbing until my voice broke.

"I'm sorry. I didn't do this on purpose. Please believe me.

"VRX-17 really is contaminated."

I didn't know how to explain it.

Aaron's first test had shown nothing wrong.

I had double-checked everything before resuming the injections, and the earlier children had all been fine.

But less than half an hour later, after the nurse brought in new syringes, the infections reappeared.

The families surrounded me, the parents of the less seriously affected children closing in.

"This is a new vaccine purchased with funds allocated by the Alpha King. How could there be a problem?"

"If even this vaccine isn't safe, the pack hospital should be shut down!"

"Open your eyes and look at these children! They're like this because of you!"

"Just because she's the director's fiancee, she thinks she can use children as test subjects?"

Despair, grief, and terror crushed down on me until I couldn't breathe.

I opened my mouth, but beyond "I'm sorry," I couldn't form a single complete sentence.

The furious families looked ready to tear me apart on the spot.

Perhaps because of the devastation written across my face, or perhaps to calm the crowd, Aaron finally spoke up.

"Everyone, settle down. The medical team will do everything they can to treat the pups.

"As for the cause of the incident, the pack guards and the Medical Council will conduct a joint investigation.

"We will give every family an answer."

Late that night, I was taken to the pack guards' investigation center.

The moment I walked in, I saw Mom and Dad waiting anxiously in the corridor.

I threw myself into their arms, repeating the words I'd said more than any others that day.

"I'm sorry, but the vaccine really is contaminated. I didn't deliberately hurt those children."

Their tears fell instantly, and they held me tight.

"Evelyn, we believe you.

"And we believe the investigation will find the truth."

They stayed with me, waiting for the test results.

Throughout the night, families of the victims kept arriving at the investigation center. The moment any of them saw me, they erupted in curses.

I understood their pain. All I could do was apologize and explain, over and over.

My parents had lived with dignity their entire lives, and now they stood beside me absorbing every accusation.

Eventually, Mom collapsed. Between the emotional toll and the crushing pressure radiating from several furious Alphas, she couldn't take it anymore and fainted.

The impact of this incident was enormous. The preliminary test results arrived quickly.

The next morning, Noah Lawson, director of the investigation center, walked into the interrogation room with a report. His expression was ice-cold.

"Evelyn, the VRX-17 sealed by the hospital shows no sign of viral contamination.

"The batch numbers, cold chain records, and administration logs are all in order.

"You are suspected of unauthorized expansion of the vaccination scope resulting in a major medical incident. The pack guards are placing you under formal arrest."

Hearing those words, my parents froze for a moment before their eyes filled with tears.

Mom clutched Noah's hand and pleaded.

"Could you please run the tests one more time? My daughter would never make this kind of mistake."

Dad took the report and pointed to the testing procedures.

"She's been a doctor for fifteen years. She couldn't possibly confuse a positive and a negative result. Something must have been missed."

Noah's face held both anger and reluctance.

"I understand she's your only daughter, but the injured and dead pups are even more innocent."

The world spun around me, and I collapsed into the chair.

Why? What had gone wrong?

The handcuffs locked around my wrists, and the cold metal sent a jolt through my body.

I lowered my head and suddenly remembered the batch number in the lab report.

Had the hospital actually sent the same drugs that had been injected into the children?

I shot to my feet.

"I know. I know where the problem is!"