Chapter 14 The Truth Comes Out, and the Slap Hits Hard (Part 1)
Calvin froze.
The principle behind his miracle drug was simple: rapidly gather all the body’s life force to break through clogged blood vessels and awaken the patient. After that, other medications could assist in stabilizing the vitals and bringing them back to normal levels.
So, when there was no visible effect half an hour after administering the drug, he had already concluded that it had failed.
Naturally, he hadn’t taken Rebecca’s earlier suggestion of “just wait a little longer” seriously.
When he’d stood at the door to the hospital room earlier, all he saw was Scarlett standing at the bedside.
He’d also noticed the needles on Grayson’s forehead.
And with everyone around him whispering and discussing the scene, he assumed Grayson waking up had been Scarlett’s doing.
But he knew exactly how capable his student was.
So he didn’t believe a word of it.
Still, the situation reminded him of something from a few years ago, when Scarlett had just become his apprentice.
Back then, he’d only just begun developing his miracle drug, and Scarlett had been involved.
Perhaps it was youthful boldness, but she had once suggested an idea:
-Using needles on acupuncture points could triple the drug’s efficacy.
–
He hadn’t taken her seriously at the time, but he’d appreciated her bold thinking and tossed her a medical encyclopedia to study.
Now, four years later, she’d picked up the bare basics.
Considering she’d used dry needling to help today, he figured she had contributed to the success.
If she were to ask to return to the lab later, he might just consider it.
But only if she was willing to apologize to Rebecca first.
“Using experimental medication in clinical settings clearly still depends on evaluating the patient’s condition case by case,” he said. “Rebecca, good thing you insisted on staying to monitor the outcome. You really are your teacher’s lucky star.”
Madam Lewis quickly caught on.
“Professor Miller, we’re so grateful to you. Please, take another look at my husband.”
Calvin nodded. “Alright.”
Rebecca tugged on his sleeve.
“Professor, Scarlett’s still in there too. Please don’t stay mad at her–she definitely knows she was wrong. Look, she followed us all the way here to ask for your forgiveness.”
Everyone exchanged puzzled looks.
Scarlett was Professor Miller’s student?
Did that mean her helping save Grayson was under Professor Miller’s instructions?
But that didn’t make sense.
Why would she need forgiveness?
The crowd was completely confused, their expressions filled with doubt and suspicion.
Sean let out a cold chuckle.
“Rebecca, you’re quick to make things up but not so good at explaining, huh? Like, why exactly does Scarlett need forgiveness? What did she even do wrong?”
Rebecca put on a solemn face.
“I can’t say. It’s an internal matter within our lab. I’m sorry, Mr. Dave.”
Sean didn’t back down.
“From what you’re saying, it sounds like Scarlett doesn’t deserve any credit for saving Grayson and actually did a bunch of things wrong instead? Even Dou E didn’t suffer this much injustice.”
Rebecca quickly tried to explain.
“My professor gave Mr. Grayson the miracle drug–that’s the only reason he woke up. Scarlett’s never even learned dry needling. She only stepped in because she knew how effective the drug was, so she…”
She caught herself mid–sentence, realizing she’d said too much, and quickly looked down.
“Anyway, she just wanted our professor to forgive her. From her perspective, she didn’t do anything wrong. If Madam Lewis or Ms. Emily wants to blame someone, I’m willing to take the fall for Scarlett.”
Her words convinced most of the onlookers.
These days, academic fraud and posturing were rampant.
Scarlett had just severed ties with the Joyner family–trying to climb up by stepping on her former mentor didn’t seem that far–fetched.
Still, using her sister and her mentor like this… no one would want to collaborate with her in the future.
Sean’s grin was a little cynical, but it carried a cold edge that made people instinctively keep their distance,
“Professor Miller, are you sure it was your miracle drug that worked?”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it dropped with a heavy weight on everyone’s hearts.
“Mr. Dave,” Rebecca said meekly, “Mr. Grayson had a cerebral infarction caused by a vascular blockage, made worse by his coronary heart disease. My professor’s drug clears blocked vessels in a short time, quickly waking the patient. So if you check Mr. Grayson’s medical records, you’ll understand.”
She took the opportunity to move closer to Calvin again, reminding everyone that she was still his prized student.
Sean scoffed, just about to speak, when he caught something out of the corner of his eye–Scarlett was already helping Mr. Grayson sit up.
He turned.
“Oh yeah?”
Scarlett followed up coolly, “In that case, let’s hear it from Mr. Grayson himself.”
With that, everyone’s eyes turned to the hospital bed again.
Scarlett’s face was icy calm, her eyes sharp and focused as she removed the needles.
She moved with such speed that her hands left afterimages.
When only three needles remained, she suddenly stopped.
“Mr. Grayson, you can speak now.”
Grayson looked up at her, eyes brimming with tears.
“You saved me… I…”
Scarlett waved a hand, her expression indifferent, signaling that now wasn’t the time for gratitude.
“Why don’t you tell everyone what happened to you before this?”
It was as if she hadn’t even noticed Calvin’s favoritism–or maybe she just didn’t care anymore.
Calvin’s expression darkened. He opened his mouth to speak, but Grayson beat him to it.
“I’m calling the police. My wife and daughter tried to poison me!”
The room went dead silent.
The doctors watching from the side were the first to react.
If poison had been involved, it would’ve shown up in the blood tests.
“Mr. Grayson, are you sure you’re not mistaken? Your bloodwork didn’t show anything unusual.”
Rebecca immediately chimed in too.
“Scarlett, what did you say to Mr. Grayson just now? This is a hospital. Don’t start making things up.”
Calvin frowned but stayed silent.
When he had taken Grayson’s pulse earlier, he had noticed something strange, but he’d assumed it was just vascular blockage–not poisoning.
Emily was still paralyzed, but her face was drenched in sweat, clearly panicking.
Madam Lewis finally snapped out of her daze and collapsed to her knees, sobbing loudly.
“Grayson, I’ve been your wife for so many years—even if I’ve done nothing else, I’ve worked hard! How can you accuse me and Emily like this just to give everything to your son? How am I supposed to live after this? I might as well die!”
Grayson coughed violently from the rage.
“Accuse you? You gave me soup. Emily gave me herbal tea! If I hadn’t recently started preparing for a movie role about an alternative medicine practitioner and learned those two things shouldn’t be taken together… you!” He pointed at Madam Lewis, then at Emily. “And you!”
He was so angry he could barely speak, his face purple with fury.
Scarlett raised her wrist.
A needle pierced into the point on his back.
He finally managed to catch his breath.
“I didn’t want to make a scene–that’s why I came home alone to confront you. But I didn’t expect… cough, cough…”
